So happy @thrivingautistic.bsky.social have been nominated!
Recognising the work we do to support Autistic & neurodivergent people across the UK, Ireland & globally, from our peer support & Discovery Programme, to our Practitioners Directory & ongoing advocacy for disability justice & human rights.
Why is the Rapid Prompting Method being promoted with so little scrutiny or skepticism? Is it because it - superficially at least - aligns with neuroaffirmative practice? Am I missing something here? Educate me!
Our regular gentle reminder that autistic people are, on average, more peaceful than nonautistic people. Research shows that it is also generally a protective factor against crime, not a cause of it.
Any person can claim that something 'caused' someone to be violent. That does not mean it is true.
Please watch @bendybrain.bsky.social chat with our chair @jgjanegreenmbe.bsky.social about pain, getting ill, being a ‘bad’ person, mother employee & how she crashed out & our charity was born as no one would talk about the connections
bit.ly/4cx4qtF
#Autism #ADHD #Dyspraxia #Dyslexia #Dyscalculia
I think it’s Augusto Blasi’s theory of moral identity.
I have seen some writing on how people who consider themselves to be charitable will use this as a motivator to donate to charity (rather than deciding they’re charitable because they already do so). But as to where I found it, I’d have to get back to you!
Smartphone bans for teens and children is simply the latest moral panic, based on the flimsiest evidence. Social media on the other hand has been proven to harm children and adults alike.
Telegraph article headline: The Irish town where children aren't allowed phones Greystones is pushing back against social media usage by young people - and parents worldwide are taking note
They’ll be banning pens and paper next.
You might need to follow me - I can email you too if that’s better!
A belated Happy Trans Day of Visibility. I see you! 🏳️⚧️🏳️⚧️🏳️⚧️🏳️⚧️🏳️⚧️🏳️⚧️
Happy to see more recognition of this key idea
The brain is not mental : frontiersin.org/journals/integ…
And all cells in the body are key for what we usually call « mental » or « self » processes !
Text says: Sue Parkinson @MOHOspark, Twitter 29./09/2022. When we created the MOHO-ExpLOR assessment we hoped that it would assist occupational therapists in building evidence about how the social, physical and occupational environment impacts on people... Does the environment support...? VOLITION • Validating people with warmth / openness - respecting dignity, modesty & privacy + personalisation. •Encouraging people - stimulating interest, creating pleasant & attractive spaces. • Supporting emotional regulation through safety & familiarity. HABITS • Maintaining continuity re: roles/relationships and accessibility to meaningful objects. • Offering variety re: choice of activities, spaces, diet. • Managing transitions with reassurance, explanation and consistency. COMMUNICATION & INTERACTION • Facilitating & being responsive to individual communication needs. • Involving people in group, family, &/or community interaction. • Stepping in to provide advocacy, recommendations and education. PROCESSING SKILLS • Providing structure by creating a balanced day and adapting equipment to ease use. • Still being flexible to maximise participation, providing prompts & adjusting timings. • Supporting sensory modulation by adjusting stimulation levels. MOTOR SKILLS • Arranging spaces effectively to increase accessibility. • Providing assistance with posture and transfers as necessary. • Facilitating mobility and increased physical activity.
Thank you @mohospark.bsky.social for this guide which I’ve come back to time and time again.
@jonkskearns.bsky.social I want to be SO involved in @neuroprideireland.bsky.social this year. Hope I can chat to you about that.
10/ Beware of other private practices which do not get it right and merely mimic (poorly) other good practices. They produce lousy reports and in the case of one clinic which claims to be neuroaffirmative they are run by neurotypical people who co-opt work from others without credit.
9/ Shop around for genuinely neuroaffirmative practices; in Ireland (my home country) there is Childversity. the Children’s Clinic, The Adult Autism Practice, Horizons Therapy (Dundalk), Ausome Training - all of which are very much legit neuroaffirmative spaces, leading the way for everyone else.
8/ Check clinic websites for give away language, and if they’re still using outdated assessment tools like ADOS2, see it as a potential red flag or - if you’re seeking identification of your neurotype - ensure they go about what they do in a respectful and collaborative manner.
7/ Ask to see examples of their printed resources and figure out if they centre neurodivergent voices or perspectives.
6/ Here are my suggestions for how to address points 1 and 2 above.
Check with clinics if they hire neurodivergent practitioners (autistic, ADHD, other - there are may other kinds of neurodivergence of course).
5/ I’ve worked in a great neuroaffirming practice which I had to leave for practical life reasons, and I’ve worked in the not very neuroaffirmative at all public health system. Now I’m in the weird hinterland between both and it’s increasingly apparent that it’s morally injurious.
4/ Secondly, We need to protect actually neurodivergent practitioners from being gaslit into providing services for such companies, who steal our ideas, language and energy so they can gloss their business as being neuroaffirmative.
3/ Firstly, No potential client should tolerate Neurodiversity-lite (by which I mean practices which are affirming of neurodivergence only in the most superficial ways), and we need to get very practical about equipping people with the skills to spot such practices so they can avoid them.
2/ Without giving TOO much away I work for a small private practice - I’m not the owner or boss - which claims to be neuroaffirmative but is only very patchily so at best. It’s very frustrating to work for but there are two points I want to make which are really not just a professional rant.
1/ 🧵 Haven’t posted here for a while because life got in the way but I’ve got middle of the night thoughts 4U on the subject of Neurodiversity-Lite and (not sure what else to call it…) Neuroaffirmative Brain Drain.
Random fact for you:
Did you know your eyes influence what you hear?
It's called the McGurk effect, where your brain expects something to be true and so overrides what your ears actually hear.
Wanna try it out? This short video explains and demonstrates it well.
youtu.be/2k8fHR9jKVM?...
Super interesting!
Done (Attie blocked).
wouldn't it be funny if EVERYONE blocked this Attie AI account @ bsky.app/profile/atti... before they could do anything with it
Oh how I don’t miss “X”…
No one is truly 'independent,' folks: "While interdependence is often framed as a disability issue, even neurotypical individuals who appear self-sufficient rely on social, familial, and professional networks." From @neuroscientist.bsky.social:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
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Respecting a child's pace, sensory needs & body signals can make all the difference. Ideas to support Autistic children.
autisticrealms.com/toileting-a-neuroaffirmi...
