Tag Archives: recommendation

Posts that I highly recommend.

Recommendation: Autism Awareness by Andraya

Recommendation: Splines Theory by Luna Lindsey

So, I was taking a look at my stats (yay, people are interested in my analysis of the problems with the SD article!), and I noticed a referring link from www.lunalindsey.com. I went, okay, I haven’t seen this before… so I clicked on the link.

The post is titled: Splines Theory: A Spoons Metaphor for Autism. In it, Ms. Lindsey looks at the spoons metaphor for dealing with energy resources with invisible disabilities, and some issues she has with it, and provides a new metaphor for exploring what’s going on that causes us to have energy drains and difficulty changing routines and such. (And a commenter adds another metaphor, for those who aren’t a comfortable with computer-oriented ones.)

It’s a rather interesting look at things, and resonates with me. Quite a bit. It makes sense – even more sense than the spoons metaphor (which is incorporated into the Splines Theory as a whole). I like it.

So I’m recommending this post. 😉

🙂 tagAught

Recommendation: Interrupting and Correcting

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Okay, the post I’m recommending is not actually called “Interrupting and Correcting”; it’s a series of 3 posts about the AS (read that as Asperger’s Syndrome or Autism Spectrum) need to be Right. But… reading through it? My first thought was, Mom, this is why I have such a hard time controlling my urge to step in with a correction when I know you’ve made a mistake.

Because as my mother would (correctly) tell you – that’s a major problem I still have. I can get by in social situations, for the most part. I learned early on that politeness and “shyness” are a good combo – and I do seem to give off the general vibe of “asexual” when meeting new people. (Or, at least, if people do flirt with me, I don’t notice, and don’t respond – I tend to draw in on myself when meeting new people as well….) But say something that I know is incorrect… and I have to almost bite down on my tongue (literally) to keep myself from making a correction. And still, about half the time, I don’t manage to stop it.

Now, I didn’t get the same type of bullying that the author of this post got – I was more inclined to be bullied because I was smart, and because I was a very tall, clumsy girl, in elementary school, and in high school, I was with people as smart as I was, so there wasn’t that kind of “that person has the answers” dynamic going on. But… being smart got me the respect of the teachers. And therefore their approval. And that mattered, because one thing I was shown in elementary school is that there are good adults out there who will do their best to protect you from bullies. And adults are more likely to believe you when you don’t feel well or can’t do something if they respect you. (Not always, but enough so that my analytical side could come to that conclusion.)

So, from Snakedancing’s blog, I give you:

Please note that the topic above is really the main topic of only the first post. The other two go into strategies to help deal with the need to be right.

🙂 tagAught

(P.S. My planned post following up on Modes of Thought will be out – either tomorrow or later today, depending on whether you subscribe to the “day changes over at midnight” theory or the “day changes over after you fall asleep” theory. If the latter, it will be out tomorrow – this is what I say; if the former, it will be out later today – which is what the website says.)

Recommendation: What Is Autism? by Nick Walker

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This is a guest post on the blog Raising Rebel Souls. Nick Walker is autistic, and has come up with a description of autism that matches my own experience and, as I understand it, the experiences of the majority of my fellow autistics, no matter where they might fit on the spectrum. He also removes the pathologizing element from the equation / description, and writes clearly, presenting facts as they are known.

I highly recommend that everyone read this post: Guest Post from Nick Walker: What is Autism?

Or, alternatively, you can also find the details of his part of the post (though not Mom2Rebels’ additional comments) at his own blog, Neurocosmopolitanism, at What Is Autism?

🙂 tagAught

Recommendation: Relaxation / Time Out Bottles

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My sister (the one with the three kids ;)) mentioned in a chat with Mom today that she’d made these neat “time out bottles” to deal with arguments between her two oldest, and she’s also making one for the autistic son of a friend of hers. She showed them to us over the chat, and they look like they’d work very well for dealing with overstimulation and needing to relax, so when she told me how to find them, I grabbed the website and checked it out.

I think I’m going to make some for me. *nods firmly*

http://mycrazyblessedlife.com/2011/10/03/relax-bottletime-out-timer/

Check it out!

😉 tagAught

Recommendations: DSM-5 ASD Criteria Analysis

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Update Jun. 15/17: Updated all links to Unstrange Mind’s new website.

And we’re back again with Unstrange Mind, who is doing all of us the favour of going through the DSM-5 Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnostic criteria, and analysing it in terms of what it means both for those who are already diagnosed (even though we’re grandfathered in), and those who will be looking for a diagnosis. (Note: Frankly, based on her analysis and just what the criteria says, I fit even better in the ASD diagnosis than I did in Asperger’s! I may have said that before, but it bears repeating.)

Her analysis is not yet finished, but (as mentioned in the top note), I will continue to update as it progresses. However, I thought it was important enough that I want to start getting it out now.

Here we go:

Autism and the DSM-5: Losing Your Diagnosis?: An explanation of the coming posts, and the fact that you don’t lose your diagnosis with the new criteria.
Autism and the DSM-5: Diagnostic Criteria (Section A): Section A covers deficits in social communication and interaction.
Autism and the DSM-5: Diagnostic Criteria (Section B): Section B covers restricted and repetitive patterns of behaviour (including interests).
Autism and the DSM-5: Diagnostic Criteria (Section C): Section C covers the timing of symptoms. U.M. considers this section huge, because it recognizes that symptoms may appear different at different stages in life.
Autism and the DSM-5: Diagnostic Criteria (Section D): Section D looks at how much of an impairment in daily living the symptoms cause.
Autism and the DSM-5: Diagnostic Criteria (Section E and Severity Levels): Section E looks at other possibilities for the symptoms; severity levels are ways to measure the current severity of the symptoms in sections A & B (and they are to be measured separately, and are listed as fluid, potentially changing back and forth over time). Severity levels replace the “high functioning” and “low functioning” labels, which I suspect pleases a lot of my fellow autistics. It certainly pleases U.M. She has also posted the contents of “Table 2”, which lists the criteria for the severity levels.
DSM-5 and Autism: Development and Course (Part 1): The first paragraph in the commentary section about the development and course of autism (there are seven, each one will be covered in an individual post).
DSM-5 and Autism: Development and Course (Part 2): The second paragraph in the commentary section, this one concentrates on “regression” – which isn’t necessarily the preferred term, but is the one used by the DSM. U.M. illustrates this issue with some personal examples.
DSM-5 and Autism: Development and Course (Part 3): The third paragraph in the commentary section concentrates on first signs of autism; U.M. again illustrates this issue with personal examples (making it real for people).
DSM-5 and Autism: Development and Course (Part 4): The fourth paragraph continues the early signs of autism, referencing deafness and the fact that allistic children show some of the same repetitive and restrictive behaviours as are typical of autism, but not to quite the same extent (“[t]he clinical distinction is based on the type, frequency, and intensity of the behavior”).

More to follow as they are posted. This is a highly recommended set of posts, and I encourage everyone who has any interest in ASD and what the criteria is to read them.

Recommendation: Wiring the Brain- The Genetics of Emergent Phenotypes

Recommendation: Musing’s Survey #1

tagÂûght

Forging through life, My Own Way

Tag Archives: recommendation

Recommendation: Autism Awareness by Andraya

Recommendation: Interrupting and Correcting

Recommendation: Wiring the Brain- The Genetics of Emergent Phenotypes