tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54260506561979290652024-03-16T07:25:37.570-04:00Yes, That TooAlyssa Hillary, an Autistic graduate student, blogging about life, the universe, and everything, especially their life. (The answer is 42.)Alyssahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06413844178426365789noreply@blogger.comBlogger834125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426050656197929065.post-79150432253998287102024-01-11T09:48:00.006-05:002024-01-11T10:18:47.175-05:00Purimgifts 2024 Dear Creator<p>Dear Creator,</p><p>First off, thank you!</p><p>For
Tamora Pierce, I've been interested in Eleni Cooper's backstory for a
long time. I also love future!fic where Kel and Alanna get to Actually
Have a relationship or where either or both of them get to interact with
future girl pages & squires. Emelan is also great but I have fewer
Specific Ideas. </p><p>For the Divergent series -- I love Tris. I love Tori. I love the Dauntless girls in general. I have an <i>extremely</i> antagonistic relationship with the canonical framing of what Divergence <i>is</i> as of book 3. Like, published an academic paper about it level of antagonism: <a href="https://cdd.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cdd/article/view/39757">Pulling the Rug Out From Under (Neuro)Divergence in the Divergent Universe</a>. So definitely feel free to chuck as much of book 3 into the woodchipper as you want. <br /></p><p>I
tend to read Alanna (Tortall), Kel (Tortall), Tris (both Emelan and
Divergent), and Dairine (Young Wizards) as autistic. You're welcome to
use or ignore that as you wish :)</p><p>I enjoy the other fandoms but don't have a ton to say about specifics for them. Crossovers between any number of my requested fandoms are Absolutely Fine, if a crossover idea strikes your fancy. If the fandom (including recursive fandoms) is in my bookmarks or is something I've written for/had crossover elements with you can safely assume that crossover/fusion including that fandom is OK as well. </p><p>(Harry Potter is another one where I have an Antagonistic Relationship with canon. <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/series/1265975">Revolutionary Arc (kitsunerei88)</a> versions of Kel and/or Alanna are Explicitly Definitely Fine. I didn't request Harry Potter in general because I don't want pure Potter fic, but both <a href="https://www.fanfiction.net/u/3489773/murkybluematter">Rigel Black Chronicles</a> and Revolutionary Arc recursive fics are welcome (and specific fusions with Tortall lol)! I have a soft spot for Jewish Kowalski's fics.) </p><p>Cheers,</p><p>Alyssa<br /></p>Alyssahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06413844178426365789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426050656197929065.post-33765657382682479062023-11-01T17:07:00.001-04:002023-11-01T17:07:08.123-04:00One Last Autistics Speaking Day<p>I actually don't remember the start of Autistics Speaking Day (I'd just started my freshman year of college), but I've read about it. </p><p>I've participated a few times.</p><p>I helped with the Tumblr for it, I think 2014-2016? </p><p>But as time moves on, the ways people engage in communities have changed. Yahoo groups were before my time. I began engaging in the age of blogs. I saw #AutChat start. I think we're in the age of social media, now, more so than stand-alone blogs.</p><p>I'm not sure that's a good thing, but I think it's <i>true</i>. Facebook groups are where I'm most active, now. </p><p>I'm still speaking. Just... not usually orally, and not usually here. </p><p>(It's also relevant that I've been writing in places that aren't blogs <i>or</i> social media, but that's more the academic side of things than the everyday.)<br /></p>Alyssahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06413844178426365789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426050656197929065.post-40454093410330905932022-03-31T21:24:00.003-04:002022-03-31T21:26:19.946-04:00The Intersectional Infinity Summit<p>Today, I presented at the <a href="https://sites.google.com/ddsb.ca/intersectional-infinity-summit/calendar-of-events" target="_blank">Intersectional Infinity Summit</a>. Twice, actually. </p><p>First, I talked about "Exploring AAC as a Student & Educator--Communication Access & Accommodation." Then, I was on the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulRBjANuM5I" target="_blank">panel, Why Autistic Acceptance is Essential</a>. Spoken language was working for me at the first presentation, but not at the panel, which I think is kind of funny because it meant I used AAC for the presentation that <i>wasn't</i> about AAC. </p><p>Because I used AAC for the panel, I have a record of everything I said during it. That's below, but slightly out of context: </p><p>My name is Alyssa. My pronouns are they, them, theirs. I am a white human with dark brown hair in front of a blurred background.</p><p> I am at yes underscore that too on Twitter. I can speak some of the time but not all of the time. I use augmentative and alternative communication when speech does not meet my needs.</p><p>I am definitely autistic and aphantasiac. I may be neurodivergent in other ways too.</p><p>If a question is addressed specifically to me, please wait. If it is addressed to multiple panelists, someone else can go first while I type.<br /></p><p><br />I sometimes call April “autistic hell month.”</p><p>I do my best to ignore April. Last year my dissertation defense in April kept me busy. I could not pay too much attention to Autistic hell month because I was too busy trying to become Dr. Zisk.</p><p>This year I have a survey active during April so I do not get to ignore it. We started sharing it before April because I knew many autistic people would be too tired to participate once April got underway.</p><p>(BTW, the survey: Words matter. What words do you prefer when talking about AAC and the people that use it? Fill in this survey and tell us your preferences. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/3NMXCHG<br />You can also help by sharing the link to the survey.)<br /><br /> </p><p>If you are thinking about doing an awareness event but do not know where to find autistic experts to help you do it right or do not have the budget to hire one, remember that there is the option of Not Doing An Event.<br /><br /> </p><p>I prefer resources that treat neurodivergent characters as human characters who do things for human reasons. Learning to understand the actions of different others and their reasons through stories is possible, if the stories give reasons beyond 'because they are broken in this named way.'</p><p>If you read a story about a person who acts for reasons, it’s easier to understand that story if you 1) might have similar reasons for action, and 2) would get similar effects from similar actions. Both conditions can be violated in cross-cultural communication and in cross-neurotype communication, but you can still try.<br /><br /> </p><p>No amount of evidence that an intervention can achieve a goal I do not have will magically turn into evidence that it can achieve the goals I do have.<br /><br /> </p><p>I think about connections between cross-neurotype stuff and cross-cultural stuff: we can learn how to do cross-neurotype communication better from the parts of cross-cultural communication that are done well. And we can see that the problems are not unique to neurodivergent people.</p><p>I noticed overlap between my experiences studying abroad and my experiences as an autistic person. However, I got more leeway for my differences when studying abroad than when people assumed it was all about autism. This is common for white neurodivergent people.<br /></p><p><br />We know we're different. You get a say in how we understand that difference, but trying to pretend we're the same won't go well. <br /><br /></p>Alyssahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06413844178426365789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426050656197929065.post-59807026352680137082022-02-09T15:04:00.001-05:002022-02-09T15:04:00.185-05:00Casual Representation MattersFor a long time, I didn't think representation in fiction affected me the same way it affects most people. I intellectually understood <i>that</i> it mattered, and why, but I didn't fully get it. I'd read books with protagonists who were boys and protagonists who were girls (and protagonist teams that had both), and it didn't make much of a difference to me. I admittedly had (and still have) a soft spot for stories where a girl passed herself off as a boy, like Alanna, then of Trebond, from Tamora Pierce's Tortall universe, but there wasn't any great reaction to protagonists who were "like me".<br />
<br />
Probably part of this was that most autistic characters written by non-autistic authors are <i>really</i> stereotypical. <i>Definitely</i> part of this was that I'd never actually read a story with a protagonist of my gender. Ever.<br />
<br />
By which I mean, I'm non-binary. Reading a story about girls isn't actually representing me, no matter how many people mistake me for a girl.<br />
<br />
Then I read <i>Ninefox Gambit</i>, <i>The Raven Strategem,</i> and <i>Revenant Gun.</i><br />
<br />
On top of the plots, which, yes good, these books have casual trans representation. There is an important minor character who uses they/them pronouns, and it's not considered noteworthy that they do. There are plenty of things that are noteworthy about this <i>absolutely terrifying human</i>, but in-universe, their pronouns are just a casual thing.<br />
<br />
I actually started crying when I first saw Zehun referred to as a they.<br />
<br />
There's also a trans guy in the story whose transness is, again, not a big deal in-world. We know about it because we see him binding (or undoing his binder before bed? I don't totally remember.) That's literally the only reference, but it tells us that yes, there are trans people in this universe. Many (perhaps most?) get surgery, but there are still trans people who bind.<br />
<br />
He's a man and I'm not, but again, I cried. Here's a character binding and also being very important to the story for reasons that have nothing to do with his being trans.<br />
<br />
When we talk about casual representation, with trans characters in stories that aren't about being trans, this is what we mean. (And yes, I'm aware of some irony in this post being about how they are trans. Representation matters, so I'm going to tell y'all the characters are, in fact, trans. Zehun is like me. I needed that.) There's enough information for me to <i>know</i> these characters are trans. But the story isn't about gender. It's about oppressive interstellar empires and living within (or upending) them. With trans people in it. Their world isn't one I especially want to live in, but it's one that recognizes people like me <i>exist</i>. That means something. Alyssahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06413844178426365789noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426050656197929065.post-8866555664859041092022-01-13T14:58:00.005-05:002022-01-13T14:58:00.177-05:00Don't change other people's pronouns!<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
Pro tip for editors: Don't change the pronouns in contributor bios. Your contributors almost certainly did not accidentally type the "wrong" pronoun for themselves several times and not notice.</div>
— Alyssa (@yes_thattoo) <a href="https://twitter.com/yes_thattoo/status/934246306062700549?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 25, 2017</a></blockquote><p>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>I've been sitting on this for a while, waiting until the point where I'm ready to write about this. The tip applies to more than just editors, and it's more than just editors who've changed my pronouns on me. I don't mean that I've told them my pronouns, and then they've written something about me using incorrect pronouns. That's a problem, and as another tip, don't do that either. I mean I've been asked to write an introduction or bio for myself, I've done so, I've sent the text in, and then the final posted text has been edited <i>specifically to change my pronouns</i>. <br />
<br />
Maybe they think I accidentally typed the "wrong" pronouns for myself, with the "wrong" conjugation, throughout? I assure you, I am intentional enough about my word choices to avoid making this error <i>consistently for the whole paragraph</i>. I make typos, and sometimes words will be entirely missing, but I don't accidentally misgender myself in text. Discomfort with doing so is <i>how</i> I figured out that 1) I am nonbinary, and 2) my pronouns are they/them/theirs. (Sie/sier/siers is also acceptable in text, but sounds too much like "she" for my comfort when spoken.)<br />
<br />
Maybe they think my pronouns are grammatically incorrect? Whenever someone tells me an introduction or bio I wrote for myself, or really, <i>anything</i> I wrote about myself in the third person, has grammatical issues, my first question is if they mean my pronouns. Never mind that singular "they" is older than they are, it's a common statement. I've heard it from people who don't know my pronouns ... and people who do. (Once, a professor pointed out a grammatical issue that had nothing to do with my pronouns or their conjugation. I fixed it, and I thanked him. He didn't say a word about my pronouns.)<br />
<br />
Maybe they don't personally have an issue, but think my pronouns will confuse readers. I've been asked before if the plural might confuse a reader. Here's the thing: <i>you can add a note about my pronouns!</i> I've had people do this. It's OK. You can write Alyssa (they/them/theirs) in a text when you talk about me so readers explicitly know "they" is being used as a singular pronoun to refer to me. You can say "Alyssa uses they/them pronouns" in a footnote after my name. You can do both! I'd love it if this weren't needed. However, it's common for people to read text that just <i>uses</i> my pronouns without a note and then use the wrong pronouns to describe me. This note may both reduce any real confusion (as opposed to transphobia masquerading as confusion) and serve as a reminder for people who don't just don't really notice singular they pronouns in text. <br /> <br />
Because here's the thing: When you edit text to <i>change</i> my pronouns, it <i>is</i> misgendering. The excuses people make don't hold up. Singular <a href="https://www.dictionary.com/e/they-is-a-singular-pronoun/" target="_blank">"they" is grammatically fine</a>. Singular "you" is actually newer than singular "they." (Singular "you" and singular "they" get the same verb/adjective treatments <i>because</i> they have similar histories in terms of starting off plural and becoming singular at a later date. It's just that both these dates are long past.) Expressive difficulties <i>are</i> real, but they don't apply here because you didn't need to edit my already existing text. Direct explanations are the way to avoid confusion without <i>lying</i>. Changing other people's pronouns is misgendering. Don't do it. This is a case where the no-effort option of <i>not making changes</i> is the correct option. <br />
<br />
(If, after reading this, you're wondering if I'm talking
about you: only if you've actually done this, and there's enough of you
that I neither want nor need to single anyone out. I just want people to
be aware of this as a thing to <i>not do</i>.)</p>Alyssahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06413844178426365789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426050656197929065.post-25869574694545849932021-12-01T13:47:00.000-05:002021-12-01T13:47:27.760-05:00I still exist!<p> It's been a bit over 2 years since I've posted here. I doubt that I'm going to become super active here, but I do still exist. I'm fairly <a href="https://twitter.com/yes_thattoo" target="_blank">active on Twitter, </a>though outside of hashtag chats like <a href="https://autchat.com/" target="_blank">#AutChat</a> and <a href="https://sites.google.com/view/atchat/about-us" target="_blank">#ATChat</a> I retweet more than I make new tweets. Some highlights from the past two years include:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>A pandemic, which is still ongoing. <br /><br /></li><ul><li>The chemistry labs I were teaching in Spring 2020 went online on very little notice, with an extended spring break followed by 'how to finish a lab online while most of the students can't get at the lab notebooks they left on campus.' It was an entire mess.<br /><br /></li><li>My dissertation research went remote. Again. [Before, I specifically was remote because the office was full of sensory triggers. This time, everyone was remote.]<br /><br /></li><li>I got covid. Mild case, no <i>new</i> cognitive weirdness, still not a fan. <br /> <br /></li></ul><li>I finished my Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Neuroscience. My <a href="https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/oa_diss/1246/" target="_blank">dissertation</a> was very much towards the engineering side of things, on one specific kind of brain computer interface as used by people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. My dissertation is also <i>done</i>, though I still need to turn the last chapter into a journal article or a conference paper or something of that sort. <br /> <br /></li><li>I did a round on the academic job market. I'll be teaching one undergraduate neuroscience class at the University of Rhode Island this upcoming spring, but I didn't get a full time academic position. I've been applying again this round for jobs that start in academic year 2022-2023. <br /><br /></li><ul><li>I am currently doing a mix of teaching for the Art of Problem Solving, work for AssistiveWare, and other research, much of which is related to augmentative and alternative communication.<br /><br /></li></ul></ul><p> </p>Alyssahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06413844178426365789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426050656197929065.post-74466547676878372402019-11-13T19:23:00.000-05:002019-11-13T19:23:29.024-05:00November 20, 2019 #ATChat: User PerspectivesI'll be moderating #ATChat, a Twitter Chat on Assistive Technology, on November 20. The chat is 8-9pm EST, and the topic is going to be user perspectives. If seeing the questions ahead of time is helpful for you, they are below. Please wait to tweet your responses until the relevant question is asked, though!<br />
<br />
Some people here (like me!) may play multiple roles: AT user, professional, or researcher. If this describes you, feel free to answer from all your roles! #<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Q1: Why would you want to include user perspectives? Why is this important?<br />#ATChat<br />
<br />
Q2: What do you use user perspectives for currently? If you use AT yourself, what have you shared your perspectives for?<br />#ATChat<br />
<br />
Q3: What might you want to use user perspectives for, that you currently don’t? If you use AT yourself, where would you like your perspective included better? #ATChat <br /><br />Q4: How do you include the perspectives, goals, and desires of the users you work with? Or, how are your perspectives as an AT user included? #ATChat<br />
<br />
Q5: Where do you look for additional user perspectives, or where do you share your perspective as an AT user? #ATChat<br />
<br />
Q6: What do you think about engagement with social media content by AT users, like blogs, twitter feeds, or transcripts from relevant Twitter chats? #ATChat<br />
Engagement could include reading and interacting with users and user communities on topics of interest, sharing our content, and other things you might think of. #ATChat<br />
<br />
Q7: What work by AT users would you recommend to other participants? (Self-promotion is OK here, for those of us who use AT!) #ATChat <br />
<br />Alyssahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06413844178426365789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426050656197929065.post-71309911018582365712019-11-01T14:28:00.000-04:002019-11-01T14:28:02.559-04:00Literally Speaking About Not-Always-Speaking on Autistics Speaking Day
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; page-break-before: always;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">This
Autistics Speaking Day, I presented at the <a href="https://convention2.allacademic.com/one/aesa/aesa19/index.php?cmd=Online+Program+View+Session&selected_session_id=1562120&PHPSESSID=4fkqb6gme9n3v1lvc1pbdh83q2" target="_blank">American EducationalStudies Association</a> conference on my paper, “<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03626784.2019.1664255" target="_blank">Am I the Curriculum?</a>”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Given
the <a href="https://awnnetwork.org/autistics-speaking-day-2012-two-years-since-it-all-began/">origin
of Autistics Speaking Day</a> as a response to a Communication
Shutdown event, telling neurotypicals to get </span><i>off</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
social media for the day to simulate and empathise with autistic
communication difficulties, I think giving this </span><i>literal</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
speech on Autistics Speaking Day was fitting.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Autistic
people often use tools like social media to support our
communication. I believe that our doing so should be considered as
the communication support it </span><i>is</i><span style="font-style: normal;">,
just as augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) researchers
do for people they recognize as needing AAC. (I also think
<a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwikkuPo0cnlAhVSx1kKHQBiBokQFjABegQICxAF&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.liebertpub.com%2Fdoi%2F10.1089%2Faut.2018.0007&usg=AOvVaw0NIhvzjFyYoKPsVIpDutMm" target="_blank">speaking autistic people should be recognized as needing AAC.</a> Heck,
AAC for everyone. Let's not depend on speech language pathologists
specifically, or outsiders in general, to recognize communication
difficulties that AAC could help with.)</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>I</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
use social media to support my communication. That's literally what
I'm doing with my blog. That's literally what Autistics Speaking Day
</span><i>is</i><span style="font-style: normal;">. <a href="https://nostereotypeshere.blogspot.com/2010/10/real-communication-shutdown.html">The
Internet is, so often, our lifeline.</a> I am no exception to my
statement that speaking autistic people can benefit from AAC, or that
social media is part of this.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">So
speaking about my experience as an AAC user, as someone who often </span><i>has</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
to use tools other than speech (like social media, but not only
social media) to communicate, on Autistics Speaking Day, seems
fitting. Advocating for AAC for </span><i>everyone</i><span style="font-style: normal;">,
which I've said before and will say again, on Autistics Speaking Day,
seems fitting. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">And
speaking back to the awkwardness of entering professional spaces </span><i>as</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
an autistic AAC user, to advocate for these changes, to advocate for
increased access to AAC for us? Yes, that's part of Autistics
Speaking Day too. </span></span>
</div>
Alyssahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06413844178426365789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426050656197929065.post-35878690690256763802019-10-13T12:18:00.000-04:002019-10-13T12:18:23.160-04:00Pronoun Information as a Design ProblemTrans people exist. People we are working with in a variety of contexts won't always guess our genders or pronouns correctly. Sometimes, guessing leads to misgendering people, which isn't good. Several ways of dealing with this have been proposed and sometimes used. None of them are perfect. When people are working in good faith, we can think of this as a design problem: solutions aren't static, we can improve them, and we can come up with new options. (When people are intentionally being anti-trans, handling that is a <i>different</i> question.)<br />
<br />
Current solutions include:<br />
<ul>
<li>Adding pronouns to typical introduction circles</li>
<li>Pronoun pins/pronouns on name tags</li>
<li>Defaulting to gender-neutral pronouns unless and until you have specific information about the person you're talking about.</li>
</ul>
These solutions all have advantages and disadvantages. Considering them one at a time might help us think about better ways of doing this. (And no, we don't abandon the current solutions while we're trying to think of better ones. That just leaves us with no solutions. I'm keeping my they/them pins and noting my pronouns in introduction circles whether or not they were listed as part of what we "should" be saying about ourselves, thank you very much.)<br />
<br />
<br />
So, first: Adding pronouns to typical introduction circles. The advantages include:<br />
<ul>
<li>Introduction circles already exist.</li>
<li>In theory, we can get everyone's pronouns this way, thereby avoiding misgendering people by guessing incorrectly. </li>
</ul>
The disadvantages include:<br />
<ul>
<li>Introduction circles were already a clunky, awkward, unnatural front-loading cram of personal information. Adding pronouns to them does not fix any of ways introduction circles were already awkward, and most people will still forget most of what they "learned" from this cram session. </li>
<li>If pronouns are a required part of the introduction, people who aren't out may need to choose between lying and coming out. That's not cool.</li>
<li>Only including pronouns in these introduction circles when you think there's a trans person in the room draws attention to whoever it is you think is trans (not cool), as well as to the gender of everyone in the room. </li>
<li>Only including pronouns in these introduction circles when you think there's a trans person in the room can lead to <i>not</i> including pronouns when there's an out trans person who would be misgendered without a chance to state their pronouns.</li>
</ul>
Making pronouns an <i>optional</i> part of <i>all</i> introduction circles might help address some of these disadvantages. It won't do anything about the fact that these introduction circles were awkward to begin with.<br />
<br />
<br />
Second: Pronoun pins/pronouns on name tags. The advantages include:<br />
<ul>
<li>Name tags are already in common use at certain kinds of events.</li>
<li>If the person is present, so is a visible reminder of their pronouns.</li>
</ul>
The disadvantages include:<br />
<ul>
<li>If there's no name tag, the pronoun pin could be just about anywhere. <i>Where</i> do we look for it?</li>
<li>If pronoun pins/pronouns on nametags are required, people who aren't out may need to choose between lying and coming out. </li>
<li>If this is done in a computer system without a fill in the blank option, people may be forced to lie because their actual pronouns aren't on the list of options.</li>
<li>When the person isn't present and you need to talk about them, there's no visible reminder. </li>
<li>Blind people may not be able to use this system effectively, so there is an access issue.</li>
</ul>
Making pronouns an <i>optional</i> part of name tags when name tags are in use can address some of these issues. So can letting people put whatever pronouns they want on their name tags, not limited by a list organizers came up with.<br />
<br />
Third: Defaulting to gender-neutral pronouns unless and until you have specific information about the person you're talking about. The advantages include:<br />
<ul>
<li>Not gendering people who prefer not to be gendered.</li>
</ul>
The disadvantages include:<br />
<ul>
<li>Not all languages have gender-neutral pronouns.</li>
<li>Languages that have gender-neutral pronouns may not have a <i>single</i> set of gender-neutral pronouns.</li>
<li>Gender-neutral pronouns are also used to <i>de</i>-gender binary trans people, and that's not OK. </li>
</ul>
I don't really have any suggestions for tweaking this option.<br />
<br />
<br />
One idea I have, which I haven't seen discussed as a way of introducing pronouns before (though it could have been -- I obviously don't see everything), is the third person bio. It's a context-dependent option, in that it won't always make sense to include third person bios for people, but some conferences already have presenter bios. So do some meetings. By writing these introductions in third person, we aren't announcing "my pronouns are X," but we are choosing pronouns (or choosing to avoid pronouns.)<br />
<br />
As an example, many <a href="https://www.aacconference.com/presenters.html" target="_blank">presenters for AAC in the Cloud</a> wrote introductions in third person. (A few used "I." I used "they.") People generally weren't leading into their presentations with their pronouns. I might have (I don't remember), but it wasn't generally a thing. We could get good information about how to talk about people, though: Dr. Kathy Howery starts with her title, indicating we should use it, and uses she/her pronouns in her introduction. I just use my first name (Alyssa), indicating I don't need an honorific (if you want to use one, it's Mx. until I finish my PhD, but I don't need one) and they/them pronouns in mine. Ms. Helland tells me that "Ms. Lastname" is the right format to use for her, and she uses she/her pronouns. And no, I wasn't the only presenter to use they/them pronouns in my bio.<br />
<br />
The advantages of this option include:<br />
<ul>
<li>The information about our pronoun preferences is there -- avoiding pronouns is also a choice.</li>
<li>This can hold additional information about us, including additional information about how to refer to us!</li>
<li>Bios can be referred back to in a way introduction circles can't be.</li>
<li>It's a comparatively implicit cue, which may feel more natural for people.</li>
</ul>
The disadvantages of this option include:<br />
<ul>
<li>Ok, where are we putting all these third person bios anyways? (For conferences and meetings that have programs, the program makes sense, but that's not everywhere. The site where I teach math has them posted to the online classroom on the first day of class, and also on the teachers page.)</li>
<li>There can still be a choice between coming out, lying, and avoiding pronouns for trans people who aren't out. I don't think any of those are ideal.</li>
<li>Do people actually read these, even when they're present? I'm not certain. </li>
</ul>
<br />
Are any of these perfect solutions? Obviously not. They're imperfect and context-dependent. Besides, I'm an engineer. I don't actually believe in perfect solutions -- just better ones, and continued improvement. So, you know, keep thinking?Alyssahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06413844178426365789noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426050656197929065.post-39864323004361171562019-09-06T11:09:00.000-04:002019-09-06T11:09:01.044-04:00Dimensionality ReductionDimensionality reduction is something I deal with in math, statistics, and engineering. It comes up in my research. The idea is that when data is complicated, because there are a lot of different kinds of information in it, we can make our lives easier by considering fewer variables. Sometimes we pick from the variables that are already there. Sometimes we smush several variables together and create new ones out of the results, then pick from those. Either way, it can be useful to reduce the number of variables, the number of dimensions, that we need to deal with in a complicated pile of data.<br />
<br />
However, we lose information when we do so. Like everything else engineers need to do, there are trade-offs involved, and we need to recognize that. Dimensionality reduction means simplification, which can make large amounts of information easier to deal with. But over-simplification makes information less useful.<br />
<br />
Using disability and access needs as an example:<br />
<br />
I use a <i>much</i> more complicated thought process to decide what I can and can't do on any given day than people who know me might use to guess what I might and might not be able to do. This includes deciding when I'm just <i>done</i> for the day.<br />
<br />
My major professor works with me in an environment (our lab) where my losing speech is most likely due to sensory triggers. If I lose speech due to sensory triggers, I'm leaving the environment where it happened. She knows that if I can't talk I'm probably going home. This is an appropriate simplification for the context.<br />
<br />
<i>However</i>, when I was a graduate student in math, I most frequently lost speech in classes where I was a student because I'd already taught that day and I'd essentially run out of mouth-words. Nothing bad was happening, and nothing bad was going to happen because I stuck around and kept doing math without speech. My classmates and professors knew that if I couldn't talk, I was probably going to grab a whiteboard marker and start writing on the board instead. This was an appropriate simplification for the context.<br />
<br />
Those are both examples of appropriate dimensionality reduction. In the lab, "can speak" vs. "arrived non-speaking" vs. "lost speech in the lab" was a 3-possibility variable that made a decent proxy for how I was feeling and how well I could work. In the math classroom, whether or not I can speak wasn't an important variable. <br />
<br />
Ignoring the variable of whether or not I can speak in the lab would mean ignoring useful information. <i>Using</i> the variable of whether or not I can speak in the math classroom might mislead people into finding patterns that aren't really there. So it's important to choose the right variables to focus on!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
And yes, this applies to <a href="http://yesthattoo.blogspot.com/2012/05/functioning-labels.html" target="_blank">functioning levels</a>. In addition to being ableist and grading against a neurotypical standard (which is its own, major issue), functioning levels attempt to reduce all the complex information about a persons abilities and needs over time and across a variety of contexts down to <i>one</i> dimension. That's always going to be inappropriate dimensionality reduction, simplifying what we know to the point that it's <i>useless</i>. Talking about low, medium, or high support needs isn't going to fix this problem. Neither will talking about low vs. high masking as if either of those means a single thing. Those still use a single dimension, and you can't shove enough information about what those support needs actually <i>are</i>, or what the specific effects of masking <i>are</i> into a single dimension for it to ever work.Alyssahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06413844178426365789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426050656197929065.post-45244873390499640842019-09-02T07:14:00.000-04:002019-09-02T07:14:11.389-04:00Disability MicrofictionFor Cassandra Khaw's birthday, she asked that people do microfiction requests. So, I said I'd do disability microfiction (basically a story, premise, or piece of a story that fits in a single tweet) for people who replied with a word.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
Reply with a word for a disability microfic <a href="https://t.co/ConggtPn39">https://t.co/ConggtPn39</a></div>
— Alyssa (@yes_thattoo) <a href="https://twitter.com/yes_thattoo/status/1167836150628855809?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 31, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script> <br />
<br />
This is me saving the fiction I wrote, and putting it in one place for blog followers who don't necessarily use Twitter.<br />
<br />
Prompt: Cape<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-theme="dark">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
Her cape could double as a magic carpet. It came in handy when people forgot they were supposed to have ramps...</div>
— Alyssa (@yes_thattoo) <a href="https://twitter.com/yes_thattoo/status/1167840562210361344?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 31, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script> <br />
<br />
Prompt: Echo<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-theme="dark">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
“Echo echo echo!” I called out to the canyon. My voice didn’t come back, but I was having fun repeating the word anyways.</div>
— Alyssa (@yes_thattoo) <a href="https://twitter.com/yes_thattoo/status/1167865057071357953?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 31, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script> <br />
<br />
Prompt: Exuberant<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-theme="dark">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
When she heard the news, Anna couldn’t stop happy-flapping. Not that she wanted to. Being elected President definitely warranted happy-flapping.</div>
— Alyssa (@yes_thattoo) <a href="https://twitter.com/yes_thattoo/status/1167841484458090496?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 31, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script> <br />
<br />
Prompt: Horses<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-theme="dark">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
We made prostheses for the horses who lost legs in accidents.</div>
— Alyssa (@yes_thattoo) <a href="https://twitter.com/yes_thattoo/status/1167840240888885254?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 31, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script> <br />
<br />
Prompt: Triskaidekaphobia<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-theme="dark">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
I looked at the AAC specialist.<br />"... did you really need to unmask *exactly 13* words on that page? Can't we add, like, one more out of ALL THE WORDS?"<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AAC?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AAC</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/slpeeps?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#slpeeps</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/slp?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#slp</a></div>
— Alyssa (@yes_thattoo) <a href="https://twitter.com/yes_thattoo/status/1167847900401086464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 31, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script> <br />
<br />
Prompt: Ecstatic<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-theme="dark">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
They shook their wife awake. "Text the midwife, it's time!" they signed.<br /><br />Their wife placed a hand on their belly, ecstatic, and reached for her cell phone.</div>
— Alyssa (@yes_thattoo) <a href="https://twitter.com/yes_thattoo/status/1167846473196802048?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 31, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script> <br />
<br />
Prompt: Kiss<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-theme="dark">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
At the end of the date, she rolled her wheelchair around the table, next to his. "May I kiss you?" she asked. <br /><br />"Yes," he said.<br /><br />And they did.</div>
— Alyssa (@yes_thattoo) <a href="https://twitter.com/yes_thattoo/status/1167844941684518912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 31, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script> <br />
<br />
Prompt: Dorsiflexion<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-theme="dark">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
The patron goddess of travel taught you to ride side-saddle, to avoid dorsiflexion.</div>
— Alyssa (@yes_thattoo) <a href="https://twitter.com/yes_thattoo/status/1167839904673468417?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 31, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script> <br />
<br />
Prompt: Strong Independent Person<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-theme="dark">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
The princess couldn’t speak, so she studied magic and designed a slate that spoke what she wrote on it.</div>
— Alyssa (@yes_thattoo) <a href="https://twitter.com/yes_thattoo/status/1167838857955618817?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 31, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script> <br />
<br />
Prompt: Crackle<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-theme="dark">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
His joints crackled as he put his knee back together. "What, haven't you ever seen a cyborg?" he joked. (He wasn't actually a cyborg, yet. Just hypermobile.)</div>
— Alyssa (@yes_thattoo) <a href="https://twitter.com/yes_thattoo/status/1167855201367334912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 31, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script> Alyssahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06413844178426365789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426050656197929065.post-17328136341564569282019-08-30T11:09:00.000-04:002019-08-30T11:09:18.633-04:00That AAC on a plane storyI want to talk about a thread that's going viral.<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
I just had such an affirming experience. On my 8hr intl flight back from a conference, I sat next to a father/son. In broken English, the father began to apologize/warn me that his ~10 yr-old son had severe nonverbal autism, and that this would like be a difficult journey. 1/</div>
— Rachel R. Romeo (@RachelRRomeo) <a href="https://twitter.com/RachelRRomeo/status/1166817555257942016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 28, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script> <br />
My problems are not with Rachel, but I do have problems.<br />
<br />
Problem the first:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
I tried to see if he was stimulable for a communication board. I started by pulling up some standard images for basic nouns on my computer but I could tell that screens really bothered him. So I summoned my god-awful drawing skills and tried to create a (very!) low-tech board. 4/</div>
— Rachel R. Romeo (@RachelRRomeo) <a href="https://twitter.com/RachelRRomeo/status/1166817557862584325?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 28, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script> <br />
Rachel doesn't think this kid's been exposed to much in the way of communication therapy. I don't know about therapy with a focus on <i>speech</i>, but given the father's confusion and how fast the kid responded to a low-tech communication board, I'm quite sure he hadn't been exposed to AAC before.<br />
<br />
<i>That's</i> a problem. Yes, thank you for introducing communication supports. As an Autistic AAC user <a href="https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/aut.2018.0007" target="_blank">doing AAC work</a>, I am appalled and horrified that people are reliant on a <i>chance encounter with an SLP on a plane</i> in order to be introduced to AAC. Communication access is a human right. I'm glad Rachel got seated next to this father/son pair, and I'm glad she introduced AAC<i>. </i>She did the right things in a situation that should never have happened. There should have been communication access years ago.<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
By the end of the flight, he had made several requests, initiated several times, & his behaviors had reduced quite a bit. The father was astounded – clearly no one had ever tried an AAC approach with him. I gave him the paper & showed him how to use it, and he nearly cried. 6/</div>
— Rachel R. Romeo (@RachelRRomeo) <a href="https://twitter.com/RachelRRomeo/status/1166817559611658240?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 28, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script> <br />
<br />
I'm happy for this family, that they have AAC <i>now</i>. I'm sad for this family, that this is what it took. A chance meeting with an SLP on a plane.<br />
<br />
And you know what else concerns me?<br />
<br />
People are sharing this like it's a heartwarming story. It's a <i>terrifying</i> story. Imagine how many doctors and therapists failed this family, that communication access rested on this chance encounter. Imagine how many people <i>still</i> don't have communication access.<br />
<br />
This is, in fact, an important story. It's an illustration of just how dire the situation is for autistic people and our families trying to access the human right of communication. We are being "served" by people who don't know to consider communication board, who don't know to consider AAC. We are being "served" by people who see a non-speaking person who grabs things and assumes the way to go is to try to control the "behavior" rather than to provide other ways to communicate that they want those things. And we are being "served" by people who presume that non-speaking means non-thinking.<br />
<br />
And no, I don't mean people who presume that non-speaking means intellectual disability. Non-speaking people with intellectual disabilities can use communication supports. I mean people who assume there are no thoughts worth trying to communicate, that the primary "service" needed is control over the person. It's a problem whether or not a non-speaking person actually has an intellectual disability.<br />
<br />
So, share away. Just remember it's a story about years of communication denied and systemic problems. It's a story about a kid who <i>didn't</i> get to have his communication honored until he was about 10, who had his attempts at communication treated as "challenging behaviors" instead of attempts at communicating sans speech. It's a story about a chance encounter, and it's a story about everything that had to go wrong for that chance encounter to matter. This is no better than the high school robotics team making a
prosthetic for a kid whose insurance denied it: good for the team, but <i>remember why it was needed</i>. <br />
<br />
Share this story as an illustration of what's wrong in our system, not just as a story of one person who did a good thing. Alyssahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06413844178426365789noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426050656197929065.post-67746413870678675222019-07-02T08:47:00.000-04:002019-07-02T08:47:06.041-04:00Pretending/insisting teens (as a group) aren't sexual hurts asexual teens too<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It seems pretty common for adults to refuse to acknowledge that teens, as a group, can be sexual beings. (Or to insist that even if they are, they <i>shouldn't</i> be and must therefore <i>pretend</i> not to be.) Abstinence only "health" classes? "Wait until marriage"? Every time education based on those ideas gets studied, we find it doesn't work. The exact things they're supposedly about avoiding (any result of teen sexuality, that is) wind up being the exact things that happen.<br />
<br />
People who pay attention to the <i>results</i> of various approaches to sexual education have a good idea of how badly this goes for heterosexual teens. Sometimes we know how badly this goes for gay, lesbian, bi, pan, or trans teens.<br />
<br />
What about the teens who actually <i>don't</i> have the urges that the educators simultaneously insist we <i>must have</i>, but also that we <i>must resist</i>?<br />
<br />
I'm asexual. (I'm also bi/panromantic depending on the definitions of the moment, and I'm nonbinary. Queer is a useful umbrella term here.) I <i>don't</i> have the urge to do any sexual stuff. Does that mean the adults who insist teens be non-sexual are safe <i>specifically for me</i>?<br />
<br />
Nope! You see, it's not actually respect for my ability to make my own decisions if you're only respecting my ability to make decisions you approve of. Assuming/insisting that I'm making the decisions you like for <i>completely different reasons</i> than I really am is also an issue. One, it's ignoring my agency. Two, you're going to predict my later decisions incorrectly and make bad decisions about what would work for me later. You're ignoring the decisions I'm actually making in favor or projecting different decisions onto me. Among other things, all this makes your advice about abstinence and waiting <i>really irrelevant</i>. I'm not "waiting", because that would mean I planned to do this stuff eventually. <br />
<br />
So: I'm not doing sexual things. I'm maybe saying "wait until marriage" because that's a somewhat socially acceptable way of saying "nope not doing the thing" but then the assumptions go to: 1) marriage is a thing I want (Maybe? Dunno) and 2) once married I'm going to do those things (NOPE). I look for advice on how to handle situations where folks my age <i>are</i> doing sexual things in my general vicinity and I'm not super comfortable. The advice I find isn't useful, because my reasons for not participating aren't <i>moral</i>. Being a repulsed asexual gives me totally different problems with sexual situations than being abstinent for religious reasons.<br />
<br />
So, was advice from people who assumed I, as a teen, must have wanted to be sexual but shouldn't act on it useful? Nope. It was too covered in incorrect assumptions and disrespect for anyone who actually <i>did</i> want to be sexual (which was, in their minds, all teens.) Insistence that someone's internal thoughts and perceptions must be a certain way is neither helpful nor safe, whether or not you agree with their decisions.<br />
<br />
Advice from people who assumed I, as a teen, must have wanted to be sexual but was under some sort of mistaken impression that I shouldn't for moral or religious reasons? <i>Also</i> neither useful nor particularly safe. Seriously, people who have religious reasons to prefer to wait aren't going to benefit from having their religious beliefs called nonsense. If they're trying to tell <i>other people</i> to wait or interfering with <i>other people's</i> decisions based on personal religious beliefs, that's an issue, but that's not the kind of advice I'm talking about here. And it didn't even apply to me anyways, because religion wasn't my reasoning for not having sex either!<i> Don't</i> assume someone's in that category, or decide they should be. <br />
<br />
"I don't want to" isn't the same thing as "I think I shouldn't." Conflating them makes life harder for people who think <i>either</i> way. </div>
Alyssahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06413844178426365789noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426050656197929065.post-36578400884049216042018-11-22T08:11:00.000-05:002018-11-22T08:11:08.731-05:00Alyssa Reads Neurotechnology and Direct Brain Communication, Part 2Still reading this book: <br />
<div class="gs_citr" tabindex="0">
Farisco, M., & Evers, K. (Eds.). (2016). <i>Neurotechnology
and direct brain communication: New insights and responsibilities
concerning speechless but communicative subjects</i>. Routledge.</div>
<div class="gs_citr" tabindex="0">
</div>
<div class="gs_citr" tabindex="0">
<a href="https://yesthattoo.blogspot.com/2018/11/alyssa-reads-neurotechnology-and-direct.html" target="_blank">Part 1 was here</a>, with the introduction and first chapter.</div>
<br />
Now reading chapter 2: <br />
<div class="gs_citr" tabindex="0">
Demetriou, A., Spanoudis, G., & Shayer, M. (2016). Mapping mind-brain development. In Farisco, M., & Evers, K. (Eds.) <i>Neurotechnology
and Direct Brain Communication: New insights and responsibilities
concerning speechless but communicative subjects</i>, 21-39.</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The chapter starts off with a theory
for how the mind is set up. (It's a theory I've seen before.) Thought
is broadly considered as categorical, spatial, quantitative, causal,
or social. Our perceptual systems are generally set up in ways that
support these kinds of thought and connection-making. There's the
idea that abstraction notes similarities between things, alignment
actually sticks stuff together by those similarities, and then
cognizance stores the stuck together stuff as its own thing. It seems
like a reasonable way of thinking about how stuff works. Then they start talking about how it
develops, with episodic representation, then mental representation, then rule-based representation, and then principle-based representation. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
And I'm pretty sure they're talking about how everything develops
in <i>neurotypical</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> people,
though they don't specify that. I think it would be better if people
talking about neurotypical psychology and neurology explicitly said
they were doing so, rather than just saying they were talking about
people. For example, there's discussion of visual circuits, and
</span>aphantasiacs don't do the visual things the same way y'all
think people do visual stuff. And kind of like language development people tend to assume we start at one word and build up, while some people start at phrases and break down, then remix, then build up on occasions where remixing isn't enough. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Or there's two main circuits that do
verbal working memory type things, one for rehearsal (getting ready
to say a thing, I guess) and one for “nonarticulatory maintenance
of phonological information” (p. 29). What does this mean for AAC
users? Or even neurotypicals on social media or otherwise using typed
language for real-time communication? <i>What does this mean for the
students in my online classroom at AoPS? </i><span style="font-style: normal;">(And
no, I can neither assume that my students are neurotypical nor can I
assume that they're neurodivergent. I have no idea.) I wish I knew
what their citation was for these two verbal working memory networks.
Rehearsal is supposed to be left-lateralized (in righties or in
everyone? They didn't say!) premotor-parietal, for which it would
make sense to me that we'd just get premotor areas related to
whatever body part is being used to communicate instead of related to
the mouth, but use a similar circuit regardless of communication
medium. Verbal maintenance is supposed to be bilateral,
anterior-prefrontal to inferior parietal. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">I
wonder how the rehearsal areas might activate when using, say, a P300
speller. Would activation depend on whether the current stimulus is
for the desired letter or not? How does the slower speed of typing
affect the activation of and demands on working memory? Is this even
the most relevant working memory circuit for P300 use? (I know
working memory is relevant, but it </span><i>could</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
be a visual working memory circuit we need to care about, or one of
the verbal ones, or all the parts that are in either, or only the
parts that are in both. I dunno!)</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">Oh,
</span><i>come on</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, now we get to
see theory of mind come up, where a mentalizing network is suggested
to be needed to serve awareness of mental states, and that this (with
alerting and orienting attention?) is key to consciousness. If I
never see theory of mind theory again, it will be too soon. (I say
shortly after turning in revisions to a chapter that examined the
effects of of theory of mind on interpretation of autistic
autobiographical narratives, which required me to deal with quite a
bit of theory of mind nonsense. Why do I do this to myself?) There's apparently been research into the neuroanatomical (phrenological?) and neurochemical bases of this theory of mind thing, too. Because they cite </span></div>
<div class="gs_citr" tabindex="0">
Abu-Akel, A., & Shamay-Tsoory, S. (2011). <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0028393211003368" target="_blank">Neuroanatomical and neurochemical bases of theory of mind</a>. <i>Neuropsychologia</i>, <i>49</i>(11), 2971-2984. </div>
<div class="gs_citr" tabindex="0">
Which is apparently a well-cited article, per my looking it up. Why. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-style: normal;"></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">How is
it “obvious” that mentalizing ability and executive control would
be served by the same systems? Is it only obvious that these use the
same systems in neurotypicals? Or is it therefore paradoxical to be
decent at guessing how others would feel in a given situation, while
also having pretty terrible executive functioning. Am I a paradox? I
think it'd be interesting to be a paradox.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">If
salience/shifting networks are already in place in some form before
birth, like Hoff et al seems to suggest, and salience networks
function differently between autistic people and neurotypical people,
is this one of the places we can point to neurodevelopmental
differences even before birth? (I'm kind of betting it is, even if
it's not one we've checked yet. There are a lot of things we don't
know yet about brain networks.) Hoff et al is: </span></div>
<div class="gs_citr" tabindex="0">
Hoff, G. E., Van Den Heuvel, M.,
Benders, M. J., Kersbergen, K. J., & de Vries, L. S. (2013). <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2013.00650" target="_blank">On development of functional brain connectivity in the young brain</a>. <i>Frontiers in human neuroscience</i>, <i>7</i>, 650.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I run into an autism/connectivity paper on the first page when trying to find Hoff, so bookmarking that too: </div>
<div class="gs_citr" tabindex="0">
Belmonte, M. K., Allen, G.,
Beckel-Mitchener, A., Boulanger, L. M., Carper, R. A., & Webb, S. J.
(2004). <a href="http://www.jneurosci.org/content/24/42/9228.short" target="_blank">Autism and abnormal development of brain connectivity</a>. <i>Journal of Neuroscience</i>, <i>24</i>(42), 9228-9231.</div>
<div class="gs_citr" tabindex="0">
The introduction of that paper already annoys me with the prevention/remediation nonsense, though I appreciate how it called autism research disconnected. I kind of already knew that whenever I deal with autism-related literature, I need to grab what useful bits I can while wading through messes. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="gs_citr" tabindex="0">
Or even the ages of transitions between levels of abstraction in thought. There's some range in typical development, but that doesn't mean that neurodivergent people will fall inside those ranges. (And we may well build up the ability to do things at one level that y'all wouldn't have, because the "next" level grants it easily and you get there by the time you need it.)</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="gs_citr" tabindex="0">
Oh, and while we can point to networks that are active in certain functions, there's <i>no</i> cognitive functions whose corresponding networks are totally known, <i>even in the totally neurotypical</i>. No, I don't think I run all the same networks for everything that a neurotypical person does. There's already some autism-related evidence that I don't, and there's starting to be some aphantasia-related evidence that I don't, too. Please, please specify when you're talking about neurotypical networks and structures. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="gs_citr" tabindex="0">
Part 3 is/will be here.</div>
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</div>
Alyssahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06413844178426365789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426050656197929065.post-48712880768725801792018-11-14T07:51:00.000-05:002018-11-14T07:51:01.458-05:00Alyssa Reads Neurotechnology and Direct Brain Communication: Part 1I got <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Neurotechnology-and-Direct-Brain-Communication-New-insights-and-responsibilities/Farisco-Evers/p/book/9781138851672" target="_blank">Neurotechnology and Direct Brain Communication</a> out of my university library. (I love libraries.) I got it because I do research related to brain-computer interfaces in my graduate program, and it seemed like a directly relevant book that is in my library. I didn't realize when I took it out that it'd be as interdisciplinary as it was, but, hey, added bonus. I like mixing my fields up a bit.<br />
<br />
<div class="gs_citr" tabindex="0">
Farisco, M., & Evers, K. (Eds.). (2016). <i>Neurotechnology
and direct brain communication: New insights and responsibilities
concerning speechless but communicative subjects</i>. Routledge.</div>
<br />
<br />
Anyways. I'm reading, have some reactions from their introduction:<br />
<br />
I think the mention of how brain and mind relate, as being philosophically considered the same thing, substantially different, or somewhere in between, is a nice touch, as is the admission that science tends towards taking the two to be pretty much the same. Maybe I'll get to see more discussion related to that in later chapters? It'd be cool.<br />
<br />
One of my classmates told me that when she did research related to "motor imagery" brain computer interfaces, while most participants did <i>start</i> by imagining a certain motion, they didn't necessarily keep imagining that same motion as they kept using the system. The signal kept coming from the same place, but what they were doing to make that signal changed. I think that says something about localization.<br />
<br />
They ask if it's possible to interpret what someone is thinking directly from brain signals. Thinking as someone who does work in brain computer interfaces, I don't know if that might someday be possible, but what we have right now is nowhere near that. It's a few characters of text per minute, when things work well, which isn't always the case. (As opposed to the 60+ <i>words</i> per minute I type with my hands, or the over a hundred words per minute of typical conversational speech.)<br />
<br />
And yay paying attention to the assumptions used in neurotechnology. I like it when people recognize that technologies aren't conceptually neutral.<br />
<br />
I wonder what age range they're taking as infants, and how they're determining that infants don't understand language. Because the coordinated movements involved in speaking are an issue, and receptive language tends to be <i>way</i> ahead of expressive language for quite a bit of child development. That is, people understand more than they can say. And <i>I</i> spoke at six months. It's true that speaking at six months is unusual, but if we're doing the "interrogate assumptions" thing, we should interrogate this assumption too. Especially when it's being used to question the use of the word "communication" when applied to babies. And especially when the first chapter goes on to discuss neurological responses that suggest hearing infants <i>do</i> recognize spoken language.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
And now the first chapter:<br />
<div class="gs_citr" tabindex="0">
Lagercrantz, H. & Padilla, N. (2016).
The emergence of consciousness: from foetal to newborn life. In Farisco, M., & Evers, K (Eds.) <i>Neurotechnology and Direct Brain Communication</i> (pp. 21-34). Routledge.</div>
<div class="gs_citr" tabindex="0">
</div>
<div class="gs_citr" tabindex="0">
</div>
<br />
<br />
The authors ask what it's like to be a baby. I don't know what it's like to be a baby -- I don't remember anything from when I was that young, and even though I was talking a bit at six months, I don't think my parents asked me what it was like to be a baby. Maybe if I meet another six month old who talks, I'll ask them what it's like to be a baby.<br />
<br />
Oh no. Oh no. Early identification of "risk" for autism and then early intervention. In a world that used a model more like the <a href="https://divergentminds.org/" target="_blank">Foundation for Divergent Minds</a> one, I'd be totally cool with early identification, and early actions to support people. But I know what model is really used in early intervention, and it increases<a href="https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/AIA-08-2017-0016?journalCode=aia" target="_blank"> our risk of PTSD</a>. So, no. Here's another assumption I'd like to see challenged, thank you. <br />
<br />
Discussion of whether dreaming during REM sleep is a conscious or unconscious state is interesting. However, I do want to question the assumption that insight and self-reflection are absent during dreams. Lucid dreaming (dreaming while aware that it's a dream) is a thing, and both insight and self-reflecting are totally possible in that state.<br />
<br />
EEG and NIRS are the same technologies we tend to use in our lab, because they're portable. It's interesting to see them come up in infant studies for similar reasons.<br />
<br />
I do wonder how they're deciding certain neuronal connections are required for consciousness, as opposed to being required in order to communicate consciousness to outsiders. Those aren't the same thing. See also, "I heard it all" or "I understood it all" from people who were in comas, as well as from non-speaking autistic folks who get access to communication later.<br />
<br />
"Resting" neural activity is definitely a thing. There are always, always neurons firing in alive people. That's why, when we do neuroimaging studies, there's often a comparison between activity at rest and activity during whatever task we're asking people to do. It's because things <i>are</i> still happening when we're resting. Autonomic breathing control, for example, is still a thing. So is sensory processing. I wonder what my rest state looks like compared to that of my neurotypical classmates.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"However, dreaming is tightly linked to the ability to imagine things visually, which is less likely to occur in the foetus and extremely preterm infant." (p. 12).</blockquote>
Wait, really? People with minds eyes confuse me. My imagination doesn't get to plug into the monitor anytime other than while I'm asleep. I don't have the ability to imagine things visually when awake, and I can't make an extra layer of intentionally imagining more things visually while dreaming, either. But I do dream, and often in color. My other senses often work in dreams too -- things like taste and touch. I would never have come up with an association between dreaming and visual imagination on my own, even though "do you dream?" is one of the first questions I'm asked when I tell people I'm <a href="http://yesthattoo.blogspot.com/search/label/Aphantasia" target="_blank">aphantasiac</a> and explain what that means.<br />
<br />
There are some interesting sensory findings here. Apparently typical newborns already have some capacity for facial recognition, though their visual acuity isn't great. (I wonder if they're better at recognizing faces than I am. And at what point developmental/congenital prosopagnosia can be detected, if typical newborns already have some facial recognition. See Meltzoff, A. N. & Moore, M. K. 1977. Imitation of facial and manual gestures by human neonates. <i>Science</i>, 198, 75-8; Farroni, T. Chiarelli, A. M., Lloyd-Fox, S., Massaccesi, S., Merla, A., Di Gangi, V., Mattarello, T., Faraguna, D., & Johnson, M. H. 2013. Infant cortex responds to other humans from shortly after birth. <i>Sci Rep</i>, 3. and stuff citing them for references if I ever try to look more closely at this, I guess?)<br />
<br />
I think it's pretty cool that infants can start acquiring another language if someone reads and tells them stories in that other language. It makes sense, considering how many kids are bilingual from a young age due to immersion in multiple languages. <br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Even the preterm infant ex utero may open its eyes and establish a minimal eye contact with its mother and show other signs of conciousness like cortical responses to pain." (p. 16)</blockquote>
Wait, we're using eye contact as a sign of conciousness now? I'm too autistic for this. Nope.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://yesthattoo.blogspot.com/2018/11/alyssa-reads-neurotechnology-and-direct_5.html" target="_blank"><br /></a>
<a href="https://yesthattoo.blogspot.com/2018/11/alyssa-reads-neurotechnology-and-direct_19.htm" target="_blank">Part 2 is/will be here!</a><br />
<br />
<br />Alyssahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06413844178426365789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426050656197929065.post-69902495857415013952018-11-10T09:57:00.000-05:002018-11-10T09:57:02.998-05:00"But that won't fly in [high school/college/the working world/etc...]!"When people have somewhat unusual methods of ... doing anything, really, there are often authority figures who will try to stop it with the excuse that it won't fly in some <i>other</i> context, so it needs to be stopped in this one, too.<br />
<br />
It's bullshit.<br />
<br />
First, different contexts are different. A K-12 classroom is not a university classroom is not a construction site is not a factory floor is not an online chatroom is not a floor full of cubicles is not a ballroom. Just because I shouldn't waltz on a construction site, that doesn't mean you should tell me not to waltz in a ballroom because it wouldn't fly on a construction site. Just because some people will (incorrectly) assume my iso headphones (noise reduction, but not cancelling or music) mean I'm not paying attention, that doesn't mean I shouldn't wear them on a factory floor or at a construction site. It doesn't actually mean I should skip them at school or in an office, either. It's an assistive tool for sensory processing issues, and<i> </i>willful continued misinterpretations once I explain that to you once are <i>not my problem</i>. <br />
<br />
Second, the context you cite may well consider the unusual method a non-issue. Some people like to tell me that being nonbinary might sound cool on the internet, but at work no one would tolerate that. They're just wrong. I use "they/them" pronouns and either "Mx." or no honorific at all as a teacher. I do the same as a graduate student. I get asked about it on occasion, but <i>it's a non-issue</i>. Your statement that it won't fly in [insert other context here] may well just be <i>wrong</i>. Others would like to tell me that sitting on the floor or under tables won't be tolerated later, so kids with disabilities need to be <a href="https://juststimming.wordpress.com/2011/10/05/quiet-hands/" target="_blank">table-ready as a first priority</a>, ahead of things like <a href="https://yesthattoo.blogspot.com/2018/10/im-apparently-aac-talk-example.html" target="_blank">getting communication supports</a>. I sit under <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/gradhacker/disabled-grad-school-informal-accommodations" target="_blank">an actual literal table</a> when I have to go into the lab in graduate school. No one cares. <br />
<br />
Third, <i>even if</i> the people in this other context have an issue, have you considered the possibility that they're wrong to do so? The administrators at a university where I studied abroad were of the opinion that I shouldn't come, because "people like that shouldn't be in college." (People like that meant autistic people, in this case.) I feel OK assuming just about any <i>specific</i> autistic trait they took issue with was a cover for them not wanting autistic students at all. Or a rock climbing instructor takes an issue with <a href="https://timetolisten.blogspot.com/2012/05/badd-2012-update-on-fights-we-fight.html" target="_blank">flapping (without letting go of the person on the wall!) and being left-handed</a>. They're just wrong. Why are you backing up their wrong-ness?<br />
<br />
Different environments have different expectations for <i>actual reasons</i>, they might not have the expectations you'd think they have, and other people are just as capable of having bullshit expectations as we are. "That wouldn't fly at work, so I'm not letting it fly in my classroom" is not a good argument. Alyssahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06413844178426365789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426050656197929065.post-67625078701514770312018-11-02T18:31:00.001-04:002018-11-02T18:31:58.639-04:00In defense of "microlabels"This is about being an online math teacher, or a graduate teaching assistant, or a physics lab assistant, and it's about being a panromantic asexual nonbinary (or just queer.) <br />
<br />
I'm a teacher. When people ask me what I do, I can say I teach. Sometimes they'll want more details, sometimes they won't.<br />
<br />
I'm queer. Sometimes people want more detail than that, and sometimes they won't. Sometimes I'll give it to them, and sometimes I won't.<br />
<br />
I can tell you that I teach mathematics. I can tell you I'm pan, or that I'm bi. (I consider both statements to be true of me.)<br />
<br />
I can tell you that I teach online. I can tell you that I'm ace.<br />
<br />
Or maybe I can tell you that I teach online math classes. I'm panromantic and asexual.<br />
<br />
I taught in a lab. I'm transgender.<br />
<br />
More specifically, I was an assistant in that lab. More specifically, I'm nonbinary.<br />
<br />
I've been a lab assistant at 天津师范大学 (Tianjin Normal University), and at the University of Rhode Island. My autism <i>does</i> affect how I do gender, so gendervague is a word I sometimes use to describe exactly how I'm nonbinary.<br />
<br />
Obviously, teaching experiences, gender, and sexuality aren't identical. However, when <i>you specifically</i> don't need to know that I did one of my lab assistant jobs in Chinese, you probably aren't going to tell me that it's divisive for me to specify that much, or that I'm just a special snowflake, or anything in that area. People <i>do</i> say that when I come up with words like gendervague.<br />
<br />
Not every detail of who I am is going to matter to every person. That's fine. <i>You</i> might not care that I assisted a physics lab in China, using Mandarin. My supervisor in the electrical engineering lab does, because she speaks Mandarin too, and it's useful for her to know I understand the language.<i> You </i>might not care that I'm gendervague. Another reader, themselves autistic, questioning their gender, and wondering if they just might not "get" gender, could find the existence of the word useful. My issue comes up when sharing those details in a mixed audience, where
some people will find those extra details to be of interest, is met with
outright hostility from the people who don't need them.<br />
<br />
Just because it's not information <i>you</i> need, that doesn't mean it's a useless word. Alyssahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06413844178426365789noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426050656197929065.post-57991454911915841202018-10-24T17:17:00.000-04:002018-10-24T17:17:01.666-04:00I'm apparently an #AAC talk example.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I took a class on augmentative and alternative communication in fall 2017. It was a tiny class, with only three students, which made it practically an independent study. Pretty early on in the class, I watched <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzT2Bq5F2O4" target="_blank">this video</a>.<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This quote stuck out, just a few minutes in. “Sometimes we find ourselves on the
floor or under a desk because that's where somebody wants to be.” The context? The speaker is talking about how there aren't <i>any</i> prerequisites for AAC use, including behavioral prerequisites. </div>
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I laughed, and then I got worried.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I laughed because <i>I </i>spend quite a bit of time on the floor, possibly under a desk. I hung out under my cloak, under the table, before my measure theory (graduate math class) final exam. I tend to sit on the floor when given the choice. People in the wearable biosensing lab (the lab my major professor runs) don't just know to look for me under a table if I'm in the lab. They know <i>which</i> table I'll be under with my laptop and whatever I'm reading, or with whatever object I'm doing emergency sewing on. My advisor is quite used to the fact that I sit on the floor during my meetings with him. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Essentially, I represent this statement. I <i>am</i> the student who is often on the floor or under a desk. I'm also studying for my PhD in neuroscience and passed my comprehensive exams last week, so I'm generally not in too much danger of being denied access to communication based on behavioral prerequisites. (I am at risk of being denied access to communication based on the fact that I can <i>usually</i> speak well, so people could assume I'm faking when I need AAC. That's a problem, but it's a different one.)<br />
<br />
My worry is for the people who <i>are</i> in danger of being denied access to communication based on ideas about prerequisites. I understand what it means that a kid hanging out under a desk is the example given here. I have to assume people have been denied access to communication systems for "behavioral" reasons including a tendency to sit on the floor or under desks. I even have to assume this is <i>common</i>. Otherwise, there would be no need to explain: yes, you can get on the floor or under a desk while working on communication supports, if that's where someone wants to be.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
That's scary. I know my making it through school has a lot to do with my being passed off with the idea that "gifted kids are weird." I know how easily it could have gone differently. I've written before about one way it could have gone wrong: <a href="http://yesthattoo.blogspot.com/2013/03/on-failing-kindergarten.html" target="_blank">failing special education kindergarten</a>. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
What about all the people where it <i>did</i> go differently? What about all the people for whom it's <i>still</i> going differently? </div>
</div>
Alyssahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06413844178426365789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426050656197929065.post-89789893522406615512018-09-16T08:16:00.001-04:002018-09-16T08:16:41.976-04:00Five MealsHi all, long time no see, time for a "meet the blogger" type post to see if I can get myself writing. (It's been a rough year, and not <i>just</i> because of the political situation. Though being scared of that makes things much harder.) Anyways.<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
1) my moms chicken noodle soup<br />
2) 拉面 (la/lo mian/mein), as done at small places in large Chinese cities<br />
3) Mac and cheese with cayenne and tuna<br />
4) Lamb vindaloo<br />
5) Three layer chocolate cake with chocolate whipped cream frosting I make for my birthday <a href="https://t.co/X5xlOYRIOU">https://t.co/X5xlOYRIOU</a></div>
— Alyssa (@yes_thattoo) <a href="https://twitter.com/yes_thattoo/status/1036980886913404928?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 4, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><br />
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>That's the short version. Food is an important part of culture, and of who we are. That's true of both the special foods (that cake!) and the everyday (mac and cheese). Here's the explained version of why I think each of these five dishes tells you something about me. <br />
<br />
<ol>
<li> Mom's chicken noodle soup means home, and it means comfort. When I get sick, this is what I want to be eating. It's a very concentrated broth (sometimes made by starting with store-bought chicken broth and <i>then</i> boiling the chicken in it) made entirely with legs and thighs instead of a whole chicken. Noodles are done separately so they don't get soggy, and so mom and I can have different soup:noodle ratios. I basically want a bowl of noodles and chicken with a few pieces of vegetables, barely covered by broth. (My non-Jewish stepmother actually makes a more "traditional" Jewish chicken noodle soup than my Jewish mother does, but that's because my mom modified the recipe so <i>we'd</i> like it better.)<br /></li>
<li>拉面 is something I ate a lot of every time I studied in China. It's a noodle soup, but Chinese instead of traditionally Jewish. Long, thin noodles in broth, with some shaved meat (beef, where I got it), some vegetables, and a pot of spicy oil available somewhere if you wanted to make it spicy. At the place on campus at 浙江大学 (Zhejiang University), there were just the two options, a small bowl or a large bowl. Most other places where I ate this had a variety of noodle dishes, but this is the one that was already familiar. It was also the cheapest, and I was a student.<br /></li>
<li>Mac and cheese with cayenne and tuna: Think boxed macaroni and cheese, but we buy our own cheddar cheese powder in bulk so it's not <i>technically</i> box mac and cheese. It's the same basic recipe, but heavier on the cheese, butter, and milk (whole milk!), and then we add some extra spices and put tuna in it. Cayenne is the main extra spice. When I get queasy, this is one of my safe foods. I'm aware that's weird, but it works. (When I was in Tianjin and couldn't cook, I put noodles in my basket at local 麻辣烫 place for my safe option of "absurdly spicy noodles." At restaurants in the US that have it, a seafood alfredo is usually as close as I can get, and will be my order if I'm queasy.)<br /></li>
<li>Lamb vindaloo. From my sophomore through senior years of high school, I was on the Eastern Massachusetts team for <a href="http://www.arml2.com/arml_2018/page/index.php?page_type=public&page=home" target="_blank">American Regions Math League</a>. (Well, the E team for it. We sent three teams and went A, E, B for some reason that I never understood and never really asked about.) While we were in Pennsylvania for the competition, I went to an Indian restaurant with some of my teammates. I forget what I got. A teammate with <i>no</i> spice tolerance got vindaloo. I finished his vindaloo, and it has been my favorite Indian dish since. <br /></li>
<li>Three layer chocolate cake with chocolate whipped cream frosting I make for my birthday. I got the recipe from my dad, who also makes it for <i>his</i> birthday. He makes it for one of my sister's birthdays too. We all have the same favorite chocolate cake. The recipe comes from a book of chocolate desserts. When I make it, I use a darker chocolate and slightly more of it than the recipe says, and we all take it out of the oven a bit earlier than the suggested time so as to get the suggested texture. </li>
</ol>
<ol>
</ol>
Alyssahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06413844178426365789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426050656197929065.post-74532266998437561272018-06-27T20:37:00.000-04:002018-06-27T20:44:22.225-04:00"They aren't having communication breakdowns"I've heard plenty of arguments about why AAC isn't needed. Thankfully, I hear most of them in the context of people explaining what they do when they encounter them, rather than the context of people trying to tell me not to type to communicate. Today, Dana Neider, the blogger behind <a href="http://niederfamily.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Uncommon Sense</a>, gave the <a href="https://presenters.aacconference.com/videos/UVRFd1FURTQ=" target="_blank">keynote for AAC in the Cloud</a> today. She mentioned one that I hadn't heard before and I wasn't really expecting to encounter. <br />
<br />
“They aren't having communication breakdowns.”<br />
<br />
Now, I've studied a foreign language. I suspect many, if not most, of you have as well. I took Mandarin Chinese for 11 years (ages 11-21), and spent a total of a year, including the entire last academic year of study, in China. By the <a href="https://www.actfl.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/public/ACTFLProficiencyGuidelines2012_FINAL.pdf" target="_blank">definitions set by the American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Language</a>, I reached Superior proficiency for reading, writing, and listening, and Advanced High for speaking. This was hard work! Guess what's in the explanation of the Advanced High proficiency level? That's right. Occasional breakdowns that are based in language proficiency. (They don't talk as much about breakdowns that happen for other reasons.) <br />
<br />
The next level up, Superior, is supposed to be equivalent to a college educated native speaker in terms of what you can say. (We're not expected to actually sound like one. Accents exist and every culture has its own common expressions.) So. One step down from a college educated native speaker, we're still talking about occasional language proficiency related communication breakdowns. And you want me to believe a K-12 student never has any? Sorry, but no. I don't buy that. I've met kids ever in my life. Heck, I've been a kid ever in my life.<br />
<br />
Or. I'm a teacher. Trying to explain new concepts to people is literally my job. Do I use more than just speech to do this? Absolutely. (I presented at this same conference, <a href="https://presenters.aacconference.com/videos/UXpFNVFURTQ=" target="_blank">about AAC in the classroom, for teachers who need AAC.</a>) Do I experience communication breakdowns in the classroom on occasion? Again, absolutely. Of course I do. Students aren't sure what question I'm asking them. I'm not certain what question they're asking me. Communication issues always, always, have at least two sides. It's neither just me nor just them. If a tool can help either side, or both sides, repair the breakdown, still take it.<br />
<br />
Besides, can you honestly say no one's ever misunderstood what you were trying to tell them? In the last few days, weeks, months, have you never been misunderstood, or misunderstood someone else? No one even got your coffee order wrong? Really? Because I got asked if I wanted a hamburger, and then got handed a cheeseburger when I said yes. I eat hamburgers, but not cheeseburgers (texture issues.) That's a communication breakdown right there. AAC wasn't required in order to fix it, but it happened. <br />
<br />
So. We've established pretty well that I am 100% certain the person making this argument is wrong, not just in their conclusion, but in their premise. I don't think they're lying, but they're incorrect. Their student or client is absolutely experiencing communication breakdowns. Why don't they know?<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Their client or student doesn't have the needed communication access in order to say they're having communication breakdowns. I know, from experience, that if I need to use speech in real time, I'm not going to be able to correct most misunderstandings. It's just not going to happen. So you might not even know there was a misunderstanding. Give me AAC and I have a shot. Which, of course, now means you know there was a problem. That's actually progress!</li>
<li>They've learned from experience that trying to repair communication breakdowns isn't worth it. Have you ever decided not to address a misunderstanding because you thought it wasn't worth it, or that it wouldn't work anyways? I know I have. And yes, I've done it in an educational context, with points for a class on the line. This past fall, even. In an environment where I had access to AAC and could totally have typed for the conversation. I didn't think it was worth the time or energy it would take, so I let it slide. Imagine that attempts to repair communication breakdowns mostly haven't worked in the past. How often are you going to try, even if the option is available?</li>
</ol>
<br />
Neither of these are reasons to skip the AAC. The first is actually a reason to provide it. The second … AAC won't fix this problem. However, if communication needs not being met was part of why past attempts at correcting misunderstandings didn't work, proper access to communication (likely including AAC) can have an effect on the decision-making process here. That doesn't mean they'll always decide to tell you about misunderstandings. Do you try to correct every misunderstanding you ever encounter? Or do you let some things slide, especially if you don't know someone well or don't trust them to change their mind even given the proper information? Besides, plenty of disabled people have reason to <a href="https://www.realsocialskills.org/blog/if-you-want-me-to-believe-youre-a-good?rq=behaviorist" target="_blank">mistrust therapists</a>. We <a href="https://www.realsocialskills.org/blog/a-behavior-modification-aftermath" target="_blank">might not want you to have the "correct" information</a>! So providing AAC may or may not lead to you <i>knowing</i> about communication breakdowns when they happen, but if you think there aren't any, that just means you're missing them.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>TL;DR: Everyone has communication breakdowns sometimes. If you think your client or student doesn't, that means you're not finding out about them. Maybe they literally can't tell you for communication access reasons, or maybe they've decided it's not worth trying to repair the breakdown. Make AAC available anyways.</b><br />
<br />Alyssahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06413844178426365789noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426050656197929065.post-78028130402747876512018-06-07T09:04:00.001-04:002018-11-29T19:28:04.077-05:00Assigned "friends" and unintended lessons<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I often hear about things like "assigned friends" and "friends of the day" in disability contexts. It creeps me the heck out.<br />
<br />
Essentially, a student who is presumed to be abled is assigned, in some fashion, to a classmate who is presumed to be disabled, is new to the class when no one else is, or is presumed to "need help with social skills." Sometimes this means the person is assigned to be their partner (or in their group) for any partner and group activities that happen that day. Sometimes it means the person is assigned to sit with them at lunch, or play with them at recess. Sometimes it means the person is assigned to assist with some disability-related task (which makes me wonder if saving money on aides and services is part of the rationale here.) Sometimes it's a combination of these things.<br />
<br />
I've actually been both the assigned friend and the person to whom friends are assigned, at different points. Neither was good. I learned things from both that were ... probably not what I was supposed to learn from either. Or at least, not what the teachers would have claimed I was supposed to learn. So, in no particular order, here's some things I learned that they probably didn't <i>mean</i> to teach me this way.<br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>School bullies, like all other abusers, know how to be sneaky</b>. Do I think the teachers meant to assign my bully to be my friend? Or me to be my bully's friend? No on both counts. (Yeah, the kid I was assigned to the one time I was the presumed abled kid in this equation was also a bully. Disabled people aren't immune to being bullies ourselves.) But it happened, because bullies know how to be sneaky. And yes, I had a bully who requested that she be "assigned" to me as a friend in order to get and stay closer.<br /><b><br /></b></li>
<li><b>Playing alone at recess isn't an option</b>. These "friends" tended to get
assigned more after I had been playing alone on the swings or alone
looking for (and finding!) four leaf clovers at recess. Or running laps
around the field. Yes, really. I ran laps around the field alone at
recess for most of fourth grade, because my <i>actual</i> friends a year
below me didn't have recess at the same time I did anymore. This got me
assigned so-called friends in my own grade a few times. The assigned
friends were not usually people I had common interests with and were often
people who bullied me when the teachers couldn't see. I did have one
actual friend in my grade, but he was never my "assigned" friend.<br /></li>
<li>Since "friends" are the people who are basically assigned to put up with me, <b>anyone who's spending time with me is probably just putting up with me</b>. They don't actually like me. Yes, this is a factor in my social anxiety. I'm not alone in learning this lesson about friendships, and <a href="http://timetolisten.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-cost-of-indistinguishability-is.html" target="_blank">teaching indistinguishability</a> as a goal can teach this lesson too.<br /></li>
<li><b>I don't get to decide for myself who my friends are.</b>
"Friends" are whoever I'm told to be friends with, or whoever is told to
be friends with me. So not only do I not get to decide who I'd like to
be friends with (not the kids who would <i>ever</i> get assigned as friends, by the way), but I also don't get to decide who I'd rather <i>avoid</i>. </li>
</ul>
Teachers don't think about the effects of further singling out the "weird" kids. Or they don't care. Look, if you are 1) assigning kids to be closer to their bullies and 2) pointing out who the weird kid was <i>at the same time</i>, you either don't know or don't care that this is going to make the bullying worse. Those are the options. I am giving you the benefit of the doubt when I assume you don't know.<ul style="text-align: left;">
</ul>
So, are these the lessons you want to teach? </div>
Alyssahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06413844178426365789noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426050656197929065.post-79564353012459391282018-05-23T20:15:00.000-04:002018-05-23T20:15:22.779-04:00I'd rather see a student psychologist. Really<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I'm in therapy right now. I have been (in this iteration) since late January, both dealing with deaths in the family (<i>three</i> this semester, one of which hit me harder than most - that was my grandfather near the start of January) and trying to get something resembling a handle on my anxiety. On the to-do list is gender-related stuff, eventually, since I <i>do</i> have some physical dysphoria in addition to the social stuff. But that's not the point. The point is that I actually prefer to have a student as my therapist, and there are a few reasons.<br />
<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Students are usually less confident. That might seem like a disadvantage, and I suppose it could be for some people, but in my case it's important. I am very good at being an outlier. Someone who is confident in their expectation that things that work for most people will work for me ... is not going to be a good match, because they are often going to be confidently <i>wrong</i>. <br /></li>
<li>Students knowledge is as up to date as it is ever likely to be. It's a reality of graduate school that we <i>have</i> to be reading a lot of recent research. It's a reality of regular practice in most fields, including psychology, that people don't have time to be reading that much recent research. There are, of course, exceptions, but in general your best bet for the most up to date information is a current graduate student.<br /></li>
<li>Those two things combine to increase the likelihood that students have heard of neurodiversity and are at least open to the idea. I'm not actually the one who brought up neurodiversity in my sessions, because my initial focus was on grief. My autism was only relevant in the way it's always relevant: the way my brain is wired up affects how I process literally everything, including grief. At some point it was relevant and the therapist I'd been seeing asked me if I'd "heard of" neurodiversity. (I think this must have been the day I my ability to speak went out part way through the session and I switched over to typing, because I <i>didn't</i> burst out laughing immediately.) Yes. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpCcWKYnSL8" target="_blank">Yes, I have heard of neurodiversity</a>. <br /></li>
<li>The psychological consultation center on my campus doesn't take insurance, but it runs on a sliding scale based on income, <i>and</i> sessions are $5 for students. That's cheaper than co-pays even on most good insurance. </li>
</ol>
Between these factors, I'd really rather go to a clinic where students are being supervised. Folks there are more likely to be a reasonably good match for me.</div>
Alyssahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06413844178426365789noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426050656197929065.post-53486659988136180492018-05-14T14:44:00.000-04:002018-05-14T14:44:00.591-04:00Not the way you mean<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In my experience, a lot of questions get asked as proxies for other
questions. Sometimes the two questions have different answers. Most of
the times I can think of this happening have been somewhat medical.
Which might be its own pattern, or might be because I notice/remember it
more when the difference matters more. I'm not certain.<br />
<br />
Example the first: Have you fallen in the last six months?<br />
<br />
Every
time a doctor has asked me this, they've wanted to know if I have
balance issues (kinda, but they're not getting <i>worse</i>). They may or may not have appreciated being told that
when a beginner ice skater crashed into me from behind, I did hit the
ice. They may or may not have appreciated being told that my brother
successfully tackled me during a backyard football game. They may or may
not have appreciated hearing that I wiped out once on a week long ski
trip. Whether or not they appreciated my precision in answering <i>the question they actually asked</i>,
it's not the information they were really looking for. Mostly, I'm a clumsy person who tries to athlete anyways.<br />
<br />
Example the second: Have you had any bruises where you don't know where they came from?<br />
<br />
Bruises without having some sort of noticeable physical impact or injury first can be a sign of a bunch of health issues. If we have bruises and don't know where they came from, that's a possible explanation. In my case, a bruise that I don't know the exact source of is actually a bruise where I can't tell you which of the assorted desks, walls, chairs, tables, or poles I clipped my hip on actually left the bruise. It is <i>over</i>-explained, not unexplained, but I technically don't know where it came from.<br />
<br />
Example the third: Have you been convinced something is wrong with a food or beverage when everyone around you says it's fine?<br />
<br />
This
was at a psychology intake. Given the context, I'm reasonably certain
she wanted to know about paranoia. Here's the thing. I have <i>sensory processing issues</i>. Most people around me think scrambled eggs are food, but the texture means I disagree. Strongly.<br />
<br />
Example
the fourth: Have you ever been convinced something was medically wrong
when the tests were coming back fine and the doctor said you were fine?<br />
<br />
Psychology intake again, probably about paranoia again, but let's be real: this <i>also</i> happens to most people with a chronic illness at some point, and they (we) are <i>100% correct that something is actually wrong</i>. Also, I have an 8 year old dent in my shin that wants you to know doctors can miss broken bones on X-rays.<br />
<br />
Example the fifth: Have you ever heard things that other people around you did not hear?<br />
<br />
Psychology intake <i>still</i>,
standard question I'm pretty sure. They've asked me that every time
I've had an intake. Yes. I hear things other people around me don't
hear. It's called being 25 and still being able to hear up to 20000 hertz. In combination with sensory processing
issues, this is <i>really</i> not fun, because that sound that I am
experiencing significant pain from is completely outside the range
anyone around me can still hear. Ow. It's not an auditory hallucination,
though.</div>
Alyssahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06413844178426365789noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426050656197929065.post-4243885269243103612017-12-04T00:00:00.000-05:002017-12-04T00:00:01.262-05:00What if they're stimming with the device?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In response to the fact that <a href="https://yesthattoo.blogspot.com/2017/11/self-regulation-aac-access-and.html" target="_blank"><i>it is not OK to take someone's communication device away, ever</i></a>, apparently it is common to ask, what if the person is stimming and (we assume) that's interfering with communication.<br />
<br />
There are a few points I want to make in response to that. Some I've seen elsewhere. Some, less so.<br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>What would you do if a kid was vocally stimming, with their natural voice, and you thought that was impeding their communication? Still not taking away their voice, right? Even if <i>you</i> think they're doing something noncommunicative with their voice, you're still taking their voice in that example. Never means <i>never</i>. (This is mentioned in the <a href="http://praacticalaac.org/praactical/stimming-or-learning-considerations-for-kids-who-repeat-themselves-with-aac/" target="_blank">PrAACtical AAC post</a>, but it was also my <i>immediate</i> gut reaction.)<br /></li>
<ul>
<li>Or what would you do if you heard me stimming with my AAC device? Cause yeah, I'm an adult and you know I can communicate and all, but I do that sometimes. Would you consider taking my device? I'm kind of assuming it's a no there because the idea that you might try is a bit too scary for me to look at right now, but <i>why</i> wouldn't you do that to me, if you would to them? (This is somewhat an explanation to my immediate gut reaction.)<br /></li>
</ul>
<li>Keep in mind that communicative echolalia is a thing. In my experience ... yeah, sometimes repeating words or sounds because it feels good is a thing but there's often a meaning. (<a href="http://yesthattoo.blogspot.com/2013/06/echolalia-gets-me-pickles-autistic.html" target="_blank">pickles pickles pickles pickles pickles resulted in my getting pickles, in college</a>. It was also stimmy, as a side bonus.) For those looking for citations on the communicative functions of echolalia, Barry Prizant did some work on that (Prizant & Duchan, 1981; Prizant & Rydell, 1984). I don't trust him on the whole, remember my reactions to <i>Uniquely Human</i>, but communicative functions of echolalia is a useful thing he did.<br /></li>
<li>Echolalia, repeating words and phrases is <i>also</i> how a lot of autistic people <a href="http://www.speakforyourself.org/uncategorized/what-your-child-on-the-autism-spectrum-may-not-be-able-to-tell-you-yet/" target="_blank"><i>learn language</i> in the first place</a>. The thing that is how we learn language is not actually a barrier to communication and if this is what's going on, your assumption that this is a barrier to communication is just wrong. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200.<br /></li>
<li>Also, is the babbling stage a thing with AAC use? Cause it usually is with oral speech and it's not successful communication yet but it has to happen in order to get to successful communication later. Exploring language and using it in unexpected ways is part of learning language. (This shows up in the <a href="http://praacticalaac.org/praactical/stimming-or-learning-considerations-for-kids-who-repeat-themselves-with-aac/" target="_blank">PrAACtical AAC post</a>.)<br /></li>
<li>Stimming is great. I am usually stimming in some way. It's not usually vocal because that's just not what tends to work for me, but I am usually stimming. Hence, <a href="http://yesthattoo.blogspot.com/2017/05/lets-talk-about-fidget-spinners-and.html" target="_blank">fidget spinners</a> and blanket pieces. The fact that a person is, in fact, stimming <i>does not mean you should stop them from doing whatever it is they're doing to stim</i>. Suggesting alternative ways of stimming can be OK under some circumstances, but seriously, "they're stimming" doesn't mean "they should stop." Similarly, "it's echolalia" doesn't mean "they should stop." </li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Academicy Citations</div>
<br />
Prizant, B. M., & Duchan, J. F. (1981). The functions of immediate echolalia in autistic children. <i>Journal of speech and hearing disorders</i>, 46(3), 241-249.<br />
Prizant, B. M., & Rydell, P. J. (1984). Analysis of functions of delayed echolalia in autistic children. <i>Journal of speech and hearing research</i>, 27(2), 183-192.<br />
<br /></div>
Alyssahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06413844178426365789noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426050656197929065.post-1111337959406345112017-11-30T00:00:00.000-05:002017-11-30T00:00:13.996-05:00Self-regulation, AAC access, and arguments that should not need to be<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One of the big things with augmentative and alternative communication devices is that you're <i>not supposed to take the device away</i> from the person who uses it. The idea that you <i>don't do that</i> came up in the AAC class I'm taking this semester. The reason that came up is a bit different from the visceral, <i>that's how I talk wtf</i> reaction I have as a part time AAC user, but it came up.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The video was, "<span style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 23px;">AAC
in the Classroom for Students with Significant Disabilities: A
Progression Strategy From BIGmack to SoundingBoard and Beyond!" It can be found on <a href="https://www.ablenetinc.com/" target="_blank">AbleNet</a> under Ablenet university webinars, registration required but free. </span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;">This quote led me to respond.</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“<span style="font-style: normal;">The only time they get a voice is
when you give it to them. You need to leave the device with them so they
start learning self-control.” </span></span></span></blockquote>
I suppose a student could have a self-control issue? Here's the thing: you have no way of <i>knowing</i> if that's an issue, if taking away the device has been a thing, because a person's natural self-regulation doesn't apply so well in scarcity, <i>even if they already have the ability to regulate themselves</i>. It's not just about regulating myself -- it's also about not knowing if the thing will remain available. If I think someone else might finish the chocolate cake before I get any, I'm going to go for it when I'm not quite as hungry (and haven't had quite as much of the healthier options) than when I know it'll still be there if I wait. The same principle applies with talking: say everything you can, <i>while you know you can</i>.<br />
<br />
Scarcity over time absolutely can mess up any self-regulation that's been learned, too. Even if teaching self-control is a concern here, it's not always so much, "leave the device with them so they learn self-control." Sometimes it's, "leave the device with them so you don't destroy whatever self-control they <i>have</i>."<br />
<br />
That's all besides my main issue: I've never heard anyone use the need for a <i>speaking</i> person to learn self-control as the reason they don't tape this person's mouth shut. Most people seem to get that taping someone's mouth shut is not OK. (Most, not all. In the context of really nasty abuse, it happens, and be warned if you <a href="http://www.nbc-2.com/story/36756960/teacher-taped-shut-mouth-of-student-with-cerebral-palsy-lawsuit-says" target="_blank">decide to look at the details</a>.) Most people don't <i>need</i> a self-control argument in order to understand that taping someone's mouth shut is unacceptable.<br />
<br />
An argument about the need to teach self-control shouldn't be needed here, either. <b>If we have to consider teaching self-regulation (a useful skill, to be sure!) as an argument for why we shouldn't be taking away a person's communication access, things have already gone badly wrong.</b></div>
Alyssahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06413844178426365789noreply@blogger.com1