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Letter to Stranger Who Helped Autistic Child Goes Viral
A mother of an autistic daughter wrote an open letter on her blog thanking a stranger who chatted with her child on a plane. The letter has gone viral, and even reached the stranger to whom it was addressed, ‘Dear ‘Daddy’ in in Seat 16C Flight 1850 From Philly’. Read more about it in The Independent.
“You could have shifted uncomfortably in your seat. You could have ignored her. You could have given me that ‘smile’ that I despise because it means; ‘manage your child please.’ You did none of that. You engaged Kate in conversation and you asked her questions about her turtles. She could never really answer your questions but she was so enamored by you that she keep eye contact and joint attention on the items you were asking her about. I watched and smiled. I made a few polite offers to distract her, but you would have none of it.“ [excerpt from the letter]
Why Your Memories Are Wrong
GlowCap Reminds You to Take Your Pills
It’s not uncommon for autistics to be on a range of medication and supplements, and remembering when to take what (and whether you’ve already taken it) can be quite a challenge. GlowCap takes the guesswork out of pill-popping, and even sends reminders to your cellphone. See the video below to find out more.
Adult ASD: Self-diagnosis or Professional Diagnosis?
[content reblogged]
Part 5 in the I Think I Might Be Autistic Series
Whether you choose to seek a diagnosis or not is a personal decision. As an adult, there’s a good chance you don’t need a diagnosis. You’ve done your research, come to the conclusion that you’re on the spectrum and that’s good enough for you.
This is commonly known as self-diagnosis and when done correctly, it’s largely a well-respected approach in the ASD community. The primary reason? Getting an official diagnosis as an adult is difficult:
- Asperger’s Syndrome and autism present differently in adults than in children. Finding someone trained and experienced in adult diagnosis can be challenging.
- Many adults face numerous misdiagnoses before getting correctly diagnosed with Asperger’s or autism.
- Women in particular are often misdiagnosed because they present differently than male aspies on whom the traditional model is based.
- Diagnosis can be expensive and an adult evaluation isn’t…
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Musical Interlude: Ode to Joy – Opera Babes & Andre Rieu
Probiotics Alleviate Autism-Like Symptoms in Mice
Many autistics also suffer from intestinal problems, such as poor digestion that fails to absorb some nutrients and allows toxins to enter the bloodstream. Researchers at Caltech explored the link between gut issues and autism by inducing autism-like symptoms in mice (by giving their mothers a viral infection), then feeding the ‘autistic’ mice probiotics to improve gut function. The mice showed improvement in their mental symptoms, suggesting that some forms of autism may result from imbalanced gut bacteria. The researchers plan to try the same experiment on human subjects; but for the time being, caution against generalising the results of the mice experiment to autism in humans, which may have a variety of causes. Read more about it at EureKalert.
Singer Susan Boyle Diagnosed With Asperger’s
“Asperger’s affects social interaction and communication skills, and sometimes hinders the ability to form relationships and gauge appropriate behaviour in different social contexts. Boyle, who was called “Susie Simple” while growing up in her home town of Blackburn, West Lothian, was bullied as a child because she was “different” from her classmates. Now she can give that difference a name.” [quote from the article below]
Read more about it at Guardian.com.
4 Seconds of Silence is Enough to Make a Conversation Awkward
According to researchers in Holland, it only takes four seconds of silence in a conversation for participants to feel a sense of rejection. This is useful to know if you’re autistic, because we have trouble understanding non-verbal cues, and sometimes neglect to make proper eye contact or maintain a consistent flow of conversation. Autistics tend to do better with clearly stated rules like ‘say something within 4 seconds’. Morale of the story – keep talking (focus positively on the other person and ask open-ended questions)! Read more about it at Time.
Can your brain’s feelings hurt your body, too?
Researchers at UCLA have found that social rejection can increase the severity of physical pain. In an experiment in 2006, Dr. Naomi Eisenberger asked subjects to rate the intensity of their physical pain from a standardised heat stimulus, then play a computer game in which some of them experienced social rejection (by being left out of the game by other players). The participants who were left out reported 67% more social distress, and also higher pain ratings on the standardised heat test. Since autistics often suffer social rejection, they may experience physical pain more acutely then the average person. Read more about it at the Lumosity Blog.
DESIGN FOR ASD 
