Sleep can be a problem for someone with ASD, given our susceptibility to sensory overload. This video from goop shows how the comfy beds are made at the famous Connaught Hotel in London. I like that they don’t overdo it with bed coverings, just a good duvet. The Connaught style is something you can very much do at home for a good night’s sleep.
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Wallet TrackR
Absent-mindedness or ‘brain fog’ comes with many autistic conditions. I’m constantly losing my umbrella, and occasionally forget to bring my wallet with me. The Wallet TrackR is a card-sized electronic tag that works with your iphone, and alerts you when you’re separated from the tag, which can be attached to just about anything (or placed in your wallet). It’s currently on pre-order at Indiegogo.
Deep Brain Stimulation Improves Autistic Boy’s Symptoms
ScienceNews reports that electrical stimulation through electrodes planted deep in the brain of a severely autistic boy appeared to alleviate some of his symptoms:
The boy in the study, who was 13 at the time of his experimental surgery, suffered from severe autism symptoms: He couldn’t talk or make eye contact, woke up screaming repeatedly during the night, and habitually injured himself so badly that his parents restrained him almost constantly to protect him. Multiple rounds of psychiatric drugs failed to stave off his worsening symptoms.
In an effort to help him, doctors led by Volker Sturm of the University Hospital of Cologne in Germany implanted electrodes into the boy’s brain. Through trial and error, the doctors realized that stimulating a part of the amygdala, a brain structure important for emotions and memory, improved the boy’s symptoms. Stimulating other brain areas had no effect or worsened his symptoms.
After eight weeks of continuous electrical stimulation, the boy shifted on a clinical scale that measures irritability from “severely ill” to “moderately ill.” The boy also improved on a scale that measures autism symptoms. He began to make eye contact and was better able to control his behavior.
[Source: ScienceNews]
Nice Watch Site: Worn & Wound
If you’re into classy but not-too-pricey timepieces, why not check out Worn & Wound? I like the focus on interesting, lesser-known brands that you don’t have to be a drug lord to afford. The overall site-design is also pretty autistic-friendly, easy to navigate and easy on the eyes too. The articles are well-written and video reviews well-made, worth checking out if (like me) you’re the visual type.
worn&wound is your resource for reviews and commentary on beautifully designed, well crafted and affordable watches. Both watch enthusiasts and new collectors will discover something new through in-depth discussions, beautiful original photography, video reviews, guides and much more. At worn&wound, we celebrate the entire breadth of the watch industry from the largest swiss brand to the smallest independent. We see watches not just as mechanical wonders but as the quintessential accessory to a design and fashion conscious lifestyle.
[From the site]
Dance Interlude: Dance Like Nobody’s Watching – Airport
Musical Interlude: Buddy Guy – Damn Right I’ve Got the Blues
Musical Interlude: Richard Marx – Endless Summer Nights (Acoustic)
Mirror Watch
Because people on the autistic spectrum tend to lack the ability to ‘mirror’ other people’s body language, autistics often have trouble making the right facial expressions on cue. If you have this problem, it may help to check your facial expressions in a mirror, but using a mirror discreetly can be a challenge. I get around the problem by using a mirror watch. It’s basically a mirror on your wrist (the time only shows if you press a button). That way, you can check your ‘look’ while pretending to read the time. If you’re buying one, make sure to check the size, because they tend to be a little larger than the average watch.
Writer: The Internet Typewriter
I’ve been looking for one of these for some time. Like many autistics, I get distracted easily, and often put off writing while I fiddle endlessly with the formatting, etc. Writer is a stripped-down online word processor that (pretty much) only allows you to type. There’s three fonts and line-spacings to choose from, and you can pick the colours for text and background. That’s about it. You can also choose to make it sound like a manual or electric typewriter, which helps to set the writerly ambience. Text can be exported for formatting elsewhere. Also available as a Google extension.
Etiquette Series: Fine Dining Table-Setting & Etiquette Tips
A common problem with austistic spectrum disorders is difficulty understanding the ‘unspoken rules’ of social interaction. The videos in the etiquette series spell out some of these ‘unspoken rules’ for different situations (just look for the tag ‘etiquette’). This video on fine dining table-setting and etiquette is courtesy of Replacements Ltd.
DESIGN FOR ASD 