I Speak of Dreams

Get Ready For Autistics Speaking Day 2011 November 1

In 2010, there was an ill-conceived idea: shut down social media in honor of autistics. 

Corina Lynn Becker, an autistic adult, had a much better idea: Autistics Speaking Day.

From the post that started it off:

....for the intent of raising Autism awareness and battling negative stereotypes about Autism, I call that November 1st be Autistics Speaking Day.

The idea went viral.

Corina's annotated list of 2010 posts

I kept two lists running side-by-side: posts by autistics and posts by autism allies.

Here is the website: Autistics Speaking Day

If you have written a post, submit it using this form (be sure to follow the trigger warning guidelines).

Here is the Facebook page: Autistics Speaking Day

Here is the Facebook page for the event: Autistics Speaking Day 2011

If you use Twitter, follow @AutisticsSpeak and use the hashtag is #ASDay

How will you observe Autistics Speaking Day?

Talk With The Thinking Person's Guide to Autism Editors: The Mission, The Book, And More!

Update December 16, 2011:

Since this post comes high in a search for "The Thinking Person's Guide to Autism" I thought I'd drop the publishing information in here:

CreateSpace Thinking Person's Guide to Autism

Amazon: Thinking Person's Guide to Autism.

The Kindle edition will be available in a few days.

======

Wednesday November 2 at 7 AM Pacific Time, the editorial team for The Thinking Person's Guide to Autism will be interviewed by Elise Ronan at Special Needs Talk Radio, a Blog Talk Radio program.

You can listen at this link; the call-in number is (818) 688-6643

We will be talking about The Thinking Person's Guide to Autism (the blog) and its mission; The Thinking Person's Guide to Autism (the book) and other topics of interest. Join us!

The editorial team:

• Shannon des Roches Rosa
• Jennifer Byde Myers
• Liz Ditz
• Emily Willingham
• Carol Greenberg

From salami to soda pop: what does “toxic” really mean? | Puff the Mutant Dragon

This is a must-read if you are exposed to the idea that there are "toxins" making you ill.

From salami to soda pop: what does “toxic” really mean? | Puff the Mutant Dragon.

Ms. Strange’s tragic story illustrates a peculiar fact: even water can be toxic if you drink too much. It seems odd because most of the time, we think of toxicity as clear-cut, a property some things have and others don’t. A widespread belief in popular culture has it the origins of a substance tell you how toxic it will be. If a compound is made by Nature, we assume it must be good for us. If it’s artificial or it has a long unpronounceable name, on the other hand, we assume it must be toxic, and it’s only a matter of time until scientists figure that out.

Alas, the truth is more complicated than popular culture would have you believe. Nature makes poisons more vicious than any chemists can invent. And nearly anything can be toxic if you consume too much.

Podcast with friend and colleague Emily Willingham on The Bears of Texas: A History of Conflict

Critical Wit Podcast » Blog Archive » Critical Wit #31 – Bears And People: A History Of Conflict.

Emily Willingham is a biologist, science writer, and author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to College Biology. She is also the blogger at ‘The Biology Files.’ In this episode we talk about a short book that Emily wrote called When Worlds Collide: The Troubled History of Bears and People in Texas, which is available as a Kindle book on Amazon. Emily also has a personal blog called ‘A Life Less Ordinary‘ which focuses on parenting, special needs children, and autism. You can follow Emily on Twitter @ejwillingham.

If you enjoy this podcast, please consider ‘liking’ the Critical Wit page on Facebook and/or give it a rating in iTunes. You can also follow the podcast on Twitter; @TheCriticalWit. Thanks!

Emily is also the science editor for The Thinking Person's Guide to Autism, and writes for PKids at the Ask Emily column.

Harpocrates Speaks: Quacktion Figure™ Friday: Anti-Vaccine Researcher

Awesome idea from ToddW!

Quacktion Figure™ Friday: Anti-Vaccine Researcher.

Ever wanted to enjoy the adoration of tens of others? Had an idea for a new product to patent, but had pesky competitors that needed discrediting? Have you ever dreamed of creating a controversy where there was none? Have you thought that violating research ethics would be a quick way to accomplish all this, but never had the narcissistic chutzpah to pull it off?

Totally Unprepared

Totally Unprepared is a new website -- goal: motivating Californians to really prepare for what is undeniably coming -- the next big earthquake.

The twist is the tongue-in-cheek, light-hearted way the preparation advice is given.

Totally Unprepared.

Totally Unprepared is what happens when you put forward-thinking state agencies, earthquake geeks, social media nerds, a web analytics genius, a professional filmmaker, a hot firefighter or two, and a bunch of unsuspecting Californians in a blender and hit frappe. ... The plan was to educate Californians about earthquake preparedness, but we did not want to bore you or ourselves to death with tedious lists and bone-dry commentary so we made earthquake materials that would be entertaining to us. We hope you have as much fun visiting these pages and watching our videos as we have had creating them.

Our mission is to rally Californians to prepare for the next earthquake.

The Sword of Darrow: Great Fantasy AND A Fundraiser for Dyslexia

From the International Dyslexia Association

The Sword of Darrow is a middle grade fantasy novel that was co-authored by Hal Malchow and his son, Alex. They began writing the novel in 2002. At the time, Alex was eight-years-old and struggled with serious learning differences. He could not read at all. The Sword of Darrow tells us that anyone can do great things if he or she has the courage to believe. The fact that an eight-year-old boy with learning differences helped to write a great novel proves the message of this book and can help our children reach for bigger dreams.

Not only have Hal and Alex faced the challenges of Alex's learning differences, they have made an impressive commitment to the cause of Dyslexia. They have generously agreed to contribute all royalties to IDA, and the publisher is donating half of his profits to other organizations supporting learning disabilities, as well. Above all, this is a great book that can inspire others and help them read.

Here's the Amazon page for The Sword of Darrow and here's the website for the book. I haven't read it yet but it's getting rave reviews.

Somebody should tell them to get a twitter account too....

Congratulations to Drs. Offit and Geschwind, New Members of the Institute of Medicine

ASAF Founding Board Member Dr. Paul Offit Elected to the Institute of Medicine.

Autism Science Foundation Founding Board Member Dr. Paul Offit has been elected to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) at the Academy of Natural Sciences. For three decades, Dr. Offit has been a leading researcher in the fields of virology and immunology, and a well-respected and outspoken voice on the science, safety and value of childhood vaccinations. He is also one of the most public faces of the scientific consensus that vaccines have no association with autism.

Through his advocacy, Dr. Offit has successfully cut through misinformation and helped to educate parents on the health benefits of vaccinating their children. In addition to hundreds of academic articles, he is the author of four critically-acclaimed medical narratives, including Autism’s False Prophets, which have sought to educate parents and bring scientific research back into the discussion on vaccination decisions.

“I have never met anyone who cared more about the health and well-being of children than Paul Offit” said Alison Singer, president of the Autism Science Foundation. “All of us at ASF congratulate him on this well-deserved appointment and look forward to the great work he will do as part of the IOM.”

[snip]

Noted autism researcher, Dr. Daniel H Geschwind, the Gordon and Virginia MacDonald Distinguished Chair in Human Genetics and professor of neurology and psychiatry, department of neurology, University of California, Los Angeles was also elected. Dr. Geschwind served as the program committee chair for the 2011 International Meeting for Autism Research.

Established in 1970 by the Academy of Natural Sciences, the IOM honors professional achievements in the health sciences and serves as a national resource for independent analysis and recommendations on issues related to medicine, biomedical sciences, and health. Current members of the Institute elect new members from a slate of candidates nominated for their professional achievement.

Inexpressably moving

Ronan has a fatal genetic condition.  Read this.

Notes From a Dragon Mom - NYTimes.com.

Ronan won’t prosper or succeed in the way we have come to understand this term in our culture; he will never walk or say “Mama,” and I will never be a tiger mom. The mothers and fathers of terminally ill children are something else entirely. Our goals are simple and terrible: to help our children live with minimal discomfort and maximum dignity. We will not launch our children into a bright and promising future, but see them into early graves. We will prepare to lose them and then, impossibly, to live on after that gutting loss. This requires a new ferocity, a new way of thinking, a new animal. We are dragon parents: fierce and loyal and loving as hell. Our experiences have taught us how to parent for the here and now, for the sake of parenting, for the humanity implicit in the act itself, though this runs counter to traditional wisdom and advice.

AAP: Guideline Calls for Pre-K ADHD Evaluation - in Meeting Coverage, AAP from MedPage Today

Medical News: AAP: Guideline Calls for Pre-K ADHD Evaluation - in Meeting Coverage, AAP from MedPage Today.

BOSTON -- Primary care physicians should begin evaluating children for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) at age 4 and continue through age 18, according to a new clinical guideline from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

An accumulation of evidence in recent years has enabled diagnosis and management of ADHD in a broader pediatric population. Earlier versions of the guidelines covered children ages 6 to 12.

"There was enough evidence that we could feel comfortable about the criteria being appropriate for preschoolers and that the process for making the diagnosis was similar enough to what primary care physicians were doing with the elementary school-age children that it would be appropriate to recommend their diagnosing to four years of age," said Mark Wolraich, MD, of the University of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City, and chair of the writing committee for the updated guideline. A similar accumulation of evidence led to expansion of the age range to 18, he added.

 Consistent with the broader age range, the guideline addresses clinical issues specific to preschoolers, adolescents, and teenagers.

[more at the link above]