A mixed bag of a post, featuring autism, politics, mathematics and photography.
INTRODUCTION
As well as the wide variety of ,links that give this post its title it will feature some of my own stuff, notably pictures.
AUTISM
I start with some stuff about Autism, beginning with…
AN ANNOUNCEMENT FROM LAINA
Laina, guiding genius of thesilentwaveblog, has set up a new blog specifically for sharing stuff. Her announcement of this is here, while the new blog can be seen here.
STIM THE LINE
I end this little section with what is a new find for me, stimtheline, with a post titled “Autism is Me“.
GENERAL LINKS
The four links in this section are links that form no natural groupings:
From slate.com comes this piece about how to avoid all-male panels (“manels”) – it is long but an excellent read. As the author points out there is no excuse for an all-male panel. I would similarly say that if you are getting together a panel to talk about autism your starting point should be autistic people – and only when you have several lined up should you consider the desirability of including neurotypicals on the panel.
This refers to three related pieces that I have seen on robertlovespi. Fullerenes are spheroid carbon allotropes (also known in some circles as buckyballs – both the formal and informal deisgnation pay tribute to the architect Richard Buckminster Fuller who was particularly known for geodesic domes). The three pieces are:
This one comes from brilliant, though it has a little addition of my own as well:
This is an easy question, even without the multi-choice options given on the site. If the 51 under the dividing line was replaced by 53 it would become fiendishly difficult – can you work out why?
Why is it necessary to intervene with the natural course of being Autistic?
“Early” implies that there is a need to “catch” things early, before it progresses.
Autism is not a disease. It is not progressive. It just IS.
It is disrespectful because it ignores our own timing. Autism is a developmental disability and respecting that is important, instead of applying a neurotypical timeline of neurotypical milestones to neurodivergent children.
And while some aspects of occupational therapy and life skills can be beneficial, if there is no respect for each child’s timing, and if it is done in a manner that is compliance based/reward based, and if this is called “Early Intervention”, then it is just another name for ABA”
My next link is to thge early stages of wbhat looks set to be an excellent series of posts. BloggingAstrid is writing a series of posts about autism under the banner #Write31Days. I have two links for you:
My next two links come from firebrightstarsoul and both concern education and autism:
“Enough to break your heart” which deals with a school day which (due entirely to failings on the part of the school) went very badly wrong. I quote one paragraph, which comes near the end of the story: We were told we’d be given parent codes to log in to the school’s app so we could find her missing assignments and help her on the weekend until she’s caught up. She didn’t know where to even find this information on her laptop, and when she tried to tell the teacher she didn’t know what she was supposed to work on, the teacher smirked at her and dismissed her with the pithy remark, “I bet you do.”
“The one-room school-house” which (unsurprisingly given the above) looks at the possibility of homeschooling. Here is a picture from this piece:
Claire has autism and says: “The world is a very unpredictable and confusing place.” (Image: Transport for All)
Finally, a petition on the official site for petitioning the UK Parliament, which means that it is only open to UK citizens, calling for a necessary change to the PIP rules. Below is a screenshot link:
Please visit, sign and share.
LINKS RELATING TO RENATIONALISATION AND TRANSPORT
My first link in this section is to a piece on Vox Political titled “McDonnell States Labour Will Take Back Rail, Water, Energy and Royal Mail | Beastrabban\’s weblog” This excellent piece sets the stage for the rest of this section. Below is the single most important paragraph, by way of a tempter:
And if Labour does, as I fervently hope, renationalize those industries, I would very much like a form of workers’ control implemented in them. One reason why the Tories were able to privatize these industries was because, when Labour nationalized them after the Second World War, the party was too timid in the form nationalization took. The state took over the ownership of these industries, but otherwise left the existing management structures intact. This disappointed many trade unionists and socialists, who hoped that nationalization would mean that the people, who actually worked in these industries would also play a part in their management.
Since that piece was produced Richard Murphy of Tax Research UK has put up a post titled “The public want nationalisationbecause nationalisation makes sense” in response to a hand-wringing editorial in The Observer, which started from noting that a recent study had revealed the full extent of public support for renationalisation (water – 83% in favour, electricity and gas – 77% in favour andr railways – 76% in favour – leading the way) and went full-on Tory from there, regarding renationalisation as a bad thing and coming with ideas for how this ‘threat’ might be dealt with. Professor Murphy, like me, takes the opposite stand-point, and points out how flawed the Observer piece is.
PHOTOGRAPHS 1
This set of photographs is of Lot 553 from the auction of Monday September 25th (see this post):
SOLUTIONS TO PUZZLES
The first of three puzzles I set that I have not yet provided answers to was a question from Triva Hive:
In which country is Europe’s only desert located?
a)Italy b)Greece c)Poland d)Spain
I am sufficiently well informed about Italy, Greece and Spain that I was fairly sure that none of them is the answer. Thus, having ruled out the impossibles I was left withe one answer that however improbable must be the true one – Poland. The screenshot below shows that my Sherlockian approach to the question bore fruit:
The second puzzle wasAbbotFox‘s “street scramble”:
Unscrambling this gives “Pilling Park Road”, and the map below shows the location of said street:
The third problem came from brilliant and featured a treasure hunt. Below is the answer:
PHOTOGRAPHS
Just before I publish this and head out for a spot of ecotherapy and to top up the photo collection here are some non-tree pics from yesterday:
A rarity – a fish sufficiently close to the surface of the Gaywood River that I could take a picture of it that (just about) came out.
Links to some important pieces about neurodiversity, and a few photographs at the end.
INTRODUCTION
This one is mainly a sharing post, before I finish with some of my photos. As always links will be in bold and in a different colour from the surrounding text. However, before moving on I give a special mention to Eve Hinson of americanbadassactivistswho signposted me to a lot of the links I share below.
Please–Don’t Be That Person. Any sentence containing “you must be” is an assumption, and you know what They Say about the word “assume” and its spelling and all that.
If that weren’t filled enough to the brim with potential land mines, let’s factor in the sheer wrong-ness of the statement. Maybe I’m functioning OK today. And maybe, so are you. All is calm, all is bright.
But now, let’s stress the human system. Kind of like building an epic metropolis on SimCity and then tearing it down with Godzilla or something.
If the human system encounters a Godzilla attack that is destructive enough or lasts long enough, the system will suffer. It might even destabilize.
By assuming I’m “high-functioning” (whatever that even means anymore), people who say stuff like this are, by comparison, speaking poorly of those who act differently. Which, on many days, includes me.
Not only that, but they’re undermining the sheer force of will (and luck) it often takes for me to suppress my natural self and create a likable Pseudo-Me that gets past the social metal detectors.
Please, never make assumptions, never put anyone else down (even if it’s disguised as a compliment to my face), and never underestimate the energy it takes for me to persuade the world to accept me.
MUSEUM VISITING THE
“ART OF AUTISM” WAY
The Art of Autism website is a regular source of good material, and this piece, by Julie Blair is no exception. It is chock full of good advice on how to make a museum visit really work. Cited at the end of it is Lisa Jo Ruddy of autisminthemuseum which I also recommend.
NEUROCOSMOPOLITANISM
This section is one that I owe to Eve Hinson (see intro) – it was one of her posts that put me on to Nick Walker’s site, neurocosmopolitanism. I offer you four golden nuggets from this site and urge you to do some more exploring of your own:
Neuro-what? – Nick’s opening post, in which he sets the scene for what is to follow and defines neurocosmopolitanism (a word of his own coinage). Here is a quote: Neurocosmopolitanism goes beyond this baseline of acceptance, as cosmopolitanism goes beyond mere tolerance of cultural differences. The neurocosmopolitan seeks to actively explore, engage with, and cultivate human neurodiversity and its creative potentials, in a spirit of humility, respect, and continual openness to learning and transformation.
Here’s how I’d articulate the fundamental principles of the neurodiversity paradigm:
Neurodiversity – the diversity of brains and minds – is a natural, healthy, and valuable form of human diversity.
There is no “normal” or “right” style of human brain or human mind, any more than there is one “normal” or “right” ethnicity, gender, or culture.
The social dynamics that manifest in regard to neurodiversity are similar to the social dynamics that manifest in regard to other forms of human diversity (e.g., diversity of race, culture, gender, or sexual orientation). These dynamics include the dynamics of social power relations – the dynamics of social inequality, privilege, and oppression – as well as the dynamics by which diversity, when embraced, acts as a source of creative potential within a group or society.
What is Autism? In which Nick sets out to provide an introductory definition of Autism. Here is paragraph 1 of his outline: Autism is a genetically-based human neurological variant. The complex set of interrelated characteristics that distinguish autistic neurology from non-autistic neurology is not yet fully understood, but current evidence indicates that the central distinction is that autistic brains are characterized by particularly high levels of synaptic connectivity and responsiveness. This tends to make the autistic individual’s subjective experience more intense and chaotic than that of non-autistic individuals: on both the sensorimotor and cognitive levels, the autistic mind tends to register more information, and the impact of each bit of information tends to be both stronger and less predictable.
Guiding Principles for a Course on Autism – Precisely what this title suggests. I quote the closing paragraph of principal 1: So a good course on autism should actively and uncompromisingly promote the neurodiversity paradigm, just as a good African-American Studies course is actively and uncompromisingly anti-racist. Work based in the pathology paradigm, if it’s assigned at all, should be assigned only so that the instructor and students can critique it in order to hone the students’ skills at recognizing and critiquing such work.
As for me, I’ve been pretty black and white about my stance on this. Autism is not a set of behaviours, nor is it defined by the inability to perform tasks. Autism is a neurological difference, present at birth and scripted into genetic codes (for more on the definition of Autism that we use in our household, please see this fantastic post, What Is Autism?, by Nick Walker).
So when I say that Sam is Autistic, I am neither defining him by what he can do or what he can’t do; I am describing him by how his brain (probably the most fundamental part of who he is as a human being) functions and by how this set of differences sets him apart from people who are not Autistic.
And…
Unfortunately, in many cases, the zealous movement of ‘person first language’ actually reenforces that which it is trying to combat. By stating repeatedly that Autism is a (implied ‘negative’) label and should not “define” our children, what is inherently being done is underscoring the idea that Autism is something that should be perceived as ‘deviant’, as opposed to a naturally occurring divergence from normal.
A walk, some dreadful weather and a double-booking. Also some photographs.
INTRODUCTION
Musical Keys run regular sessions for NAS West Norfolk, and I attend these sessions both as a participant and in my role as branch secretary of NAS West Norfolk. Today should have been a Musical Keys day, and after lunch I set off on an afternoon walk with the Scout Hut in Gaywood as my envisaged final destination.
A LITERAL DAMPENING
Although I was ultimately aiming for Gaywood I decided to lengthen the walk by going along the river bank as far as my regular cormorant observation point and then returning to the route to Gaywood by way of Seven Sisters and the Red Mount Chapel. Unfortunately I was near the end of the riverside stretch when the rain started coming down in stair rods, and it stayed raining all the way to Gaywood. Although Gaywood Library is small there are sometimes good books to be found there, and I did find some today.
A METAPHORICAL DAMPENING
While in Gaywood Library I logged into a computer, and it was there that I saw a facebook post telling me that Musical Keys had been cancelled due to a double booking. As I was still not fully dried out from the walk to Gaywood I was more than usually annoyed by this.
A POSSIBLE CHANGE OF LOCATION
This is not the first time we have had problems of this nature with this venue, so it is natural to be considering new venues. The British Red Cross have a suitable room in thier building at Austin Fields which is close to the centre of King’s Lynn. It is true that the principal approach from outside King’s Lynn, Edward Benefer Way/ John Kennedy Road, is prone to traffic jams, but I think the good outweighs the bad in terms of this venue.
PHOTOGRAPHS
Even in the poor weather I experienced I was able to get a few decent photographs:
This was taken in Fakenham yesterday – this window ledge is immediately outside my work area at James and Sons and these doves have been using it for a few days now.
Two flying cormorants ine one shot – a first for me.My second edit of that same picture, focussing on the nearer of the two cormorants.
Some important autism themed pieces and a few of my photographs.
INTRODUCTION
I have several important links relating to autism to share with you, and I urge you to continue that sharing process. Just to remind my readers I am#actuallyautistic, and also branch secretary of the National Autistic Society’sWest Norfolk branch, and in that latter capacity I will conclude this introduction by reminding you of NAS’s catchline:
UNTIL EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS
A NOTE ON ATTRIBUTIONS
I found some of these pieces by way of people other than the original author. In such cases as well as crediting the actual author I also intend to mention the person who gave me the tip off. If you seen an underlining anywhere it is a link, and those links that are body text will be in a colour other than black to further highlight them.
This piece was brought to my attention when the Neurodivergent Rebel reblogged it. It is a long piece, but very readable and absolutely bang on the money. The list itself is too long to quote here, but the screenshot below which explains the problems that the post goes on to address brilliantly is a good start:
THE LEFEVER BIKE RIDE
Paul and Jamie Lefever recently undertook a sponsored cycle ride from King’s Lynn to the National Autistic Society’s HQ in London, a distance of 118 miles. A full account, under the title “11-year-old Jamie cycles 118 miles for our charity (4 September 2017)” is available on the NAS website.
ABA THERAPISTS BUSTED
This piece, written by Amy Sequenzia, a well known autistic person and advocate for autism, was originally posted on the autismwomensnetwork under the self explanatory title “ABA Providers Making Fun of Autistic People“. I include a graphic from this post below:
Image is a photo of a group of human figure-shaped wooden pegs clustered to the left and a single wooden peg standing off to the right. Text says, “It is about how ABA “therapists” REALLY see Autistics. It is about them making fun of us because they see us as broken and hopeless. -Amy Sequenzia, autismwomensnetwork.org”
As always, I end this post with some of my own photographs:
The pigeon in the background helps to show how tiny this wagtail is.
No I have not rotated this shot – the squirrel really is on a vertical tree trunk.
This shot shows Hanse House and the Rathskellar, the latter of which is hosting a charity beer festival this weekend.
I was due to steward at 11-13 King Street between 12 and 2PM on Heritage Open Day, but this has now been changed to 27 King Street, which is this fine building.
The Eastern Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Auhtority.The cockling boat Baden Powell and a Fisheries Research vessel.
Various links as indicated by the title of this post, the solution to one problem and a new problem. All topped off with the some photographs.
INTRODUCTION
This post features links, puzzles and pictures. The title refers to the subjects officiallly covered within the post.
A NEW AUTISM RESOURCE
The Neurodivergent Rebel has produced a post that could become a goldmine. Titled “Web Resources” she describes it as a growing list and ends the post with this:
If you can think of anything to help the Neurodivergent Rebel expand this list please use the quote out above, which if you click on it will open up an email message addressed to her which you can then complete.
The second piece concerns the make up of the Labour Party’s National Executive Committee – the detail contained in the title “EXCL: PRO-CORBYN ASLEF, FBU TO TAKE NEC SEATS” means that at least for the present, and for the very first time, the NEC will have a pro-Corbyn majority. Here is an ASLEF related picture:
The solution is 96% + 96% of 4%. 96% of 4 is (4 x 96)/100 = 3.84. 96 + 3.84 = 99.84, os the answer is that if the death rate in surviving species had been the same as the overall extinction rate then 99.84% of all living things would have died in that event.
For my next puzzle I turn once again to Brilliant and offer up the following:
I will probably provide a solution on Wednesday.
PHOTOGRAPHS
Nar Valley Park – this development is now approaching completion.
The next four pictures were taken on Thursday night – I had been acting as stand-in host on my aunt;s behalf, welcoming an airbnb guest to her house, and it was getting dark as I returned.
Among the things that autism is sometimes supposed to be but is not are:
A form of mental illness (more on this at the end of this section as you will see).
A disorder
Something to be feared or worse still hated
Something that needs to be cured
I end this section with an example that absolutely shocked me when I saw it by way of twitter this weekend. I invite readers of this post to collectively identify everything they can find that is wrong with the formulation of the question below:
If you click on the image you can go to the quiz, take it yourself and then post a comment (if you choose to do this please follow me in highlighting the problems with this question).
AUTISM AND ME
My unsuitability for front-line customer service and the difficulties I have with communication are down to autism. On the other side of the ledger my eye for detail, reflected in my photography among other things, my mathematical skills, my aptitude for working with computers and several other of my strongest attributes are also due to autism.
I will finish this section by reminding people that different does not necessarily mean less, and that we are autistic people – note the emphasis given to the second part of that designation.
PUZZLES
In this section I provide the solution to one puzzle and offer another for your inspection. Both are mathematical in nature.
The above table shows two putative sets of coin toss records, each for one coin tossed thirty times. Which is more like to be genuine based on what you can see?
a) series one
b) series two
To begin the solution, here is the table above with a column added:
You will see that the two sets of coin toss lists in the original problem were made up, but if you look at the results for the set of coin tosses I actually performed you will note that it looks much more like series two than series one – randomness is clumpier than we intuitively expect (the idea for this problem came from a book by Natalie Angier, in which she tells the story of a teacher who uses an experiment in which half of her class are assigned the task of inventing a series of coin tosses, and half of actually tossing coins and recording the result, while the teacher goes out of the room – and nearly always the teacher can tell the real from the fake).
My new problem comes from the mathematical website brilliant:
PHOTOGRAPHS
As usual I end this post with some photographs, in this case featuring a family of swans I saw swimming along the Gaywood River yesterdary morning:
This is an example of why Erin Human is a firm favourite of mine. This post has wonderful title: “Diversity is Beautiful“. Below is a screenshot of the feature infographic. I urge all of you to visit the original and read the accompanying text.
NAS WEST NORFOLK OFFICIAL POST ABOUT THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY
Our vice-chair Rachel Meerwald with some input from the rest of the committee created a post for our website about this event, which you can see here. Below is a screenshot of the end of the piece (my reasons for choosing this section will be instantly apparent!).
A FEW FINAL PHOTOGRAPHS
This is either an Iceland Gull or a Glaucous Gull (they have very similar colouring).
The Red Mount Chapel, a sprightly 600 year oldThese last two shots are of All Saints Church, reckoned to be the oldest in King’s Lynn, which means that ;parts of it date back a thousand years.
I am planning a major blog post for tomorrow morning, but there are a couple of things I wish to share now.
HERITAGE OPEN DAY
Heritage Open Day 2017 is on Sunday September 10, and as usual many King’s Lynn buildings will be opening their doors for the occasion. This year I will be among the volunteers. I will be stewarding at 11-13 King Street between 12 and 2PM. Here are a few pictures of the place taken today:
11-13 King Street, where I will be stewarding from 12 to 2PM on Heritage Open Day.
A WARNING FROM AMERICA
There is an online magazine called Autism Parenting Magazine. Amy Sequenzia, a very well known autistic person and autism advocate has had a very bad experience with them recently, as has one of her friends. I found out about this from americanbadassactivists, who put up a post linking to Amy’s original, which appears on the Autism Women’s Network. As someone who is both autistic and heavily involved witha charity that helps autistic people I am shocked by the attitudes and behaviour of the people who run this online magazine. Below, in screenshot form, is some of the detail from Amy’s piece:
A POSITIVE ENDING AND PHOTOGRAPHS
I always like to end my posts with pictures, but before I do here is a link to something much more positive than the last piece I linked to. This piece, from Science Whysis titled “We Are Family” and it ends with a wonderful quote from Maya Angelou: “We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike.”
Now for those photographs:
The Vancouver statue (3 images)
A double ended cockling boat, the Baden Powell, currently moored at the jetty near Marriott’s Warehouse (four images)
Swallows often fly over the Nar outfall, but capturing them is hard due to their sheer speed.
aspiblog 