geekysciencemom

[geekysciencemom]

The Monster I Fear & the Longing to Be Free | Autism Unfurling (Formerly The Aspie Teacher)

Processing - This began as a typical writing process, then went academic, then things changed. I triggered myself. Please listen to the song that I included.

[geekysciencemom]

This piece began as a poem, but turned into something more. The structure is that of a long poem that is telling the continuation of a story of healing using strategies that are found in trauma therapy.

[geekysciencemom]

Painting with Words (Part 2) | Autism Unfurling (Formerly The Aspie Teacher)

More poetry!

[geekysciencemom]

Painting with Words | Autism Unfurling (Formerly The Aspie Teacher)

Trying something new. I wrote some poems.

[geekysciencemom]

RE: Surgery while being autistic with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and having a long list of past medical trauma.

I will say first and foremost - asking questions and disclosing my disabilities along with having a trustworthy support person who understands neurodiverse communication styles and advocates for your voice is so very important!

Content Warning: Breast Cancer, specifically Ductal Carcinoma in situ (Grade 1).

Proof of life! I made it through surgery!

I have so much blue dye in my body that I am peeing blue, my skin is blue and the arm where it was injected into is now very, very blue. This is very strange, but I understand what is happening.

I had the milk duct removed plus margins plus two lymph nodes.

It has been a VERY long day. I live in a rural community The surgery took place in a hospital that is an hour and a half from my home.

We arrived at the hospital at 8:30AM this morning and left around 5:30PMish. So much noise, smells, and people along with all the poking, prodding, having to remind staff repeatedly about my narcotics allergy and having to touch people I don't know just to be able to go to the bathroom. Having open communication and asking for clarification helped so much!!

My stimming was first confused for being too hot. Luckily, my support person understood my one word answer of "no". He responded with telling me that I was free to stim. I didn't have to defend or explain.

There was a very long wait time between prep and being moved into the surgical room. Yes, I was flapping. Then I ended up hitting my forehead, then chest. This was done in a controlled manner to not hurt myself. My anxiety was really high and stopping myself completely would have resulted in my bracing my body, which would have made things worse.

I am a complicated case - allergic to narcotics, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, struggled to get an IV in (blood vessels don't cooperate), internal body parts not where they are typically expected hence the extra blue dye trying to find my lymph nodes. The radioactive injection that was put in prior to surgery wasn't enough to map my lymph nodes, hence the blue dye that was injected into my arm that went all through my body.

This was my 5th surgery, first surgery for cancer.

I go back to the Oncologist on the 25th and will be started on Taxifolin for five years. I will be starting radiation in a few weeks after I recover somewhat. The radiation will be everyday for 2-4 weeks disrupting my routine and my work schedule.

I am starting an anti-anxiety medication in a few days (have to process the surgery meds first). My fight/flight response has been way too high for far too long and is impacting my health. My hope is that this anti-anxiety med will help me manage this routine disruption better.

I am having trouble breathing, which doesn't help my anxiety. I have what is called Atelectasis. Basically, alveolar collapse. Apparently, this was caused by a combination of the breathing tube I had in for hours and my sensitivity to opioids that were used during surgery.

My Ox sats were around 90-93 in the recovery room. I was given an albuterol nebulizer treatment, which helped. I was checked again and was at 97.

My Ox sats are going up and down. I need to keep my shoulders down (no bracing), and cough which is painful. I was given a device that I need to use 2-3 times a day to force the aveoli to open back up. This could be a week of this.

So, in the meantime time, I am feeling light headed from lack of oxygen and am at risk for pneumonia. I did have my viral pneumonia vaccine two weeks ago, but they are more worried about bacteria pneumonia. My husband has asthma and he is going to let me use his nebulizer as needed.

I have been a runner for over 30 years and typically have very strong lungs. Atelectasis sucks, but it is treatable.

[geekysciencemom]

My System is Overwhelmed, Yet Still Fighting | Autism Unfurling (Formerly The Aspie Teacher)

My newest blog!

"Content Warning: Discussing cancer, dysfunctional families, politics

“Share your color, make them see, guard your honor, dare to dream, one day we don’t have to run no more.”

How does one label something that feels like your heart is being squashed while at the same time barbed wire is cutting through from the inside out? How does one label something that feels like your whole essence is disintegrating? How does one label something where this sense of dread never ends?

What is this feeling?"

[geekysciencemom]

Report Finds Millions of Students Left with No Civil Rights Protections

"Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Ranking Member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee released a report highlighting the impacts of recent firings at the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) on students who rely on OCR to carry out statutory requirements to investigate and protect their civil rights. According to the report, after actions taken by Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to eliminate over 240 positions and close more than half of OCR’s regional offices, more than 46 million students in 27 States and territories have been left without civil rights investigators to investigate their complaints; and, OCR political appointees have not provided any public communications to students or families about the plan to resolve their open cases. Data provided shows that fired staff were working on 6,896 cases, leaving thousands of students in potentially unsafe learning environments, or out of school entirely, and without any clear plan for resolution. Caseloads for remaining investigators are expected to increase by more than 200 percent."

[geekysciencemom]

I have always connected with Madeleine L'Engle's "A Wrinkle in Time". I saw myself in Meg. She was different. She didn't fit in. I admired her perseverance and determination. I was fascinated with the concept of a tesseract and the science and art behind it.

Since it is late and I am tired, here is some quotes describing the book:

"The central problem is the universal struggle between good and evil, represented by the "Dark Thing" and its influence on the planet Camazotz, where everyone is forced into conformity and controlled by the entity "IT"."

"The moral of "A Wrinkle in Time" is that love and individuality are powerful forces that can overcome darkness and evil. The story emphasizes the importance of embracing one's unique strengths and fighting for what is right, even in the face of adversity."

We find ourselves fighting the "Dark Thing" now, the tRump Administration, and the "IT" (Elon and his influence).

Apparently, L'Engle wrote the book as part of her rebellion against Christian piety and her quest for a personal theology. At the time, she was also reading with great interest the new physics of Albert Einstein and Max Planck.

We are in a battle with Christian Nationalism. "Christian nationalism is based on the premise that America was founded as a Christian nation and should be governed by godly men with Christian principles. It makes an exception for [tRump] who is regarded by many as a modern-day Cyrus, who like the ancient pagan king who provided for the return of Jews to Israel, is fighting on the side of contemporary evangelical Christians."

One of the most dangerous tendencies of Christian Nationalists is their attacks on modern science. Christian Nationalists reject clear and compelling scientific evidence which has lead to dire consequences.

People, including children, have died due to their anti-vax stance. What happened during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic was a prime example of so many people not trusting science and the experts trying to save lives. Measles was deemed eradicated in the US in 2000. Now there are over 400 cases of Measles currently in Texas and a six-year-old unvaccinated child has died from this preventable disease.

Many adherents of Christian nationalism are racists, homophobic, anti-Muslim, and opposed to women’s rights. Others favor Dominionism, which involves taking Christian control of the seven mountains of government, education, media, arts and entertainment, religion, family, and business. Still others openly state that they don’t want everyone to vote.

This is not a war that we can just sit back and wait it out. What is happening now in this country is worse than what happened during tRump's first term. His administration along with Elon must be stopped!

"How does Meg defeat it in A Wrinkle in Time?

Meg uses her stubborn love for her father and her brother, Charles Wallace, to defeat the evil IT, with the help of her friend Calvin and three celestial beings with strange powers."

Those celestial beings in the book are more like guardians and advisors. They help, provide tools and guidance, but they can only do so much. Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin need to work together to stop "IT" and bring her father home.

We, as a country, need to work together. The tRump Administration wants us divided and uninformed. Elon wants to control the narrative through his AI, his social media platform, and through DOGE. He thinks he can buy whatever and whomever he wants. The tRump Administration continues to spin lies and pushes propaganda. tRump himself is a pathological liar and only cares about being a dictator and getting revenge.

Cruelty, compliance, submission, conformity - all things Meg fought against - that's what we need to fight against now.

"In an attempt to fight "IT", Meg and Calvin invoke the same creative geniuses who Mrs. Whatsit initially told them had dedicated their lives to waging war with the "Dark Thing". Thus, Calvin quotes Shakespeare and Meg recites Jefferson's Declaration of Independence in resistance to the rhythmic of "IT's" pulsing power."

Meg and Calvin overcame their insecurities and embraced their creativity in order to resist "IT's" power. That is what we all need to do. We must be creative and embrace our strengths to resist the manipulation, abuse, and corruption by tRump and Elon. We can triumph if we work together, just like how Meg did.

"What was the author's purpose for writing A Wrinkle in Time?

Madeleine L'Engle wrote this young adult novel to showcase the struggle between good and evil. Her heroine Meg is a flawed teenager who must work with her companions and face her own flaws in order to save her father and then her brother. The novel also strongly claims that unconditional love is able to triumph over the worst evil."

[geekysciencemom]

I Hope You Dance | Autism Unfurling (Formerly The Aspie Teacher)

My newest blog!

"Last night I did something I never thought I would do. Last night I took part in a NAMI fundraiser standup comedy event. I was one of seven people who took time out of our busy schedules and learned how to take a part of our stories and turn that part into comedy. Our training was provided by the YAY! Foundation – Bringing Comedy and Joy to Mental Health.

I chose to do a skit about stimming and what it has been like for me to be a late-diagnosed autistic person who is still trying to accept myself. I stood in front of all those people and took down enough of my autistic mask and told my story with comedy. I called my stimming “dancing”. I “danced” in public and was called brave for just being me.

Being authentically ourselves should not be considered brave, but this is what it is like in the world we live in."

[geekysciencemom]

Find me on Bluesky!

[geekysciencemom]

The Decline of Trust in Science - Where did the interest go?

In the 1940s and 1950s, scientists were seen as celebrities. Albert Einstein, Robert Oppenheimer, Glenn Seaborg, Enrico Fermi, and Jonas Salk were all well-known scientists. They were respected in their fields.

During the 1960s and 1970s, the science fiction genre saw authors like Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, Arthur C. Clarke, Ursula K. Le Guin, Frank Herbert, and Philip K. Dick emerge, creating a "New Golden Age" of science fiction books and short stories that connected to real world scienceand made predictionsfor the future. Mr. Wizard began airing on television in 1951–1965 and then again 1971–72. Science processes and explanations could be watched in every home that had a television.

The Space Race and the nuclear age brought new awe and curiosity into the world. Apollo 8 introduced the world to the now iconic photo of the Earth rise above the Moon. The environmental movement was born. In the 1980s, Carl Sagan and Bill Nye were welcomed into our living rooms through our televisions. Science was trusted and people were excited about discovery!

Then something changed in the 1990s.

The thinking behind intelligent design (another name for creationism) started in 1984, but it was popularized in 1996 with the publication of "Darwin's Black Box" by Michael Behe. Intelligent design was developed as an explicit refutation to the theory of biological evolution.

Intelligent design is a pseudoscientific argument that undermines science education and has no credibility. Yet, proponents argued that it should be taught in schools as a legitimate alternative theory to evolution. Intelligent design was used to push religion into science classrooms.

Wakefield published his fraudulent study linking autism to the measles vaccine in 1997. Antivaxxers always existed, but Wakefield opened the flood gates and gave these willfully ignorant people legitimacy.

Autism Speaks began in 2005 and promoted the false claim that vaccines causes autism. They also promoted their fearmongering film commercial "I Am Autism" which depicted an ominous voice claiming to steal away children and depicted autistic people as useless burdens destorying their families and society.

Climate change warnings by scientists have been going out and known since 1959. In 1989, US industry groups established the Global Climate Coalition (GCC), a lobbying group that challenged the science on global warming and delayed action to reduce emissions. Exxon, Shell and BP join between 1993-1994.

In 1990, Exxon funded two researchers, Dr Fred Seitz and Dr Fred Singer, who disputed the mainstream consensus on climate science. Seitz and Singer were previously paid by the tobacco industry and questioned the hazards of smoking.

In 1998, the US refused to ratify the Kyoto protocol after intense opposition from oil companies and the GCC. In 2009, US senator Jim Inhofe, whose main donors were in the oil and gas industry, lead the “Climategate” misinformation attack on scientists on the opening day of the crucial UN climate conference in Copenhagen, which ended in disarray.

According to Jeremiah Bohr, Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, "Many of the political tactics mainstreamed by Donald Trump and the populist right around 2015–2016 seemed familiar. Attack the experts. Launch personal attacks on opponents. Frame an email scandal to maximize political gain. Delegitimize mainstream media sources. Cast yourself as the savior of traditional American life.

Climate change deniers practiced these tactics years before the Republican Party transformed from a Reagan coalition of social conservatives and small-government libertarians to a party of the populist right. While arguing against scientific consensus will always present an uphill battle, the organizers of climate change denial repeatedly prove their ability to strategically adapt to their political environment, seamlessly shifting between narratives of “climate change is not happening,” “climate change is happening but humans are not driving it,” and “climate change is happening but it is nothing to worry about.”'

By the time COVID-19 hit in 2020, there had already been three decades of anti-science rhetoric, anti-intellectualism, pseudoscientific arguments, alternative medicine arguments, false claims that educated people are elitist, false claims that experts cannot be trusted, and conspiracy and fraudulent claims being pushed on the American people as well as those abroad.

During the height of the pandemic, approximately 28% of American adults qualified as being scientifically literate.

According to Peter J. Hotez, Scientific American, "Antiscience has emerged as a dominant and highly lethal force, and one that threatens global security, as much as do terrorism and nuclear proliferation.

Antiscience is the rejection of mainstream scientific views and methods or their replacement with unproven or deliberately misleading theories, often for nefarious and political gains. It targets prominent scientists and attempts to discredit them."

Anti-science trends were particularly exacerbated during COVID-19 in the United States, and reported to have originated from far-right extremism. The anti-science movement within the Republican Party resulted in mass deaths during the pandemic.

Peter J. Hotez explained, "Beginning in the spring of 2020, the Trump White House launched a coordinated disinformation campaign that dismissed the severity of the epidemic in the United States, attributed COVID deaths to other causes, claimed hospital admissions were due to a catch-up in elective surgeries, and asserted that ultimately that the epidemic would spontaneously evaporate."

At least three surveys from the Kaiser Family Foundation published in the journal Social Science and Medicine, and the PBS News Hour/NPR/Marist poll each point to Republicans or white Republicans as a top vaccine-resistant group in America. At least one in four Republican House members refused COVID-19 vaccines. 

Antivaxxers found growing support amongst the Republican Party through the Trump White House disinformation campaign. QAnon conspiracy, which originated in 2017, also took root within far-right extremism with Trump as their savior.

QAnon's core beliefs are that the world is controlled by a secret cabal of Satan-worshipping child molesters, Trump is secretly battling to stop them, and Q reveals details about the battle online. The cabal is thought to cover up its existence by controlling politicians, mainstream media, and Hollywood. Q's revelations imply that the cabal's destruction is imminent but also that it will be accomplished only with the support of the "patriots" of the QAnon community.

Fear, scientific illiteracy, isolation, the feeling of the lack of control, disillusionment, large scale disinformation campaigns, easily spreadable misinformation and conspiracy theories, propoganda, increased access to the internet, the rise of Christian nationalism, evangelical beliefs, cognitive biases, and the Dunning-Kruger Effect all played into a cluster f*ck of distrustful, paranoid, angry, fearful people.

They are anti-science, anti-expert, anti-mainstream medicine, anti-vaxx, and they have no real understanding of how to determine if a source is credible or not. They live in these tight echo chambers that feed their disillusionment and cognitive bias. The algorithm bombards them with the same information that solidifies their beliefs to the point of developing dogmatic thinking and they never question it! They can't handle it when someone questions their beliefs. These folks are not critical thinkers. They seem to have lost that sense of wonder and awe of scientific discovery.

How in the hell are we, as a country, going to address this situation??

People have to want to change. They have to want to break out of their echo chambers. They have to want to stop being willfully ignorant. That takes time, effort, and deprograming. This can be a lonely process. People have found communities within these echo chambers which have of strengthened the echo chambers.

This is an incredibly difficult problem to address. The longer this problem remains, the harder it will be to address it. Our country's wellbeing will continue to decline as long as this problem remains.

[geekysciencemom]

I wanted to get the word out about what is currently happening in regards to Section 504.

Section 504 is an important law that protects people with disabilities. Section 504 says you can’t discriminate against disabled people if you get money from the United States government.

Schools have their own rules regarding Section 504. Students who don't qualify for an IEP will often be placed on a 504 Plan. This plan helps make the learning environment accessible to the student who has the plan. Within this plan, you will find the accommodations that the student needs to be successful at school. A student can have academic accommodations in both the K-12 and college settings. College students can also get living accommodations if they live on campus. People can also request accommodations in the work place.

Health and Human Services have their own rules for people with disabilities when it comes to providing access to medical health care, this includes dentists and behavioral health. There is a wide range of accommodations that health providers are required to provide under Section 504.

This is all thanks to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which Section 504 is included, and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which is attached to Section 504.

Section 504 regulations were signed in 1977. Last year, the rule was updated. This was done due to what happened during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Among other important protections, the rule now covers:

Discrimination in medical treatment: The rule addresses discrimination in medical care and ensures that medical treatment decisions are not based on biases or stereotypes about people with disabilities, judgments that an individual will be a burden on others, or beliefs that the life of an individual with a disability has less value than the life of a person without a disability. These include, for example, decisions about life-sustaining treatment, organ transplantation, and rationing care in emergencies.

Community integration: The rule clarifies obligations to provide services in the most integrated setting appropriate to the needs of individuals with disabilities, consistent with the Supreme Court’s decision in Olmstead v. L.C.

Accessibility of medical equipment: The rule adopts the U.S. Access Board’s accessibility standards for medical equipment to address barriers to care, like exam tables that are inaccessible because they are not height-adjustable, weight scales that cannot accommodate people in wheelchairs, and mammogram machines that require an individual to stand to use them. The rule requires most doctors’ offices to have an accessible exam table and weight scale within two years.

Web, mobile app, and kiosk accessibility: The rule adopts the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, Level AA accessibility standards for websites and mobile applications. It also requires web-enabled systems in self-service kiosks in medical providers’ offices to be accessible. These provisions are particularly important given the increased use of websites, apps, telehealth, video platforms, and self-service kiosks to access health care.

Value assessment methods: Value assessment methods are often used to decide whether a medical treatment will be provided and under what circumstances. The rule prohibits the use of any measure, assessment, or tool that discounts the value of a life extension on the basis of disability to deny, limit, or otherwise condition access to an aid, benefit, or service.

Section 504 is now under attack. There is a court case happening right now where 17 states are trying to end Section 504. If they succeed in ending this foundational law, the laws attached to it (the ADA and civil rights laws pertaining to race and sex) will be in jeopardy.

The Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF) provides additional information about the court case as well as steps to take to protect Section 504.

"This page explains what the lawsuit Texas v. Becerra is, how Texas v. Becerra threatens Section 504, and why Section 504 is important. Further down on this page, learn what you can do to help."

[geekysciencemom]

There is lawsuit from 17 states trying to get Section 504 declared unconstitutional. Section 504 is a foundational disability rights law and is part of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and numerous civil rights laws are built around Section 504. As of today (March 19th) the U.S. Justice Department has stripped 11 regulations from the ADA pertaining to business.

There are direct attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Our civil rights laws are now being use against marginalized communities. The Trump Administration is weaponizing our own laws to go against those he doesn't like as well as meeting the objectives of Project 2025.

Section 504 is managed through the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights (that has now been gutted) and the Department of Health and Human Services.

From Project 2025 - Cease investigating Title VI disparate impact cases. Note: Effectively achieved by closing most civil rights offices; staff say it will be “virtually impossible” to resolve (Completed)

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance.

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights opened investigations into 45 universities under Title VI claiming these universities partnered with “The Ph.D. Project, an organization that purports to provide doctoral students with insights into obtaining a Ph.D. and networking opportunities, but limits eligibility based on the race of participants.”

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) sent letters to 60 institutions of higher education accusing them of “Antisemitic Discrimination and Harassment” and threaten “potential enforcement”.

OCR is also investigating six universities for “allegedly awarding impermissible race-based scholarships and one university for allegedly administering a program that segregates students on the basis of race.”

The Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, a national disability rights group, jointly filed the lawsuit against claiming the Trump administration is sabotaging civil rights enforcement by the Department of Education.

There are also concerns that new complaints won’t get investigated if they don’t fall under one of the president’s priorities: curbing antisemitism, ending participation of transgender athletes in women’s sports and combating alleged discrimination against white students.

[geekysciencemom]

"As the voucher and charter programs were explained and advertised as "school choice" to the public, one corollary fact was not included: residents might lose a choice that many of us have taken for granted for decades—the ability to send our kids to a local, well-resourced public school. The kind of school that serves lunch and participates in the federal school lunch program. The kind of school that provides transportation. The kind of school that has certified teachers and a library and is in a district obligated by law to accept all children in the attendance area, including those with profound special needs, and to provide them a free and appropriate public education." - Jenny Robinson, alternet.org/rural-america-school-choice-agonzingbadassteacher org @BadassTeachersA #TBATs

[geekysciencemom]

I am angry and I am grieving. I decided to write this because I do not want to grieve in a vacuum, hiding away my emotions. Nope. I am going to grieve as I need to. Openly and without shame.

Alanis Morissette - Not As We (video) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pOjcAiMZO4&list=PLk6n90VAXJUa7WeZmS2rbtfMEJSUEz-kL&index=1

Content Warning: Discussing a Dying Parent

[geekysciencemom]

The Republican controled House and Senate has announced that stripping trans rights is part of their first order of business. It is no longer vogue to go after the BIPOC community or go after those who are gay or lesbian.

So, they went after another vulnerable group. Of all the things that need to be focused on in this country, the GOP decides to focus on hurting trans community.

"There is nothing wrong with you, it's true, it's true. There is something wrong in the village."

The Village (trans chorus version) with Trans Chorus of Los Angeles

[geekysciencemom]

My newest blog!

We live in a world where people are expected to fit into certain boxes. If you are born with certain body parts, then you are expected to fit a certain role. If you are born with a different set of body parts, then you are expected to follow a different path. If you are born with a certain color of skin or a certain last name, then you are expected to follow the societal expectations that are applied to the color or the name.

But what of the individual person? What about them?

There is a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson that I have on my Facebook banner, “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”