factoidfactory - Tumblr blog

[factoidfactory]

So we all know that Tumblr is US-centric. But to what degree? (and can we skew the results of this poll by posting it at a time where they should be asleep?)

Reblog to increase sample size!

[factoidfactory]

If anyone is curious about what alternatives to ABA could look like, here's a couple things my (also autistic) mom did with me:

Physical therapy when a young child -- Basically playing games with a physical therapist to help with practicing sensory perception (e.g. I would lay on my tummy with my shirt off and they would paint letters on my back with rubbing alcohol and I had to guess the letter) and fine motor skills (playing cards, toys for practicing tying shoes and putting on buttons, etc)

Letting your kid do stuff like climbing on things, following patterns on the sidewalk, etc as you walk. -- Does it mean you'll take twice as long to get anywhere? Yes. But autistic kiddos need to play with their whole bodies more than neuroypical kids in order to practice sensory skills.

Autism Acceptance Month Fact #20

Applied behavior analysis (ABA) is one of the first and most common interventions recommended for autistic children.

However, most autistic adults say that ABA is traumatic and unethical, treating autistics as a problem that needs to be solved by teaching autistics that they cannot be themselves if they want to be accepted.

[factoidfactory]

Autism Acceptance Month Fact #22

Autistic children are 160 times more likely to drown than neurotypical children.

[factoidfactory]

Random Fact #6,559

Poodles usually change colour as they age from puppies to adults.

Exhibit A: My dog as a puppy

Exhibit B: My dog as an adult

[factoidfactory]

Autism Acceptance Month Fact #21

Hyperlexia, the ability to read above one’s age or grade level in school, commonly accompanies autism spectrum disorder.

[factoidfactory]

Random Fact #6,558

23% of all hummingbird species are found in Brazil (81 species out of 341), with 3% of hummingbird species existing only in Brazil (13 species).

[factoidfactory]

Autism Acceptance Month Fact #20

Applied behavior analysis (ABA) is one of the first and most common interventions recommended for autistic children.

However, most autistic adults say that ABA is traumatic and unethical, treating autistics as a problem that needs to be solved by teaching autistics that they cannot be themselves if they want to be accepted.

[factoidfactory]

I would be so grateful if folks could vote to help save the Mon Keang Chinese school in Vancouver’s Chinatown — the school is in this year’s Next Great Save contest, hoping to receive the necessary funds to restore their historically important 99-year old building. Personally, I am hoping that this culturally relevant and needed space that was built at at the peak of the Chinese Exclusion Act is able to stay in Chinatown, as the building is also under threat due to rapid gentrification and displacement in the area.

Voting only takes 5 seconds!

About Mon Keang school:

Mon Keang School was established in Vancouver’s Chinatown in 1925 at the peak of the Chinese Exclusion Act and its racial discrimination. As a building situated at the heart of Chinatown, Mon Keang is more than just a place for a community-based language school, but also a space that offers intergenerational social gatherings and cultural teachings. The school is soon approaching its 100th year anniversary and the historical building has significant wear and tear from many years of serving the community. For Mon Keang to continue supporting community needs for safe spaces to learn, celebrate history and culture, and engage in storytelling with elders, votes are needed!

Voting rules:

1. One vote per email address once per day 2. Voting ends May 6

Thank you for your support!

[factoidfactory]

For Earth Day, we’re inviting you to take a moment to celebrate our wonderful water world, Earth. As far as we know, our Blue Marble is the only place in the universe with life, and that life depends on water. Snap a photo of yourself outside and tag it #GlobalSelfie – bonus points if your selfie features your favorite body of water! http://go.nasa.gov/3xFt0H0

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space!

[factoidfactory]

Random Fact #6,558

The scientific name for shoebills (Balaeniceps rex) means “whale-head king” because the taxonomists who named it thought the bill looks like the head of a baleen whale.

[factoidfactory]

Another fundraiser I trust!

Please consider donating to Hussam's family! They are low on funds and in need! They're trying to evacuate 14 different family members!

[factoidfactory]

Autism Acceptance Month Fact #19

Autism is not a disease any more than being Black or left-handed is.

Autism is just a different way that the brain processes information and sensory input.

If brains were computers, it's like non-autistic brains are PCs and autistic brains are Macs -- they run a little differently and are better for different things, but they both work fine and exactly as intended.

Saying that autistic brains are broken or faulty would be like complaining that a PC doesn't work like a Mac.

[factoidfactory]

More profound when you consider that Doctors Without Borders rarely makes political statements.

In #UNSC mtg on Middle East, @MSF SG Christopher Lockyear says: "Israeli forces have attacked our convoys, detained our staff, bulldozed our vehicles, hospitals have been bombed and raided. And now for a second time, one of our staff shelters has been hit. This pattern of attacks is either intentional or indicative of reckless incompetence. Our colleagues in #Gaza are fearful that as I speak to you today, they will be punished tomorrow."

He adds: "The humanitarian response in Gaza today is an illusion. A convenient illusion that perpetuates a narrative that this war is being waged in line with international laws. Calls for humanitarian assistance have echoed across this chamber. Yet in Gaza we have less and less every day, less space, less medicine, less food, less water, less safety."

[factoidfactory]

Autism Acceptance Month Fact #18

Up to a third of people with autism spectrum disorder also develop seizure disorders—the rate of seizures in people with ASD is 10 times higher than in the general population.

[factoidfactory]

@autistic-efu Thanks for the fantastic addition!

To further expand on it, it's worth remembering that autism wasn't even a possible diagnosis in the DSM until 1980.

That's insanely recent.

So my mom and grandma? They never got diagnosed even though I have no doubt in my mind that they're as autistic as my cousin and I.

We've always been around, we just didn't have a name for it.

Autism Acceptance Month Fact #16

It's misleading at best to say that the number of autistic people is growing, as the diagnosis is fairly new and thus we don't have enough data to claim this.

For example, when being left-handed stopped being stigmatized, the number of lefties "shot up" because left-handed people no longer had to pretend to be right-handed. There weren't more left-handed people being born, they had always been around.

Similarly, it's extremely possible that the numbers we're seeing have always been the case but as there was no diagnosis before people didn't know they were autistic. As the diagnosis becomes more well-known by doctors it's unsurprising that more people who fit the criteria are discovered.

[factoidfactory]

Autism Acceptance Month Fact #17

Autism is neither something someone can/will "grow out of" nor something you can catch or develop.

You can no more develop or catch autism than you can catch left-handedness or Down's Syndrome.

You are either born autistic or you're not.

[factoidfactory]

Autism Acceptance Month Fact #16

It's misleading at best to say that the number of autistic people is growing, as the diagnosis is fairly new and thus we don't have enough data to claim this.

For example, when being left-handed stopped being stigmatized, the number of lefties "shot up" because left-handed people no longer had to pretend to be right-handed. There weren't more left-handed people being born, they had always been around.

Similarly, it's extremely possible that the numbers we're seeing have always been the case but as there was no diagnosis before people didn't know they were autistic. As the diagnosis becomes more well-known by doctors it's unsurprising that more people who fit the criteria are discovered.