#you definitely can use AAC if it would make you more comfortable or make communication easier etc

[semiverbal-culture-is]

semiverbal culture not knowing if 'allowed' use AAC since hard but can talk enough talk get through most days but still lots difficulty and stop once home, but not want give people false impression AAC users because can talk get through day most days

Semiverbal culture

[bigxrig]

Thank you @neondiamond for tagging me to post a snippet! This is for a fic I just started- an abo single parent strangers to lovers. I'm not putting too much pressure to write since I finally finished the fics that have a deadline. I'm treating this one pretty casually but I am still very excited about it.

“I thought I would explain to you my role and what I can do for Grey, does that sound okay?”

Harry was more than okay with that, he didn’t want to keep having to talk about himself. “Yes, that sounds great.”

Harry listened intently as Liam spoke about his role as Grey’s advocate- he would meet with Grey three times a week or more if necessary. He would help communicate with the teachers for Grey when he couldn’t, and he would also make sure everyone was following his IEP. It all sounded good, great even. He was happy there would be someone in the school who could speak up for Grey when he couldn’t himself and when Harry couldn’t be with him constantly. He just hoped it didn’t sound too good to be true.

“Do you have any questions for me?” Liam questioned.

“Yes, I know you read his file and know Grey has selective mutism. How do you plan on communicating with him?”

“Great question,” Liam grinned. “Does he know sign language?” Harry shook his head no. “That’s alright. Since he doesn’t know sign language, I have an assigned iPad with a few aac apps. Do you know what those are?”

Harry felt himself blushing. “Uhm, no.”

“That’s okay,” Liam reassured again. “It’s called augmentive and alternative communication. It’s a different way of communication for people who need it. Here, I’ll pull up the app I would use with Grey.”

Liam went through the app and showed Harry how to use it and how he would help Grey use it as well. “Wow, that’s really helpful. No one has ever told me about those before and I have been to plenty of doctors and speech therapists.”

“I have found that with selective mutism, doctors and other professionals are hellbent on getting the child to speak that they ignore what could really help. That’s why I asked about sign language and acc’s, it wasn’t to make you feel bad for not teaching him. If you didn’t know those were options, how were you supposed to teach Grey?” Liam questioned. “If he works well with the app and it seems like that will be the best thing for him, then I can definitely help you figure out next steps into getting your own device.”

“That would be great, yes, thank you.”

Liam waved him off as if the possibility of an aac wouldn’t drastically improve his son’s life. “Any other questions?”

“Uhm, I don’t think so.”

“Okay,” Liam glanced at the clock on the wall. “We have twenty minutes left for the bell so I’ll go ahead and call for Grey so I can meet him with you and hopefully that will make him more comfortable.”

“Okay, that sounds great.”

Harry was so excited to see Grey, the school days always felt much longer than the weekends since he couldn’t see his son as often. No one got to see the Grey that Harry did, which he thought was a shame. Grey was smart, too smart for his own good Harry thought, and funny. He had a dry sense of humor that left Harry feeling outwitted. Grey’s voice was also his favorite sound in the world- it was soft spoken and in a higher register than Harry’s own timbre. His cadence was typically calm with inflection at the end to make most things sound like a question since Grey was so unsure of himself. Harry made sure to listen intently, so Grey didn’t feel as if he wasn’t being heard. If Harry had to ask Grey to repeat himself, he would typically stay silent and shake his head. Some days Grey didn’t say a single word and others, his voice carried throughout the apartment like music and Harry wouldn’t play any background noise so he could only hear his son’s voice.

Tagging: @uhoh-but-yeah-alright @larrieblr @littleroverlouis @beelou @haztobegood @larryatendoftheday

[the-autisticats]

“How should I help an autistic person who’s having a meltdown?”

This is a question that hundreds of people asked after my latest Twitter thread about Sia’s movie, where the autistic character is restrained in prone position while having a meltdown.

That post explains why & how prone restraint is dangerous and traumatic. But a lot of people were wondering what should be done to help an autistic person during a meltdown. What are the alternatives to restraint? What would I recommend, as someone who’s had countless severe meltdowns myself?

I generally advise against trying to assist with a meltdown unless you know the person. If they’re totally by themselves, then it’s a judgement call. But more often than not, the person will already have someone with them who can help. Additionally, having a stranger approach during a meltdown has a high chance of making the situation even more stressful for the autistic person. So only approach the person in this circumstance if you think it’s absolutely necessary and would definitely help. For example, if the person was lost and needed assistance getting back to a familiar location.

Okay, so, what do you do if assisting the person is the right role for you to take?

The first step when assisting with any meltdown, is to minimize sensory input and ensure physical safety. Meltdowns are the result of overstimulation, so it’s important to try and reduce the amount of external factors that could be causing overwhelm. It’s also important to ensure that the person is not in immediate danger. Often, solving for those two things will involve changing location.

This is complicated, and if a meltdown is already underway it might be impossible to change locations safely. Even if you do change locations, the meltdown has already started so it’s not just going to stop immediately. So, here are some suggestions for direct support to the person. All of this depends on the environment, the tools available, and your relationship to the person having the meltdown. Use your critical thinking skills to consider different types of responses in different scenarios.

If the person can’t speak: assess what communication methods they can use, and what kind of communication is necessary. If you need to collaborate with the person to find solutions (particularly if you’re in a public place), using an AAC app, a picture-based communication system, pen and paper, or sign language will probably be your best bet. If the person can’t access those things but is still able to nod & shake their head, make sure that any questions you ask are yes or no questions. If you ask something like “Do you want to stay or leave?” they won’t be able to respond. Instead say, “Do you want to stay?” and then if that answer isn’t clear, “Do you want to leave?”

If the person is in a loud or chaotic environment: try to remove them as soon as possible. If they stay in that situation, the meltdown will probably get worse. Sometimes it can be hard for autistic people to move on our own when we’re in a meltdown. We tend to get stuck. So having someone lead us elsewhere can be extremely helpful in a circumstance where we’re too overwhelmed to move ourselves or even know where to go.

If the person has comfort items: try to make sure they have access to them. Blankets, pillows, stuffed animals, water bottles, chewies, stim toys, etc. can all help comfort an autistic person who’s having a meltdown. Some of us have favorite items that we carry with us everywhere. Make sure we have those with us (assuming the items aren’t lost; and if they are lost, help us find them).

If the person is injuring themselves or others: the first step is to try and find replacements for those actions, that meet the same sensory need. If someone is biting themselves, try to find something else for them to bite into. Many autistic people have chewies and other stim toys that can help us in this type of situation. If we don’t have one with us, sometimes other kinds of strong sensory input can work as well. Something that has worked for me in the past, to keep me from biting or hitting myself, is to put something frozen on my lips or in my mouth. The cold is strong and provides a very similar sense of relief.

Many autistic people, myself included, find it beneficial to be hugged tightly and to have our hands or arms squeezed by someone else. But this really depends on the person and their sensory profile, as well as your relationship to the person. Some autistic people hate being touched during meltdowns. So you have to be aware of the individual and their specific needs.

The ONLY circumstance in which a person should be restrained, is if they are at imminent risk of causing injury to themselves or others. Noncompliance, angry speech, etc. are NOT a valid reason to restrain someone. And the typical kinds of restraint used on autistic people are actually quite dangerous. Prone restraint, for example, can be deadly. The only kind of restraint I’ve had used on me that was physically comfortable and felt safe, was when my mom sat behind me and put her legs over mine (leaving some space so that I could still bend my knees a little bit), and hugged me from behind so that my upper arms were against my sides but my hands & wrists weren’t being held and could still move.

I’ve been restrained in a basket hold and in prone position, and both of those positions were extremely painful and traumatic to me. There are probably forms of restraint similar to the one I described that would work but are not harmful and that don’t run the risk of injuring the person. The key I think is to have the person sitting upright, and to restrict the movement of their limbs without putting any pressure on their torso or running the risk of bending/stretching their limbs too far. And again, only do this if it’s absolutely necessary and all other options have been exhausted.

If the person is stimming, making loud noises, sobbing, screaming, and so on: Do not restrain the person, try to stop them from stimming, or try to stop them from making noise. As long as they’re physically safe, this needs to be allowed because it’s the only way for the energy of the meltdown to be released. If they’re screaming and it hurts your ears, put in earplugs to meet your own sensory needs. The truth is that there’s almost always nothing you can do to stop this aspect of a meltdown. All you can do is provide sensory tools, move the person to a safer and quieter location, and wait for it to pass.

Now, here are some reminders about meltdowns:

They are neurological events that are beyond the person’s control

Becoming angry at a person who’s having a meltdown will not help

Meltdowns are caused by a buildup of overwhelming stimuli, not just one tiny thing

They can be triggered more easily if the person is hungry or has low blood sugar (so if a person is getting cranky or seems like they might enter a meltdown, try to get them to eat something)

Every autistic person is different, which means that all of our meltdowns look different and all of us need different things when we’re being helped

You should talk to your autistic friends or relatives about how to help them during a meltdown when they’re in a calm and regulated state. If you can’t talk to the person, you can ask their caregivers what things tend to help the most

Meltdowns often require a period of recovery and after-care. Make sure that the person is safe and comfortable as they recover

While there are lots of things you can do to mitigate the chances of a meltdown happening, sometimes they just can’t be prevented. That’s okay, and it’s something you can prepare for

Communication is key when caring for someone who’s having a meltdown. Let them know what you’re doing and why, ask simple questions when needed, and listen when they communicate with you

What works during one meltdown might not work during the next one. Try to be flexible and ready to adapt as needed, because every situation is different

It’s okay if you don’t get everything right. Situations like these are stressful and hard for everyone involved, so don’t worry about doing things perfectly. All that matters is that you’re trying your best

This is all I have to say for now, but there’s a lot that I’m forgetting about or just haven’t included because it would make the post too long.

If you have any questions about autism that you want answered quickly and you’re willing to pay me a small amount (starting at $3) via Venmo or PayPal, you can email your questions to me at the.autisticats@gmail.com and I’ll get back to you with a detailed answer (and payment information) as soon as possible. This is something I’m starting as I expand the consulting side of my advocacy work. Thank you for your support!

~Eden🐢

[haitickell32528-blog]

FLAC To ALAC(M4A)

FLAC to ALAC can convert FLAC lossless audio to ALAC lossless audio simply. The most recent prime quality music streaming service to launch is Tidal. What makes the service significant is that it's partnered with sixteen audio hardware brands to ensure its platform is as accessible as attainable from the get go. These embody Sonos, HEOS by Denon, Bluesound, NAD and Meridian. With a launch catalogue of 25 million-plus tracks, Tidal clearly intends to make a big splash. MP3: MPEG Audio Layer III , or MP3 for brief, is the commonest lossy format round. A lot so that it is turn out to be synonymous with downloaded music. MP3 is not probably the most efficient format of them all, however its definitely the most well-supported, making it our #1 selection for lossy audio. You really can't go unsuitable with MP3. 3. Click "Convert Now!" button to start conversion. It is going to mechanically retry another server if one failed, please be patient while converting. The output recordsdata will be listed in the "Conversion Results" part. Click icon to point out file QR code or save file to online storage companies resembling Google Drive or Dropbox. Beatport makes a speciality of electronic music and all its' various sub-genres. They're pretty much the go-to website for everything from EDM to Ambient electronic music downloads. It is a wonderful source for DJ's and digital followers alike. They promote single tracks, albums, DJ mixes and so they have even their own customized software program called Beatport Pro for Desktop. Presently Beatport provides WAV, AIFF and MP3 files. Given the big amount of lossless audio compressor decisions available, it's a very tough task to choose the one most fitted to every particular person's needs. Some folks solely think about compression performance when choosing a codec, however as the following table and article shows, there are several different features price taking into consideration when making a alternative.

This Apple file format choice in iTunes can reduce the saved knowledge by almost 50%. It restores to a bit-excellent replica of the original music file for playback. The Apple Lossless Audio Codec (Alac) was open-sourced in 2011, so there's relatively good support, with iTunes on OS X and Windows, Music on iOS, and third-celebration audio players such as PowerAmp on Android providing help. Whereas physical discs are still well-liked, their usefulness will finally be eclipsed by the comfort of purely digital information: whether which means streaming or software program information saved on your community or in the cloud. As a format flac alac конвертер скачать бесплатно will probably never be as widespread a format as CD and DVD were in their heydays, nevertheless it's rapidly turn into the format of choice for people who care about sound high quality. The service streams at 1411kbps, 4 times that of 320kbps rivals, and sounds terrific. If it's essential reduce this to accommodate a more restricted knowledge service, it can be toggled to AAC at 320kbps or AAC+ at 96kbps, flac alac конвертер скачать бесплатно however the high quality drop is important. TIDAL additionally allows offline listening of albums or playlists on cell gadgets - just search for the offline switch on any album or playlist web page to store this content in your device. That said, the report indicates that FLAC information only work in the Recordsdata application, not within the Apple Music app. This is smart, given that will possible require a more main revision to iTunes as well to assist FLAC recordsdata to sync them. Nonetheless, even when Apple does not supply that functionality in the future, at the least audiophiles looking to play their FLAC collections on Apple's devices could have some workaround when iOS 11 launches this fall. Edit: I would add that a "lossless" codec should not corresponding to both the zip or rar or some information they compress the info that is contained in them then expand it back to the original an audio lossless codec doesn't comprise the same data as the originalwav they're compressed and a few data is lost no matter what they declare it is rattling close to the original but it is not it precisely.

[magzoso-tech]

New Post has been published on https://magzoso.com/tech/bose-noise-cancelling-headphones-700-review/

Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 Review

High-end noise cancelling headphones might seem like an unnecessary luxury, considering that they often cost more than a lot of high-end smartphones. Of course if you travel a lot, you’ll agree that these headphones are an important and often indispensable part of your kit. Not only do noise cancelling headphones make things quieter (particular on flights), but they also help you hear audio better, whether music or sound from movies or TV shows.

A stroll around any airport terminal will show you that there are two brands that are way ahead of the competition when it comes to wireless connectivity and active noise cancellation: Sony and Bose. Today, we’re reviewing the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700, the latest high-end headset from the American audio manufacturer.

Priced at Rs. 34,500 in India, this new pair of headphones is among the most feature-filled and capable models in Bose’s consumer range, with active noise cancellation, wireless connectivity, and more. We’ve tested the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700, and here’s what we think.

Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 design and specifications

Bose follows a rather distinct style for its older QuietComfort and SoundLink headsets, which are instantly recognisable to anyone even slightly familiar with headphones. However, the company has departed from this design language with the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700, adopting a whole new aesthetic. The headphones look quite different and a bit artsy in our opinion, with smoother textures, fewer sharp edges and buttons, and a rather unique headband that appears to not be attached to the ear cups at all; don’t worry though, it’s attached firmly.

The frame of the headband is metal, while the ear cups are plastic with a dull finish. The underside of the headband has soft foam padding which is also found around the ear cups to ensure a proper noise-isolating seal. We found the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 to be very comfortable to wear and use over long hours, although spectacles will interfere with noise isolation, and in turn with the quality of the active noise cancellation. Raising the arms of our spectacles above the ear cups fixed this issue (and didn’t interfere too much with our vision either).

This pair of headphones doesn’t have a lot of visual elements, which is a departure from the design language on the QuietComfort series. There’s just a single Bose logo on each ear cup, with two buttons on the right for power and to summon the voice assistant (the default one on your smartphone), and one on the left that controls the active noise cancellation level. By default, this cycles between three ‘favourite’ modes – ‘off’, level 5 (some noise reduction), and level 10 (full active noise cancellation).

Playback and volume controls on the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 are implemented through touch, with the forward part of the right ear cup sensitive to gestures and taps. Swiping up and down adjusts the volume, swiping left and right will skip to the next or previous track, and a double-tap will play or pause music, or answer phone calls. These controls worked well for us, and we quickly got used to them. Interestingly, the headphones also tell you the amount of power left in the battery in terms of hours rather than as a percentage, which we found rather useful.

The Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 uses Bluetooth 5 for connectivity, and supports the SBC and AAC Bluetooth codecs. The headset has what Bose calls an ‘unrivalled microphone system’ which works for both active noise cancellation, as well as for voice communication. The headphones are claimed to run for 20 hours on a single charge with active noise cancellation turned on, and we were able to match this figure during our review. You can, of course, get a few more hours out of the battery with noise cancellation turned off or at a lower level.

The headphones can be charged through a USB Type-C port on the right ear cup. The sales package of the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 includes an audio cable for wired connectivity, a USB Type-A to Type-C cable for charging, and a hard-shell carry case which has a useful compartment for the cables covered by a convenient magnetic flap.

Bose Music app and Bose AR

As is the case with most high-end audio products these days, the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 has a companion app to control some of its settings and functions. The Bose Music app lets you connect to the headphones, adjust the noise cancellation level to your liking, customise the ‘favourite’ settings that the button on the headset cycles through, set your preferred voice assistant, set the auto power-off time, and more.

The app isn’t something you’ll need to use often, and it really only came in handy for us when we just started using the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700, when we used it for an initial setup and tweaked the settings to our liking. It was buggy though, sometimes not connecting to the headphones until we’d restarted either them or the app. Apart from that, we also needed the app to access the Bose AR feature.

With the latest range of Bose headphones, the company is touting something called Bose AR — an audio-based augmented reality platform. Although augmented reality usually involves visual elements, Bose hopes to popularise the idea of audio-based AR. Going to Bose AR in the Bose Music app shows the existing apps that support the platform, and there aren’t many for now – just two that we could install on Android and six on iOS were listed at the time of our review.

We tried one of the apps, Audiojack, on an Apple iPad mini (2019). This ‘story-telling’ app created various sound effects and connected with the Bose headphones, but the experience was nothing out of the ordinary or even special. As such, we’re of the opinion that Bose AR is a gimmick for now; it might get better in the future but it certainly adds nothing worthwhile to the product at this time.

Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 performance

The rivalry between Sony and Bose was a close one while the QuietComfort 35 II was the latter’s top product in this segment, but the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 has definitely taken things up a level. Design, comfort, active noise cancellation, and sound quality have all been improved on the new Bose offering, and it is visibly and audibly a generation ahead of the competition.

We used the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 in a variety of environments to test the active noise cancellation, including in our office, in a mall, in a taxi, and on a couple of flights. We usually had it connected to an Android smartphone, but also tested sound quality with an Apple iPad mini (2019). Even on the Android smartphone, the headphones automatically selected the AAC Bluetooth codec

Let’s first talk about active noise cancellation — the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 are undoubtedly the best we’ve heard when it comes to this feature. The ability of these headphones to create silence in otherwise noisy environments is incredible, and were able to almost completely block out ambient sound. While the typical ‘vacuum’ effect was audible, it wasn’t as unsettling as on our previous favourite noise cancelling headphones, the Sony WH-1000XM3.

The best test of active noise cancellation is on an airplane, and these headphones were able to almost entirely shut out the sound of the jet engines on the flights we took. While noise cancellation doesn’t eliminate sounds such as voices, we did find that even these sounds were much softer with the headphones on. The level of quietness achieved was refreshing, and also helped us hear things such as dialogue in movies and TV shows more clearly, apart from making the music listening experience more immersive and distraction-free.

The ability to adjust the intensity of noise cancellation isn’t a new feature, but Bose has made it much more customisable with the Noise Cancelling Headphones 700. Although we liked the starkness of the ‘level 10′ setting, we see the appeal of having ten adjustment points for people who might want to tone things down a notch. We spent a lot of time using the ‘level 5′ setting since this gave us a bit of ambient awareness while still bringing noise levels down to a comfortable point.

Coming to sound quality, Bose has done an excellent job, but this isn’t quite the best we’ve heard from a pair of wireless headphones. We started with the UK garage classic Sweet Like Chocolate by Shanks and Bigfoot, and immediately noticed a calculated attack in the low end along with sparkling highs. This genre is largely about the rhythmic beats, and we loved how dedicated the headphones were to keeping things as accurate and true to the sound as possible. Sharon Woolf’s easy vocals weren’t quite the centre of attention, but were never lost in the airy, immersive bass.

Moving on to a high-resolution version of State Of The Art by Gotye, we were impressed by the openness and spaciousness of the sound. Even small details could be heard in the wide soundstage This was impressive most of the time, but some details would occasionally get lost in the focus sound of the track. We felt that the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 wasn’t quite as detailed as the Sony WH-1000XM3, which perhaps has to do with the lack of support for more capable Bluetooth codecs such as aptX and LDAC.

Listening to Rock With You by Michael Jackson, we definitely felt that the sound quality was a step above that of the Bose QC35 II in terms of detail and presence, but stopped short of Sony’s tightness, sharpness, and revealing nature. To be clear, the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 sounds good, but there’s just a bit missing at the top that we expect from such a high-end pair of headphones.

Finally, we used the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 for hands-free calling. This is among the best headsets we’ve used for phone calls, with clear sound on both ends. The typical distant-sounding effect that usually gives away the fact that you’re using a headset was not a problem at all when using this device, making for a natural sound that surprisingly improves voice quality on calls.

Verdict

Bose has long been considered the leader when it comes to active noise cancellation on headphones, but the last couple of years have seen Sony take the lead with its WH-1000X series. With the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700, Bose has taken several big steps forward, shaking off its ageing QC lineup in favour of modern design and improved performance. These headphones, in our opinion, once again take the lead when it comes to design, comfort, and noise cancellation, but don’t quite do enough to catch up with Sony in terms of sound quality, whether with noise cancellation on or off.

Although the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 does sound very good, it isn’t quite the best-sounding pair of wireless headphones you can buy for the price. However, this product is, on the whole, still an excellent proposition. Sure, it’s expensive, but Bose does have the kind of glamour and desirability that makes it an aspirational brand.

Unless you’re particular about getting that slight edge in sound quality (or if you absolutely have to have the superior Bluetooth codec support that Sony and others offer), the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 is a strong recommendation from us. It’s expensive, but then so are most nice things in life.

Price: Rs. 34,500

Pros

Looks good, very comfortable

Intuitive gesture controls

Unmatched active noise cancellation

Open, airy soundstage

Strong lows and highs

Cons

Limited Bluetooth codec support

Bose AR is underwhelming

Sound isn’t as detailed and revealing as we’d have liked

Ratings (out of 5)

Design/ comfort: 4.5

Audio quality: 4

Battery life: 4

Value for money: 3.5

Overall: 4

Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.

[heyteachergivethosebooksaloan]

I Can Communicate! :AAC

Software Name: I CAN COMMUNICATE! Function: Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Cost: Free Compatibility: Android Where To Get It: Google Play or https://www.icancommunicateapp.com/

For students who can’t, won’t, or have difficulty speaking out loud, augmentative and alternative communication can be extremely helpful to them with their daily communication and to make answers or ask questions in class.

How does it work?

You can easily add terms, categories, and images to the app by clicking the three dots on the top of the page. You can click the terms to create sentences or type in sentences directly into the message window. Once the sentence is ready, you press the “talk” button and an automated female-coded voice will read the phrase.

Adding words or phrases is easy and you can add photos that you take yourself, or images from their clipart catalogue which makes the overall “look” of the app as customizable as possible. This also makes it appropriate for older students as the images don’t have to look childish. Two examples I made, were one adding myself, and one adding the word “library”.

The app also allows for communication in English or Spanish. Additional languages can be added as well using the gear shaped button on the top of the page. To assist students who are learning English, you can type the label on the word in as being in their first language, and have it read in English or vice versa either as a communication tool, or as a way to practice language.

What do you think of it?

It doesn’t work as well as more expensive softwares such as Proloquo2Go, but it can be very useful. I handed it over to my grandmother who is deaf and had her use it to speak with my other grandmother who doesn’t know sign language. It was much more effective for the pair of them than their usual means of communication, vague miming, lip reading and over annunciation. It worked especially well because my grandmother is a quick typer, but I can see it being less effective for those who have limited use of their hands or have difficulty typing on screens.

I can see how it might be useful as a communication tool for those learning English, or those who are comfortable with the interface.

Who is it for?

As I mentioned before I think it might be most useful for nonverbal students who are fast typers, ESL students, and other students who need help communicating who can read and write. I’m sure with a little work it could be adjusted to work well for younger students, but as it is, and without significant customization, I’d suggest it for students in grades 4 or higher.

Final Score?  

6/10

In order for the app to be useful it requires significant set up time and practice. Unfortunately the lack of a search tool makes it difficult to quickly access words that may be lower down in the list, and for students who can read and write, it may be quicker to simply type in what they want to say and have the automated voice read it aloud.

The app is highly customizable, but has some user interface issues. It may be alright for older students, but lacks the drag and drop utility that would make it easy to sort the cards. The ability to add your own words, phrases, and images, along with the clean, and somewhat sparse looking interface makes it effective for upper elementary students and older, but would not be something I would suggest for younger students. The fact that the languages can be changed, or the cards can be written in one language and spoken in another can be very helpful for students learning English and needing support in communication. Ultimately it can be very helpful for a lot of people, but it requires quite a bit of time to get to that point.

For a completely free app this tool has a ton of usefulness. It’s simply unclear of what the audience is, and the amount of time you need to put into it to make it effective is very high for use in a school setting where the teacher would need to put in the set up time. Looking at it against the $189.99- $399.99 Proloquo apps and software, it’s definitely an example of “you get what you pay for”.

[scriptautistic]

Masterpost: Autism and Vocabulary

As a writer, we’re sure you are aware that words are important. You can’t always substitute one for another because they all have their own depth of meaning and their own subtleties. So if you want to write an autistic character, you’ll have to refer to autism using the right words. This post will help you do just that!

Autistic person? Person who has autism? Which one should I use?

This is a highly debated question. You might have heard “You have to say “person with autism” because you’re talking about a person first; the person is not defined by their disability!”. While this is a nice thought, it is largely misguided, and this way of talking are mainly used by non-autistic persons while talking about us. The autistic community doesn’t like this “person-first” language very much for several reasons.

First of all, if you need to use specific language to remind yourself that we are people, you may have a problem that no amount of linguistic workarounds can solve. We say “a French person”, not “a person who is French” or “a person with Frenchness”, because we don’t need to remind ourselves that French people are people. Why should it be different with autistic people?

The second reason most of us don’t like saying we are “persons with autism” is that our autism is not something that we carry with us. We are not a human person + a terrible disorder. We are fundamentally different. Being autistic is an integral part of who we are as people, and touches every sphere of our lives. If someone somehow managed to take away our autism, they wouldn’t reveal the “real us” that was hidden behind it: they would create a whole different person. We can’t be separated from our autism, and this should be reflected in the language you use while talking about us.

So ideally, you’ll want to use “autistic”, as an adjective: Cat is autistic, they are an autistic person. Some of us sometimes use “autistic” as a noun as a shortcut, when we’re tired of repeating “people” all the time, but it’s best to avoid it when you can, especially if you’re allistic.

What you really need to avoid is “a person with autism”, or heaven forbid “a person who happens to have autism”, “a person who suffers from autism”, “a person who lives with autism”, or any variation thereof. I’ve also seen a few people write “an autist”, but I don’t get why they do that. Please don’t do it.

And please don’t refer to us as being “on the spectrum,” we don’t need a euphemism to soften the blow of the word “autistic.” We are autistic! Even those who don’t seem disabled. Please remember that, while it is all too often misused in an insulting or pejorative way, “autistic” is not a bad word. Don’t be afraid to use it! In fact, using it more and in a positive way is the best way to stop it from being misused as a pejorative.

You keep using these words I don’t understand…

Alright, let’s get a glossary going! We’ll update this post whenever we use a word that could be hard to understand (if we can remember to do it…). If there is any word on the blog that you can’t understand, check if we’ve explained it here. If we haven’t, shoot us an ask and we’ll do it ASAP. :) All of the titles are clickable and will take you to the corresponding tag so you can check out everything we’ve written about a subject.

AAC: Augmentative and Alternative Communication. Encompasses all means of communicating used by nonverbal people which are not spoken/sign language, such as using a text-to-speech device or a pictogram system to communicate.

ABA: Applied Behaviour Analysis, the most common type of “therapy” autistic children are subjected to. It can have lots of negative long-terms effects on the person’s life, such as PTSD or vulnerability to abuse.

Ableism: Treating disabled people (including autistic people) poorly because they are disabled.Treating someone differently because they behave in autistic ways, punishing autistic people for stimming, forcing nonverbal autistics to communicate verbally (and ignoring other types of communication), etc. are all examples of ableist behavior.

Alexithymia: Difficulty identifying one’s own emotions, very common in autistic people. They may not know how they feel at all, or simply unable to name their feelings. They are often unable to answer the question “How are you?” or “How are you feeling?” and may be aware only of whether they are feeling “good” or “bad” (and sometimes not even that).

Allistic: Someone who is not autistic. Used as an adjective and sometimes as a noun.

Asperger’s Syndrome: An outdated diagnostic term for an autistic person who is generally able to communicate verbally at a typical age and shows interest in social relationships. This is no longer considered to be a thing which exists. (See our masterpost on functioning labels.)

Autistic: Someone who is autistic (ie the subject of this whole blog) (I don’t know why we added that to the glossary)

Cure Culture / Curism: The attitude held by many allistic groups (most notably the hate group “Autism Speaks”) that autism is a disorder or disease which should be eliminated from the human race and place a priority on “curing” it. This is similar to the old belief that homosexuality is a disease that should be cured, and just as harmful to autistic people.

Disability: There are two main definitions to this word: 1- Not being able to do something that the majority of people are able to do. For example: hear (deaf), see (blind), smell (anosmic), walk (para/quadriplegic), etc.  2-Being impaired by a physical/mental difference in a way that restricts one’s professional, social, personal, or leisure activities. Depending on the definition and personal opinions, autistic people can be considered disabled or not disabled.

Dyspraxia: Difficulty with gross and/or fine motor skills, very common in autistic people. To a casual observer they may appear clumsy, often dropping things, walking into things, or tripping over their own feet (gross motor skills), or with poor handwriting, poor ability to hold a writing instrument, etc. (fine motor skills).

Echolalia: Use of verbal repetition to communicate, usually used by those who are not fully verbal. Words and phrases can be immediately repeated directly (“You OK?” “You OK.”), or with some changes (“Are you OK?” “I am okay.”). They can also come from memory (“Who gave you that?” [Darth Vader voice] “I am your father.” = my father).

Executive Dysfunction: Difficulty with executive functioning; skills used to make decisions and carry out tasks. Many autistic people have problems with this. They may be unable to make what appear to be simple decisions or figure out how to accomplish a simple goal. They may know exactly what they need to do but be unable to get their body to move to do it. It has been described via metaphors in a few ways: one is having all the ingredients to make a cake but no recipe, and being expected to make the cake, but having no idea how to do it. Another is that the body is like a horse and the brain is the rider, and the rider tries to get the horse to move, but it simply won’t budge.

Functioning Labels: Outdated and inaccurate (but sadly, still commonly used) labels for autistic people based on a narrow set of criteria. Those who don’t communicate verbally are normally considered “low-functioning”, for example, and those who can are “high-functioning”. See our masterpost for more information on why these labels are damaging and should not be used.

Hyperacusis: When a person is extremely sensitive to sound and the world sounds far louder to them than to others. It is often extremely painful, like having the volume on the world turned up way too high, and can be disabling. Many people with hyperacusis have or develop tinnitus (a constant sound, often ringing, usually caused by nerve damage in the ears).

Hyperempathy: Having far more affective empathy than a normal person. This can result in things like crying often, being unable to comfort upset people because their emotions are too overwhelming, etc. Some people feel hyperempathy all the time. Some have it only sometimes or for some people, or for inanimate objects.

Hypersensitivity: A blanket term which means “being more sensitive than most people to something”. When it comes to autism, it can refer to several things. Most of the time, it is used about sensory hypersensitivity, such as sensitivity to sounds or bright lights. There is also emotional hypersensitivity (easily getting hurt feelings/responding very strongly to positive feelings).

Hyposensitivity: The opposite of hypersensitivity, some autistic people feel a lack of sensory stimulation. They feel understimulated and may constantly feel the need to seek sensory stimulation. It’s important to note than an autistic person may be hypersensitive in some ways and hyposensitive in others, or at different times.

Infodumping: Sharing a large amount of information on a single topic all at once, often without pausing or allowing others to speak, due to overwhelming enthusiasm for the subject. It is usually done on subjects of special interest.

Low empathy: Some autistic people feel reduced or no affective empathy for other people (do not identify with their emotions or feel inspired to a certain emotion when they see others having that emotion). This does not necessarily mean that they do not care about the emotions of others - some may not care, some may care a great deal - only that they do not feel what others feel. Some people with low empathy for other people have hyperempathy for inanimate objects or fictional characters.

Meltdown: When the brain is too overloaded with sensory information or stress and can no longer function properly, an autistic individual may have a very violent reaction, called a meltdown. The person melting down is generally in a lot of pain. They might scream, throw things, yell curse words and insults, cry, hurt themselves or other, and try to hide themselves in absurd locations like under couch cushions or behind doors. This neurological event cannot be controlled or stopped once it begins. It can be made worse by interfering and adding more sensory input (by touching or talking to the person) and usually will not subside until the person is left alone to calm down. 

Neurodivergent/Neuroatypical: Having a neurology which is different from the most common ones, such as being autistic or having ADHD. Some people include mental illnesses in this label, some do not.

Neurodiversity: The philosophy that in order to succeed, survive, and thrive, the human race needs many different types of neurology, and that neurodiverse people are an important and positive component of our species.

Neurotypical: A term which is defined as “having the most common type of neurology” (ie not autistic, without ADHD/dyslexia/tourette’s, etc.). Someone with a mental illness may or may not be considered neurotypical depending on people’s opinions.

Nonverbal: Someone who cannot or does not communicate verbally (using spoken language, often including sign language). Some autistic people are always nonverbal. Most are nonverbal under stress or overload. Some are always verbal.

Passing: Successfully behaving enough like an allistic person, particularly in social situations, that no one suspects you are autistic. Often important or even necessary for some people, especially when it comes to work situations.

PECS: One of the AAC methods which is most commonly used with autistic children (and sometimes adults). Stands for “Picture Exchange Communication System”. A pictogram-based system.

Proprioception: All of the sensory input which comes from inside your body. Includes your brain’s awareness of where the different parts of your body are. Autistic people often have very poor proprioception. As a result, they may have some type of dyspraxia, odd facial expressions, odd posture and walking gait, etc., all of which they may not be aware of until someone tells/shows them.

Sensory Processing Disorder: The clinical term for someone who has difficulty processing sensory information. Includes sensory hypersensitivity, hyposensitivity and differences. Too many details to process can lead to sensory overload, shutdowns, and meltdowns. Some autistic people don’t agree that it is a disorder, and prefer to talk of “sensory processing differences”.

Sensory Overload: When too much sensory information is being sent to the brain and the brain can no longer keep up. It becomes painful and the person can become incapable of accepting new sensory information until the brain has time to catch up (like a computer freezing when too many programs are open). This often leads to shutdowns and/or meltdowns.

Shutdown: A defense mechanism against sensory overload and stress. The brain attempts to shut out all sensory input by disconnecting from the environment. The person might no longer understand speech (or even fully hear it), be able to think in language (or to think in any way at all), move their body, or communicate in any way. Their eyes might unfocus and they may seem to be completely “out of it”. This state is usually a sign that the person needs to be left alone for their brain to calm down, but if pushed by those around them, they may switch to having a meltdown.

Special Interest: A subject which an autistic person is extremely interested in and will go to great lengths to learn everything possible about.

Spoons: A metaphor used to indicate the (limited) amount of energy a disabled or sick person has to devote to various tasks. There is a whole script blog devoted to this (@scriptspoonies). Many autistic people rely on this metaphor to describe their (lack of) energy.

Stimming: Repeated actions which are used to stimulate one’s own nervous system, done for various reasons including to soothe oneself/calm down, express emotions, communicate, or just because it feels nice. Common examples include rocking back and forth, flapping hands, clenching jaw, tapping a part of the body, making a repeated noise, etc.

Verbal: Able to communicate using spoken language.

[hub-pub-bub]

As academic library Maker work increasingly expands into undergraduate classroom curricula, librarians and Maker space staff find they lack the standardized vocabulary they need to communicate with instructors. In particular, there is a growing need for definitions of the cross-disciplinary, transferrable skills involved, and an established method of assessing them.

In July, the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) Libraries, University of Massachusetts­–Amherst (UMA) Libraries, and University of Nevada–Reno (UNR) were jointly awarded a three-year, $241,845 National Leadership Project Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The grant, “Maker Immersion: Developing Curriculum Design and Assessment Skills for Academic Makerspace Course Integration,” will build on the work of a 2017 IMLS grant–funded pilot study, which explored the impacts of academic library Maker spaces on undergraduate student learning and identified a series of standardized competencies—skills developed while problem-solving and working on projects in Maker spaces or similar learning environments.

The first year of the new grant-funded pilot will be spent testing the previously established competencies, which the partners revised after the initial grant had run its course, and developing rubrics based on them. Beginning this month, the three partners will pilot Maker literacies curricula in 20 undergraduate courses, bringing in seven more collaborator institutions. Subject faculty, librarians, and Maker space staff involved in these courses will then provide feedback to help revise and improve the rubrics, which will ultimately be used to assess student learning.

UMA students presenting project at the end of pilot semester in "Makerspace Leadership and Outreach" course taught in the W.E.B. Du Bois Library's Digital Media Lab. Photo credit: Sarah Hutton

During the next two years, the partner schools will develop and execute two weeklong immersion programs to train faculty and instructors on best practices for integrating use of Maker spaces into their courses. They will learn how to use the competencies and rubrics to develop assignments and curricula, and to assess student learning. An asynchronous, online iteration of the immersion programs will also be made publicly accessible.

The project’s goal is to create a national network of teaching librarians and Maker space staff who will be able to lead their institutions in integrating and assessing Maker-based learning.

DEVELOPING COMPETENCIES

When UTA opened its FabLab in the library in 2014, FabLab Interim Co-director Katie Musick Peery and Gretchen Trkay, at the time the interim co-department head for Outreach and Scholarship, began looking into how they could help instructors integrate Maker work into their courses. They started out talking to subject liaison librarians about what was available at the FabLab, much in the same way that librarians would reach out to faculty members about what the library had on offer.

What they discovered, said Trkay, was that most liaisons were not particularly comfortable talking with faculty about resources so far outside the scope of traditional library work. The FabLab librarians would need to take a more creative approach.

The following year the libraries created the Experiential Learning and Undergraduate Success department, with Trkay as director. One of its missions was to better integrate the FabLab into the UTA curriculum without that work having to be driven exclusively by FabLab staff. When talking to faculty in her previous role, Trkay told LJ, information literacy competency standards had been a useful framing device to explain how the transferable skills that libraries teach overlapped with instructors’ defined learning outcomes. She had wondered: How can we create a similar mechanism for course integration and Making?

Most of the available literature about Maker-based education, they found, focuses on K–12 STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics) initiatives rather than higher education. The two decided that exploration of Maker standards in academic institutions required a multi-year, grant-funded study, and applied for IMLS funding.

As part of the grant submission process, Trkay and Musick Peery put out the call for an external partner. Tara Radniecki, head of UNR’s DeLaMare Science and Engineering Library, was familiar with the FabLab’s work. Although UNR had installed its first 3-D printers in 2012, she recalled, "We were at a point with our Maker space [where] we really hadn't made that firm jump into being integrated into the curriculum. So this was a perfect opportunity for us."

FINDING THE RIGHT MAKER MIX

Once the grant had been secured, UTA and UNR looked for a mix of schools to work with, in order to test Maker competencies in a range of settings. They were also interested in a variety of Maker space types; UTA’s, for example, was heavily focused on fabrication, but they also wanted to include spaces that worked with digital media and virtual and augmented reality, as well as a combination of established spaces and those just getting off the ground.

UMA joined the project in 2017. The Digital Media Lab, a cross-disciplinary Maker space in UMA’s W.E.B. Du Bois Library, had opened in 2013 and was seeing similar issues as the other institutions when it came to engaging liaison librarians. The space—which is open to all UMA students, faculty, and staff, regardless of major or department, and hosts students from local K–12 schools as well—had originated as a resource for digital work, including oral histories and filmmaking, and had only begun integrating fabrication work in 2015.

“Most of the collaborations we had done on curriculum development were [directly] with faculty,” said Sarah Hutton, head of student success and engagement. “I thought this would be great opportunity to help develop some more standards to help engage librarians and library staff in thinking about these experiential competencies in Maker spaces."

UTA and UNR brought in Boise State University, ID, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as well. Over the course of the first grant, each partner developed competencies through their own curriculum; at UNR, for example, the Historical Geography and Digital Art classes were tapped. While the schools and classes varied widely, however, their findings were similar across the board: Librarians had difficulty talking to faculty members about the Maker space as a pedagogical tool.

“One of the biggest challenges was getting the librarians comfortable,” Radniecki told LJ, and “up to speed with everything they needed to know in order to go confidently to a faculty member and say, ‘this is the Maker space, this is what it can do for you. Let me help you integrate it into your assignment, or create an entirely new assignment.’”

UMA student project from "Designing with 3D CAD & BIM" course taught in collaboration with the W.E.B. Du Bois Library's Digital Media Lab. Photo credit: Alex Schreyer

RUBRICS AND IMMERSION

The partners hope to have the rubrics complete by the beginning of October, and will test them with participating schools in the spring.

These rubrics are based on the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU) VALUE (Valid Assessment of Learning in Undergraduate Education) Rubrics, and the project partners hope that instructors will use them as a jumping off point for developing their own curricula.

"The AAC&U VALUE rubrics is a language that faculty are already speaking, and that helps to bring these conversations into alignment and give librarians more confidence" when communicating with faculty about Maker spaces, explained Hutton.

”Hopefully we'll create an online library of sorts, a database where people can come in and see existing assignments, can find all the competencies, can find the rubrics [and] how we're assessing those,” said Radniecki. The database will be searchable, so users can look for a particular discipline and see how other schools implement Maker competencies in their classes. “It'll be a place to inspire and encourage people to start thinking critically about how they can take this and apply it in their own spaces,” she added.

They will be testing competencies in a broad range of small and large, public and private, geographically diverse institutions, including at least one tribal or historically black college. Eventually, seven additional partners will be selected. The common denominator, said Radniecki, is “that the [Maker space] librarians are active and engaged, and would be able to work with faculty and get classes to utilize the Maker space with these competencies and assessment plans."

During the grant’s second year two immersion workshops, hosting approximately 75 attendees each, will use the materials developed in the first grant and refined through the second grant’s first phase, and present them to librarians and Maker space staff.

“A big aim of the immersion program, once we've refined all of these tools, is to do that professional development with librarians,” Musick Peery told LJ. “They have the subject area knowledge of how to run their space well and how to use the equipment, and some of them might have a lot of curriculum development experience as well. But for those who don't, [the program] will be delving deeper into how to develop those learning outcomes and tie them to the equipment that they have in their space, and really partner with the faculty who have their own subject area expertise."

These in-person immersion programs will also help build a cohort who can serve as a support network for each other as well as future participants. “When UTA was first opening their space, we went through many of the same issues,” said Trkay. “I think that will be extremely useful for everybody participating in this immersion program, to have those ongoing conversations after the programming has concluded.”

After the grant period expires, the project’s sustainability will be ensured through the online platform, which will be developed during the third year. “The hope is that as time goes by, it's a go-to resource for librarians and libraries looking to have an active curriculum that focuses on students as creators,” Trkay told LJ.

IMPACT NOW AND TO COME

While the partners expect that their work will help a widening circle of librarians, Maker staff, and instructors as the project progresses, they have already seen its impact at their own institutions.

At UTA, a large public university ranked the fifth most ethnically diverse in the country, and where the student body is over 50 percent first-generation college students, the skills that Maker spaces represent are a growing key to the new job market. UMA, a public land grant institution, serves not only its own campus but local community members and K–12 students. Because much of their interaction around Maker spaces involves one-shot instruction—which doesn’t allow for time to dig deeply into rubric development—grant partners have enjoyed the chance to think critically about this work over an extended period of time.

"At UNR it's helped us solidify the Maker space's role in academic achievement, which is something we've been wanting to prove—how the Maker space contributes to student success or researchers' success on campus,” Radniecki told LJ. “For student success it's been ad hoc. We've had some classes and assigned projects in the space, we can teach things in the space, but without that critical competency and the accompanying assessment piece, we really couldn't understand what the full impact was."

The project’s ultimate intent—to create a structure and shared vocabulary for librarians to communicate the value of Maker spaces on their campuses—is already well under way. “You have some people who are ready to jump in to any new thing and try it, but we tend to stick with the lane that we're in, in many cases,” said Trkay. “Our goal is to build confidence in librarians to think of themselves as teaching partners, and utilize all of these wonderful tools that are at our fingertips."

Lisa Peet is Associate Editor, News for Library Journal.

[type2diabetestreatments-blog]

From AACE: A Video Chat with Two Type 1 Endos

New Post has been published on http://type2diabetestreatment.net/diabetes-mellitus/from-aace-a-video-chat-with-two-type-1-endos/

From AACE: A Video Chat with Two Type 1 Endos

A patient's relationship with their endocrinologist is... well, complicated. On one hand, endos spend years in school, learning all the intricate biomechanisms that make the body work, but on the other hand, they often sit behind a desk, doling out advice to patients who may have been living with a disease for longer than they've been familiar with it. Sometimes it can even feel like an endocrinologist is just reading out of a textbook.

Well, you're probably not too far off...

Diabetes is a far more complex disease than most of us would like to admit. Unless you're a skinny 6-year old girl wetting the bed and clocking in with a blood sugar so high the meter can't even give you a number, chances are your case is going to confuse some poor doctor. This is some of what was discussed at the recent annual conference of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE), held in Philadelphia last week.

Approximately 1,800 endocrinologists from the U.S. and abroad attended the annual meeting. There are roughly 4,000 endocrinologists in the U.S. (not a lot to serve our whole population!), although not all of them belong to AACE; the remainder of AACE's 6,500 members are based outside this country.

This year marks the first time AACE reached out to invite bloggers to attend. Why? "Bloggers are a huge voice in the diabetes and endocrine communities," says the organization's media rep Karen Pann. "You are a resource for patients and we wanted to engage bloggers to provide the information presented at AACE and share it with your readers for educational purposes." And share we shall!

Keep in mind that endocrinologists treat more than just diabetes, but it is a big portion of their workload. The other areas include thyroid disorders and growth hormones. For the AACE meeting, the sessions were predominately about diabetes, and I sat in on talks about children with type 2 diabetes (a fast-growing epidemic) and Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults, or LADA.

Both of these issues are causing problems for doctors, in terms of identifying and treating patients. For a long time, diabetes was pretty clear cut: "juvenile diabetes" in kids and "adult-onset" in adults. But then things started shifting. Type 1 in adults and type 2 in kids. And then it started switching again: adults with a diabetes that kind of looked liked both, and kids with type 2 diabetes who could lose weight and come off their medications... On top of that, several endocrinologists at AACE discussed how even "classic" type 1 and type 2 diabetes could be caused by a variety of things never suspected before. So now we're really in trouble!

Both sessions that I attended were held as workshops, and the speakers encouraged participation from the audience. In several instances, case studies were presented and physicians were encouraged to suggest possible additional treatments. Each case study received at least a couple of different suggestions. I found it interesting, and a little worrisome, that so many doctors were on different pages with how to handle a given scenario.

But it appears that while endos (as we affectionately call them) know a lot about diabetes as a broad topic, there are an increasing number of idiosyncrasies popping up on a patient-by-patient basis that can throw doctors for a loop. Especially in the case of LADA, which to this day has no clear definition. For the most part, LADA is: diagnosis of an adult who has autoantibodies (the sign that the body is attacking itself, like type 1 diabetes), but does not require insulin at diagnosis (like type 2 diabetes). How do you treat this condition?

Most endos work off algorithms, or a set of "if this, then that" guidelines that tell an endo what to do. But these days, those set algorithms aren't so helpful, and more doctors are looking at patients individually for what to do — which is tricky, but ultimately necessary.

"I help make algorithms, but I don't like them," said Dr. Harold Lebovitz, a professor of medicine in endocrinology at SUNY Health Science Center in Brooklyn, NY.

The only sure thing, as evidenced by the unanimous vote by the endocrinologists in the room, is that LADA is it's own type of diabetes. It's not a subset of type 1 or type 2 diabetes, although it has similarities with both. It is its own thing! (which Amy says is somehow comforting to know).

Clearly, I'm not a doctor, just a type 1 PWD observing and musing on what she hears. However, I did meet two endocrinologists — and a CDE! — attending the AACE conference who all have type 1 diabetes themselves! I like to call them double-agents. I sat down with Dr. Doug Crumpler and his wife, Kelley, who practice near College Station, TX, and Dr. Michael Davidson, who practices in New Hampshire, to pick their brains about why they come to the AACE meeting, what they think of their fellow endos, and what we patients can do to have a better relationship with our own endos:

Disclaimer: Content created by the Diabetes Mine team. For more details click here.

Disclaimer

This content is created for Diabetes Mine, a consumer health blog focused on the diabetes community. The content is not medically reviewed and doesn't adhere to Healthline's editorial guidelines. For more information about Healthline's partnership with Diabetes Mine, please click here.

Type 2 Diabetes Treatment Type 2 Diabetes Diet Diabetes Destroyer Reviews Original Article

[scriptautistic]

Hi! This blog looks so great I'm really excited by it. In a story I'm writing (it's fantasy), there are elves, and as well as being off folklore/mythological elves, they're also based off autistic people but I'm struggling to figure out what an only autistic society would be like, do you have any ideas?

First of all, having a whole, non-human race be autistic can be quite problematic in terms of representation. See Mod Aira’s thoughts on non-human autistic characters here.

Since elves look a lot like humans, and are usually positively described as a race equal or superior to humans, that might not be that much of a problem, but you should still give this issue some thought and make sure this is really something you want to do. This is not a decision I can make for you.

As for the specifics of an autistic-only society, this is where things get fun !

Here are some ideas in no particular order. Of course I can’t cover everything and other autistic peeps are encouraged to pitch in as always!

Everyone is stimming freely and openly. This is seen as a completely normal thing. I don’t know how modern your universe is, but people are allowed to stim in school or in their workplace. Shops have whole “stim toys” aisles. There are sensory rooms available throughout cities for everyone who might get overwhelmed.

Social norms are completely different. Making eye contact is seen as rude, people are expected to explain their jokes and sarcasm. Actually, communities might write down and edit regularly their social rules so they are explicit and available to all.

Kids are taught in schools strategies to cope with sensory overload or to get stuff done with executive dysfunction. They are encouraged to work on their special interests and it is used as a medium to teach them other things. There is highly individualized teaching and varied teaching styles since all kids have different needs. They would also be taught (either by caretakers or educators) many life skills, such as self-care, taking care of a home, taxes… more explicitely.

In our society, there are things that are seen as “basic needs” that everyone shares such as be well-fed, warm enough, not be in pain, have enough time to sleep… In a workplace or school for example, those needs are supposed to be met. The other needs, the ones not everyone has, are seen as “accomodations” when they are met, and are often more begrudgingly met. In an all-autistic society, meeting needs such as sensory needs or break time when you are overloaded wouldn’t be considered as making accomodations, but as meeting basic needs and as a normal thing.

Autistic people are very diverse and sometimes our needs are conflicting. For example, some might be hurt by loud noises, while some may need to stim and regulate themselves by making/ listening to loud noises. So it is probable that people with similar needs would gather in communities.

Since a lot of autistics are nonverbal at least some of the time, I think all verbal people would also know a nonverbal language such as a sign language they could use to communicate with nonverbal individuals or when they go nonverbal themselves. Communicating via AAC wouldn’t be seen as unusual or surprising.

Art and culture would probably be very different. Autistic people are often creative, but they create different things from what allistics create.

I feel like emergencies such as fires would be handled differently. I don’t think loud alarms and blinking lights would be the most efficient. I don’t have ideas for an alternative system though.

Lots of autistic people have trouble driving and I feel like it would have an impact on the most commonly used means of transportation. Either, for a more primitive setting, horse riding would be a huge thing - since horses are sentient they can take care of some of the “looking around to make sure we don’t run over someone or collide into something” - or, for a modern setting, automatized transportation means would have been developed sooner than in our world.

There would be more focus than in our society on precise planning and available information. Navigating administrations wouldn’t be so chaotic, or else no one could deal with it. There would be early on a need to get stuff organized in a very clear, explicit way.

That’s all I can think of for now. I hope this helps!

-Mod Cat

There are some great ideas here and I can think of a million more, but I will restrain myself! I just want to add a couple of things as food for thought:

Sign language isn’t speaking, but it is still verbal (the brain still processes it more or less the same as any other language), so many people (including me) are not able to sign when nonverbal despite being fluent in a sign language. However, many autistic people find signing more comfortable than speaking, so I definitely agree that more people would know how to sign, and it would likely be a second language requirement.

I have to be honest here… Although I have many autistic friends online, I don’t have many that I see regularly face to face. I think there is a reason that autistic people make up a minority of the human race, rather than the majority. For all our advantages, we often have conflicting needs, and we are not at all specialized for living in large groups the way allistic people are. Even though I like my autistic friends a lot, I don’t like spending a lot of time with them in person because they… get on my nerves. I mean in specific ways - for example, we have completely unrelated special interests, and they infodump about theirs for ages, and I have no interest whatsoever but don’t want to interrupt and seem rude (since I hate it when people do that to me). Or they stim and it bothers me. I’m extremely hypersensitive, including to movement, so if someone (besides me) is rocking back and forth or doing another repetitive motion near me, I can’t even open my eyes or I get overloaded. I love my autistic friends and I love the fact that I’m autistic, but I would not want to live in a completely autistic society - I’d have to hide away from other people and I’d become socially isolated even more than I am in this world. Note that this is my personal point of view and NOT true for all autistic people. But there WOULD be people like me who couldn’t deal with being around other people’s stimming, and we might not all get along as well as you might think.

On the positive side: all the things that are considered “disabilities” in this world with regards to autism would be seen as the norm. Not being able to speak some or all of the time would be considered a normal personality trait, like being good or bad at sports or drawing. Suddenly getting up and leaving a conversation due to overstimulation would be perfectly normal. It would be a given that normal respect for other people includes maintaining a quiet and calm environment as much as possible.

Another issue regards public spaces. There is something called “selective attention” which allows people to block out background sensory information and focus only on what is relevant to them at the moment (for example, listening to what one person is saying when there are other conversations happening nearby). In autistic people, this is usually very weak or completely nonexistent. It’s not possible for me to filter out background noise. If I need to meet someone for a conversation or work meeting, it MUST be in a quiet place. I am incapable of following a conversation when more than one person in the room is talking. I literally can’t unscramble their words from the words of other people and it just becomes a jumbled mess of gibberish that rapidly becomes painful. So how would things like restaurants work? Cafes? Parties? Assuming many or most people can’t hear what someone is saying when ANYONE else in the room is talking, how could you have spaces like that? Would they exist at all? Would their be some kind of magic (in a fantasy world) or tech (sci-fi) that can block out all sounds outside of the group you’re in? 

Not trying to poke holes, but trying to point out possible issues that you should think about when creating your society. And as Cat mentioned, be very careful about painting a non-human race as “like humans but autistic”. Being autistic is not an inhuman state, and it can be very damaging to describe it as such, even if your intentions are good. I would be much more comfortable with a human all-autistic society than a non-human one. Maybe consider making the humans all autistic and code the elves as allistic. :P

If you keep all this in mind, I’d be interested to see what kind of society you might come up with. Good luck!

-Mod Aira