Clock & Chain

crossposting from bsky - glad I stopped using spotify when I did and that I unlinked it from my discord, but still

please remember us when talking about neurodiversity. ocd, dyslexia, dyscaculia, personality disorders, tourettes, intellectual disabilities, schizo-spec disorders, etc. all fall under neurodiversity.

please stop saying neurodivergent when you mean "autism and adhd."

Are you registered? Have you registered? Do you want to, but your state government is being a dick about it? Do you need ID?

Don't worry--get help

Register to vote in your state -Vote.gov

How to register to vote - USAgov

Now, both of those are US government websites, so if you like, go to them for information but then go to your individual state's voting registration website. You know, if you distrust this federal government for some reason....

Check your voter registration status

Find out how to register in your state: some offer online, some require by mail or in person.

Alabama

Alaska

Arizona

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware

Florida

Georgia --this is not the state website. the state website was down every time I tried it

Hawaii

Idaho

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi

Missouri

Montana

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Mexico

New York

North Carolina --heads up! Even if you are already register to vote in NC, check again. They are "cleaning up" the voter rolls.

North Dakota

Ohio

Oklahoma

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

South Carolina

South Dakota

Tennessee

Texas

Utah

Vermont

Virginia

Washington --if you have an enhanced ID, you are probably already registered to vote. But check your status anyway.

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Wyoming

Military and absentee voting

Washington, D.C.

...I don't have all the rules for voting in the various territories. You can register to vote there, but usually you cannot vote in certain elections. Which is bullshit if you pay taxes. Ditto for D.C. Still bullshit too.

If you are registered to vote, I still urge you to check your status every few months. Some states are purging voter rolls or trying to end overseas military voting or something, so keep an eye on things.

Also, some states are purging voters who have not voted recently. So you might be registered now, but if you didn't vote last year, they could bounce you.

Vote this election in November. Register now if you haven't, because the cut off date to register to vote this year varies state to state, but it's soon.

Also check out:

Voteriders - an org to help people get their IDs

Fair Elections Center

League of Women Voters

Native American Rights Fund

NAACP - resources

The ACLU has a page devoted to voting rights, how to register, what to do at the polls etc. Know your rights.

The article uses proper terminology and actually defines stimming, masking, and many other words that neurotypical people may or may not know (re autism)

The data that the article is based off of includes first hand accounts from autistic people who have gone through ABA. The researchers even used ASAN (autism self advocacy) as a resource! Actual autistic people shared their stories!!! And they believed us!!!!!

It explains WHY autistic people have a hard time with ABA, which is incredible. Not just the fact that it's akin to training a dog, but the psychology of it, and how it's overstimulating and degrading

There's a part that does quote from Auti$m $peaks spokespeople, BUT it's because they're leading into how neurotypical parents see ABA most often as a "saving grace" to get a "normal child" and then goes on to tell more about how autistic children perceive ABA, both during and after treatment

One family's story tells of how a mother noticed her autistic son would actually hide when she went to turn the computer on for ABA therapy (this was during COVID lockdown) and how she realized something was off because of that. She canceled ABA and found an alternative (called Floor Time) where the child actually directs the play, and the therapist/teacher goes along with what the kid wants/does!

There's a really cool bit on why ABA is usually the only thing available to parents, and the answer is Shitty American Healthcare/Insurance Companies!

It notes that ABA therapists don't really have strict training requirements. You can do a quick online course and become an ABA therapist. It does not require a college degree. That should horrify you.

There's another parallel study with its own data coming out in 2025

Honestly, this whole article is a gem. Remember, while "water is wet" studies seem trivial, we need them in order to get our side of the story taken seriously. Research with credible data that backs up what we've been saying is important!

TL; DR?

The article uses proper terminology and actually defines stimming, masking, and many other words that neurotypical people may or may not know (re autism)

The data that the article is based off of includes first hand accounts from autistic people who have gone through ABA. The researchers even used ASAN (autism self advocacy) as a resource! Actual autistic people shared their stories!!! And they believed us!!!!!

It explains WHY autistic people have a hard time with ABA, which is incredible. Not just the fact that it's akin to training a dog, but the psychology of it, and how it's overstimulating and degrading

There's a part that does quote from Auti$m $peaks spokespeople, BUT it's because they're leading into how neurotypical parents see ABA most often as a "saving grace" to get a "normal child" and then goes on to tell more about how autistic children perceive ABA, both during and after treatment

One family's story tells of how a mother noticed her autistic son would actually hide when she went to turn the computer on for ABA therapy (this was during COVID lockdown) and how she realized something was off because of that. She canceled ABA and found an alternative (called Floor Time) where the child actually directs the play, and the therapist/teacher goes along with what the kid wants/does!

There's a really cool bit on why ABA is usually the only thing available to parents, and the answer is Shitty American Healthcare/Insurance Companies!

It notes that ABA therapists don't really have strict training requirements. You can do a quick online course and become an ABA therapist. It does not require a college degree. That should horrify you.

There's another parallel study with its own data coming out in 2025

Honestly, this whole article is a gem. Remember, while "water is wet" studies seem trivial, we need them in order to get our side of the story taken seriously. Research with credible data that backs up what we've been saying is important!

TL; DR?

This is the new flag, the old one was more vivid and in a z shape, but it's been made more neutral to be inclusive of people with seizures or sensory issues.

Each stripe represents a different aspect of disability:

Red: Physical disabilities

Yellow: Cognitive & intellectual disabilities

White: (And this is the key one I think) Invisible AND undiagnosed disabilities

Blue: Mental illnesses

Green: Sensory disabilities

Hi! I am a autistic person who has studied autism and our community for years. I have noticed that most autistic people have a negative view on autism speaks, and i don't understand why. I personally think autism speaks is very helpful, and they definitely brought me further in my knowledge about autism. I have heard many explanations from autistic people on why autism speaks is a ableist organization, but most of it was outdated information.

I've had many arguments about why autism speaks is a ableist organization, and i had to explain myself over and over again, so i decided to make this post about why autism speaks is not a ableist organization. This post will include debunking arguments on why autism speaks is a ableist organization and a explanation of what autism speaks is. I wrote this when i was sick and very tired, so please ignore any bad grammar!

What is autism speaks?

Autism speaks (AS) is a american awareness organization of the condition autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It is the largest autism research organization in the united states, founded in febuary 2005 by Bob and Suzanne Wright, after their grandson was diagnosed with autism. Over the years AS has gotten alot of criticism from the autism community due to some horrible mistakes they have made, such as the "i am autism" ad, promoting a cure and supporting eugenics. Fortunately, they have listened to the criticism, and they have improved alot.

Debunking arguments on why autism speaks is a ableist organization.

There are many arguments on why AS is a ableist organization, or a hate group against autistic people. Here are some of the reasons. When i hear more reasons, this list will get updated.

AS promotes a cure.

AS supports eugenics.

Only 1% of the money donated to AS goes to the autism community.

They don't listen to the autism community.

AS has made a horrible ad that treat autism as a disease that should be feared.

I will be going over these reasons and explain why these are outdated information.

Reason 1: AS does not promote a cure anymore. They have removed the word "cure" from their mission years ago, and they have improved alot. (Proof).

Reason 2: AS does not support eugenics. This is outdated information, and they have improved alot. (Proof).

Reason 3: This is not true at all. Only 7% of the money donated to AS goes to fundraising, only 3% of the money donated to AS goes to management & general, and 90% of the money donated to AS goes to research, services, advocacy and programs, including the autism community. (Proof).

Reason 4: AS does listen to autistic people. Infact, AS has autistic people on their board of directors in leadership positions. They work with many autistic people, and try their best to listen to autistic people. (Proof).

Reason 5: AS has deleted their "i am autism" video from all of their channels when they realized that it offended the autism community, and they apologized multiple times. (Proof).

All of this is out dated information. It is important to remember that AS has improved alot, and they apologized multiple times for their mistakes.

The improvement of autism speaks.

AS was founded in 2005, a time with extreme lack of knowledge about autism. Due to this lack of knowledge, AS has done some terrible mistakes, such as promoting a cure and making harmful ads. They have received alot of criticism from the autism community, and fortunately they listened to the criticism. Throughout the years they improved alot. They have deleted their harmful ads, they have apologized for their mistakes, they changed their logo into a welcoming and inclusive logo, they have changed their mission from trying to find the causes of autism and a possible cure to trying to create a inclusive world for all autistic people through advocacy, services, supports, research and innovation, and advances in care for autistic individuals and their families, they have introduced a new AS in 2020, 90% of the money donated to AS goes to the autism community, they work with many autistic people and they listen to the autism community.

Does autism speaks help the autism community?

It's AS their mission to help autistic people, and they can be very helpful to the autism community. On their website, there are many tool kits that can help autistic people, such as the ATN/AIR-P medication aid, the adult autism diagnosis tool kit, the 100 day kit for school age children, the 100 day kit for young children, a parent's guide to autism first concern to action tool kit, and much more. (Proof).

--------------------------

I think it's your own choice if you do not want to forgive AS despite their improvement and apologies. Your opinion does not give you the right to hate on those who disagree. AS can actually be very helpful to alot of autistic people and their families, and trying to take this away from them is disrespectful.

There is NO "death of the author" with JK Rowling - she controls and continues to profit from her IP, and uses that money to fund hate groups.

It isn't about cancelling problematic media, idgaf. We're capable of reading books we already own with a critical eye.

In the interests of not spending the next four years fact-checking my own side, I would like very much if we could all exercise good judgment on what we reblog.

I’m pissed off about the trend of twitter screenshots posing as “news” with no source. I’m also pissed off about people posting their own unsourced, inaccurate summaries of something they heard somewhere. This makes us look no better than Trump supporters sharing lies on Facebook, and it often causes unnecessary fear. Here’s a guide on what I want people to do instead.

Easy Mode: If there’s no source, don’t reblog it. This requires no effort on your part, but it’s still helpful. Don’t disseminate information that could be inaccurate.

Regular Mode: Add a source. Google some key words. If it’s legitimate, you should find news stories about it. Reblog and add some source links. While I’m not a huge fan of how the mainstream media has been handling things lately, for this purpose I recommend sticking to established print media, because they have better fact-checking than Internet-only outlets and they’ve been firmer in their opposition than TV news.

If it’s not legitimate, reblog anyway and add sources refuting it. You don’t have to write up a whole explanation if you don’t want. Linking to a source with the note “This shit didn’t happen” will suffice.

Hard Mode: Question the source. If there is a source link, check it. If it’s from some outlet you never heard, of or one that you don’t feel is reputable (like, say, The Daily Mail), go see if they have sources to back themselves up. They may not. Google key words again. See if anyone else is reporting on their claims. If not, wait a bit. It’s possible they have an exclusive scoop. It’s also possible they’re fearmongering based on misunderstood or inadequate information, or they’re just flat making shit up. Don’t discount the possibility of fake “progressive” outlets run by the opposition to discredit us. And remember, The Onion is not the only parody news site out there – not by a long shot.

Photoshop is a thing, everybody, please don’t take that stuff at face value either

@syls-uplink makes a very important point here! It's always good to be wary of things that gets you outraged AND neatly fits your pre-existing worldview.

Which is why I googled the headline. And I found the article.

It is in fact real and very recent. September 16 2024. The full story is more centered on how autistic adults communicate their emotions and how neurtypicals misinterpreting autistic people causes issues.

Though it did also have this "fun" quote:

Now if I'm sharing that quote, I do feel compelled to also share this conclusion, which I did quite like.

And for good measure, here is the link, so you can read the article yourself :] It is not actually very long

so one of the things that makes tumblr so tumblr-y is that the userbase has historically been very resistant to being served posts via algorithm. most of us prefer to carefully curate our dashboards by choosing who we follow ourselves and viewing new posts as they come in, without tumblr telling us what we should enjoy first.

what this means from a marketing perspective, however, is that there’s a steep learning curve for new users, so in order to retain them, tumblr has introduced a number of algorithmic features over the years but still allows us to opt out of them.

for the best tumblr experience, my advice is to spend most of your time on your Following tab

the For You and Your Tags tabs can have fun stuff in them, but that’s not where i spend most of my time

but within that tab, there’s still settings that ensure you’re seeing it unmodified. you can change these by going to general settings

then dashboard preferences

then turning off the top four toggles

this may be slightly different on desktop.

obviously, this is a recommendation based on my personal preference, and others may disagree. but i do believe that the reverse chronological (i.e. whatever was posted most recently is on top, regardless of popularity), self selected (i.e. posts made by tumblrs you intentionally followed for this purpose rather than whatever the algorithm thinks you’ll like) dashboard is what makes this place so much better than other social media.