BC HEALTH
Saved by @jay_millerjay

Once again I'm reminded that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. The recent push by a large number of autistic people to 'own' their diagnosis and try to raise acceptance and dispel harmful myths has kicked up a minority of autistic people to fight against this.

 This may seem bizarre - who fights against improved acceptance? - but actually has clear roots in the ongoing culture war the West seems engaged in. The identity positive autistic movement, of which I am a part, is viewed by some as another manifestation of 'wokeness'.
This is the right-wing definition of 'wokeness', of course - ie a modern equivalent of the pejorative take on political correctness, but it's definitely at the core of this 'neurorealist' movement - the idea the autistic community is being hijacked by 'woke lefties'.
They believe that the push for acceptance of neurodiversity and rejection of the medicalisation of autism is misguided and drawing attention away from those autistic people who, in their view, need more help and intervention.
The trouble is, this view is pretty much baseless. Firstly, there is little evidence that autistic advocates who push for acceptance are in any way harming autistic people who require more help and support. Second, the view effectively silences those of us who are able to share.
The argument seems to be, if you're capable of actively advocating, then you're not really autistic - at least not autistic *enough* for your opinion to matter. This is an obvious nonsense in itself, as it is so generalised as to be useless to anyone, but also ignores key things.
For example, it assumes that autistic people who can advocate online in text are somehow highly capable generally. This is simply not true. Many of us are acutely affected by being autistic, fighting executive function issues, massive anxiety and depression.
Autistic advocates online are *online*. There's a reason the movement has only managed to take off since the development of social media - it gives those of us with communication disabilities an opportunity to speak. These 'neurorealists' deny us that.
They claim the very act of advocacy shows we can't speak for those we advocate for, which causes a serious logical regression that ultimately means no one can ever advocate for anyone. They know this, or at least i hope they do. But they don't care.
This is because their agenda is simply to squash any sign of progressive identity politics, because it goes against their political ideology, as far as I can tell. There are other motivations - shady links to ABA and the 'autism mom' phenomenon (there's a *lot* of money there.)
But ultimately there's just an intolerance of autistic people taking control of the narrative; a hatred of the idea that autism could just be another way of being. Insistance it is a disease, an illness that ruins lives.
I could go on but frankly it's exhausting. I've got most of these people blocked or muted as they rarely argue in good faith. If anyone wants to add to this to fill out my points, please do - I'm not the font of all knowledge on this!
Just so you know, my feelings towards these individuals are pretty strong. They've caused me personally a lot of misery over the last few years, but that's nothing compared to the cumulative harm they've done to the autistic community. I really don't like them.
The takeaway here is that not all autistic people view 'neurodiversity' as a good thing. Also, that not all autistic people argue in good faith. I've been accused of not being autistic by more other autistic people than non-autistic folk, and that's disturbing to me.
We autistics can have a tendency - and it's rooted in positivity - to idealise our community and blame neurotypicals for our ills. But it's not as simple as that.

More from Pete Wharmby

Pete Wharmby
Pete Wharmby
@commaficionado
Autistic behaviours that are generally discriminated against, despite being harmless and just how we are.

A thread🧵

1. Stimming - repetitive physical movement to help regulate our stress levels. They feel nice and are really helpful but people seem to hate to see it. #autism

2. No eye contact. We generally find this too intimate and intense, and will avoid. It can even cause pain if forced. But people don't trust us even though we inform them we're autistic. #autism

3. Sitting in 'odd' positions. We're often very bendable - remember Ehlers-Danlos syndrome is a common comorbidity - and loads of feel more comfortable in slightly contorted positions. People always comment 'you can't be comfy like that'.

Yes. Yes I can. #autism

4. Stammering when excited. We can get so passionate about some subjects that we struggle to get the words out as they all get caught in the annoying bottleneck of actually having to leave our mouths. But it irritates people, makes them assume we're somehow lesser. #autism
HEALTH
Pete 'stay' Wharmby 'the fireplace'
Pete 'stay' Wharmby 't...
@commaficionado
How to help the #autistic people in your life get through Christmas - a practical thread of advice.

Please read and share!

(This is based on my own experiences of being autistic)

#autism #christmas

1. Give #autistic people an easy escape route they know they can take without judgement - knowing you can dash off to recharge without being questioned can help so much!

2. Don't play Christmas music really loudly around the house. No one needs that anyway but if you must, make it not too intrusive as it can be difficult for #autistic people to handle. Christmas music is *so* 'busy'!

3. Don't expect clear and unambiguous response to Christmas presents when opened. Many #autistic people struggle to show the appropriate emotional reaction, and are also terrified of making you feel bad. We show appreciation in our own way.

4. Don't forget #autistic friends and relatives may not be as excited about meeting up with family members as you are. There is likely a lot of anxiety there, especially this year. Be mindful of this and don't force it.
CULTURE
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Pete Wharmby
Pete Wharmby
@commaficionado
Things You Need to Know About Autism - a thread for sharing.

I try to raise awareness, understanding and acceptance of #autistic people. Have a read and hopefully it will help.

#thread #autism

1. Autism has always existed, as far as we can tell. Any increase in the number of autistic people is due to better diagnosis and growing population. There are historic figures who display many autistic traits, such as Isaac Newton. #autism

2. Autism is not an illness or disease. It cannot be caught, nor does it appear to spontaneously happen. You are born autistic and you will die autistic - it is not 'curable'. #autism

3. Autistic people do not lack empathy, nor are we emotionless robots. We often struggle to communicate emotion, and we can have alexithymia, making identification of emotions hard, though. #autism

4. Autism affects the entire demographic - doesn't matter your gender, sexuality, age, class, skin colour, culture. Autism is a human condition. #autism
AUTISM
Pete Wharmby
Pete Wharmby
@commaficionado
30 things you can do that might help #autistic people in your lives.

A thread. Please read and share widely, and add to it as you see fit.

#autism #autistic

1. Let us decompress in quiet areas when we need to. Our desire to be alone is not judgement on you, it's simple self preservation. #autism

2. If you need us to do something, give us very clear, unambiguous instruction. Don't feel like you're being rude doing this, but don't sound irritated or patronising! #autism

3. Do not expect us to react to things in a way you would expect. That way lies disappointment. We often show our emotions in very different ways to what you might expect. #autism

4. Don't assume we aren't capable of thought and feeling if we're non-verbal. Don't assume we're incapable of communicating in other ways either. #autism
LIFE
Pete 'stay' Wharmby 'the fireplace'
Pete 'stay' Wharmby 't...
@commaficionado
Why do #autistic students get excluded so frequently from school?

Some thoughts, based on my own experiences. If we have an understanding of the 'why', it's easier to address the results.

Please read and share! /1

Autistic students often find themselves being punished more than average at school. Frequently this can escalate to temporary exclusion and similar 'punishments'. Are autistic students generally just more naughty? Of course not. So what's the deal? /2

Everything about the fundamentals of a school day is designed around neurotypical children. Most school day elements are also very old, and have been around since long before people became more 'autism aware'. /3

What we see as the core experience of doing subjects for around an hour, before moving to the next subject, between the ages of 5 and 18 dates back *decades*. So where do autistic students fit in? /4

Well, they don't. Students with an autistic or ADHD neurotype quite simply do not slot into this structure. The only way they can is by essentially squashing their own needs in order to fit in with the majority. If they can't do this? That's where the 'punishments' come in. /5
SCHOOL

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Dr. Joolz Denby\U0001f499
Dr. Joolz Denby💙...
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We’ve done menstruation, let’s talk about the menopause! Because only women however they present can have the menopause although men who have had treatments for prostate cancer can have symptoms mimicking the menopause. There’s nothing scary about

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Gregg Gonsalves
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I think @SamAdlerBell in his quest to be the contrarian on Fauci gets several things wrong here. 1/


First, the failure last year actually was driven by the White House, the #Trump inner circle. Watch what's happening now, the US' scientific and public health infrastructure is creaking back to life. 2/

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I also am puzzled why Tony gets the blame for not speaking up, etc. Robert Redfield, Brett Giroir, Deb Birx, Jerome Adams, Alex Azar all could have done the same. 4/

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Roscoe B Davis\U0001f396\u2b50\ufe0f\u2b50\ufe0f\u2b50\ufe0f
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Anant Bhan
Anant Bhan
@AnantBhan
Many of us who have been health activists have been crying hoarse for years about the need to strengthen our health system, focus on public health
Last summer brought policy and public focus to this dire need. One thought lessons were learnt.
Clearly not.

There is INCREDIBLE stress on the health system right now in many parts of the country. Health professionals over worked, burning out, turning positive with families in droves. And sometimes cannot find beds for themselves or their family in the hospitals they are working in.

I have never seen this kind of a situation before. Lots of people reaching out for help. To provide care, advice, help patients and those in medical need is what health providers are trained for. It is what this is unique about health as a profession.

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Ambulances lined up outside hospitals waiting to be able to transfer the patient to the facility, and at times to ferry out those who could not make it.
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This one is for the real stats folks.

Let's deal with some objections to the deaths after flu vax/deaths after Covid vax comparison.

1) I agree Covid vaccine deaths are probably more likely to be reported than flu vaccine deaths. Are they 900 times more likely? Very doubtful...

2) Here's one good reason to think the gap may be small. The ratio of non-serious to serious Vaers reports is far HIGHER for the flu vax than for Covid. In other words, people have basically STOPPED filing non-serious event reports after Covid shots, because they are so common...

3) If people were clogging VAERS with Covid vaccine side effects reports because they are so sensitized to them, we'd see the opposite - tons of reports in every category. We aren't, though.

4) Children aside (and children do receive a lot of flu shots), the idea that the Covid vaccine is going to a meaningfully different population than the flu vaccine is nonsense. Flu campaigns are targeted at the elderly and healthcare workers, just like the Covid vaccine...

5) The correct area under the curve at risk post-Covid vaccinations is not 41 million doses x 8 weeks of followup. It's more like 41 million doses x 3 days. READ THE VAERS REPORTS YOURSELF. I have. The "he was hit by a bus a week after being vaccinated" isn't what's in there...
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(An extract from Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, Soldiering with Dignity)

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lungs out and refused to go any further. So they left the train at Amritsar, and there they stayed for forty-five years.

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Billy Bostickson 🏴👁&👁 ...
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1/x Fort Detrick History
Mr. Patrick, one of the chief scientists at the Army Biological Warfare Laboratories at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Md., held five classified US patents for the process of weaponizing anthrax.

2/x
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https://t.co/sHqSaTSqtB


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Likewise, the verb דבק is rather striking. Lot is mortified of disaster overtaking him [תִּדְבָּקַ֥נִי] as he flees from Sodom. Israel is commanded in Deut 10:20 to cling fast [תִדְבָּ֔ק] to the LORD and serve him and swear by his name.

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