To Emily
At this point, really what more can I add? Thank you for choosing so many times to work for our family, for finding this to be such a happy place to work for you, for all the ways you have consistently shown that you can see all of the best our little man is capable of and help him bring that to life. Beyond words, Thank You.
Some Viewing & Reading To Consider (titles can be clicked on for links)
“Why dieting doesn’t usually work,” Ted talk by Susan Aamadt, Neuroscientist
This is the time of year so many of us dutifully rush to the gym and sternly tell ourselves we are going to clean up our diets…and if that is something you like to do, it is perhaps worth your time listening to this talk. I have noticed for me personally, the more stressed out I am about cutting out calories and loosing weight, the more the calorie restrictions don’t work, and according to Neurosceintist Susan Aamadt, that’s because my brain is freaking out thinking that the famine is coming and lowering my metabolic rate. She also has a book for those of you that want a more detailed accounting for what she’s saying here. I know she says there isn’t much one can do about what the brain determines the set point to be, yet I found myself thinking after I listened to this what the power and benefit would be of combining her approach of mindful eating with spending time each day intentionally thinking thoughts to the body about how there isn’t a famine, the body is going to get everything it needs, and that if excess has been stored, it’s time to clear out the stores because they are doing more harm than good. Thoughts are a powerful thing, and so is the awareness that all of the hanger that comes from dieting may not be doing any good long term.
This is something that all of us should be aware of, because we never know if or when we might need to be filing for disability. Using a list of obsolete jobs to determine eligibility is, in my opinion, a concerning practice that needs to be changed.
Two Articles About the Same Situation:
This is something I feel deeply, because as a mother of a kiddo whose had some more intense behavioral and risk-assessment related challenges, it’s something you feel in the community whether you need to build a fence or not. We show up to a park with Tony in our neighborhood, and despite the fact that he’s never hurt a single kiddo at a park (he’s generally only trying to hurt himself, even if he tries to push through a caregiver to get what he wants, he only uses his shoulder and clearly tries to do it in a way to move them not harm them) and I’m always there to ensure he’s noticing other kiddos, parents almost always clear out their own children quickly upon our arrival. The question I think every community member should ask is “what would I want if it were our family and my child with these needs?”
ACDL and RSK Postion On HB 2460, by Amanda Glass and Christopher Tiffany
This is one that I would like all of my loved ones who live here in Arizona to read and be aware of. As a kiddo with behavioral challenges related to his disabilities, I support the opposition to this bill and hope that those of you who read this and feel similarly and might have some free time could consider writing your representatives with your thoughts as well.
The main thing I would want anyone choosing to read this article to focus on is the portion where it mentions that 2/3 of individuals with autism do not have intellectual disability. I want to quote something Temple Grandin said in her forward for Bernstein’s book Uniquely Normal:
“At another center, I met a non-verbal teenager who was learning to ride. He could not talk, so I decided to assume he had normal intelligence and communicated with gestures. When I pointed at the stall door and made a horizontal hand movement, he immediately closed the sliding door. My assumption was correct: he was intelligent.”
To me, there seems to be a generalized assumption within communities that all individuals with autism are automatically deficient in understanding when the evidence simply doesn’t support that. And for some individuals, like our son, the inability for social connections to provide any motivation to cooperate can mask the amount of understanding they do have. Far too many people think that Tony can’t possible understand what he’s asking for because he’s doing so using a computer (that right now is set to a mix of symbols, image icons, and words), or that it’s not as legitimate a form of expressive communication because it’s not speech. I have literally had people tell me that his use of AAC technology isn’t real communication and doesn’t show understanding of the concepts. Try telling him that if you refuse to give him the very specific items he’s asking for so he decides to go raid the cupboards for that item himself. And people don’t believe our son understands Spanish, for example, until they see it for themselves, and even then, some of them chuckle and think it’s just a coincidence he’s responding appropriately either via behaviors or AAC communication or one of the few verbal words he can produce. You can see the problems, or you can see the potential for the same situations. My hope is that the more of us who share this message, the more everyone in our communities will be able to see the potential and stop focusing entirely on the challenges that may be there.
