@hellomiakoda Sorry, just grabbed the first search result that covered the topic adequately.

https://www.axios.com/2025/04/23/autism-registry-rfk-nih

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jenniferpalumbo/2025/05/06/autism-speaks-from-criticism-to-inclusion-and-a-future-of-listening/

I'm curious to get my fellow autistics' take on this article. What do you think? Can Autism Speaks be redeemed? Is their change in direction genuine and legitimate? Is it enough?

@actuallyautistic
#ActuallyAutistic
#AskingAutistics
#AutismSpeaks

The Trump administration is trying to suspend habeas corpus. If we let them get away with this, they will be able to "disappear" not only immigrants, but lawful citizens, without legal proceedings. They won't even have to justify themselves. The moment this happens, we are living in a dictatorship.

If the government doesn't have to follow the law, neither do the citizens. Fight this, people. Fight it every way you can. In the courts, in the streets, in your neighborhoods, with your votes, with your words, with your deeds. We are at the hail Mary point. Pull out all the stops.

Stand together, or all is lost.

#HabeasCorpus
#Gestapo
#Fascism
#Dictator
#ConcentrationCamps

#StandTogether
#FuckYouFascists

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wh-trump-suspending-habeas-corpus/story?id=121653587

https://www.theverge.com/tech/652215/doge-cross-agency-master-database-sensitive-information

If you think for a second that you will somehow be the exception, or that you will fly under the radar somehow, think again. It doesn't matter who you are, how well you blend into the background. Everyone is at risk. They are already stealing people from your neighborhood as it is. They are already making lists thanks to Musk's mining of government data. There is already PUBLIC discussion of labor camps. They know who you are. They know how you're different. They know what your political affiliation is. They know what you said online. They know where you live.

Stand together, or die together. Those are our choices.

https://www.teenvogue.com/story/rfk-wellness-farms-us-disabilities

My youngest appears to have selective mutism. She often goes silent when she's hungry or emotionally distraught. Does anybody have suggestions as to some good resources for basic signing? I could also use some suggestions as to which signs are the most useful to learn. I'm thinking that if I can learn some, I can teach her as well, and it will really smooth things out when she's unable to speak.

#SelectiveMutism
#autism
#SignLanguage

@kaia I lean towards informing. Usually, I ask if they're autistic *like me*. That reduces the chances of them taking it critically (necessary since most of the world is ableist).

Being autistic, I am challenged when it comes to communicating effectively with non-autistic people. (#DualEmpathyProblem) This gives me first-hand experience when it comes to the irony of a disability affecting the very means at my disposal to defend myself against bias, prejudice, and bigotry. I find it infuriating when people throw my disability under the bus, calling someone who is behaving like a jerk "autistic" as an insult.

Having said that, most of you are probably nodding your heads, autistic or not. So, I challenge you to consider what it's like for someone with an intellectual disability. What's the most commonly used type of insult for people behaving badly? It's not that they're autistic. It's that they're stupid, have a low IQ, are an idiot... You get the idea.

Intelligence (or lack thereof) does not define a person's worth or moral standing. In fact, it has *nothing* to do with it.

#Disability
#DisabilityRights
#Slurs

@BeAware (Breaktime was the name of the dive. Doesn't exist anymore, which is a shame, because the music scene was awesome.)

@BeAware Those guys are from my neighborhood! They actually played at a bar I played at, too. Too bad I didn't know about it till much later.

Why is it always #Monsterdon? What about #Monsterdoña?

Study concludes that neurotypical people fail to pick up on autistic social cues, because our facial expressions are too subtle for NT eyes, and recommends assistive technology to aid them.

https://neurosciencenews.com/micromovement-emotion-asd-28575/

#ActuallyAutistic

Someone plays music in the background during a meeting. They ask if it's bothering people. Neurotypical folks on the call quickly speak up and say it's fine.

The autistic person on the call (me):

1. has extreme difficulty participating in or even following the meeting due to the inability to separate foreground from background noise

2. experiences distress from sensory overload

3. spends the whole meeting stressing over how to bring it up in a side channel without taking the wrong tone and offending the person due to social communication difficulties

4. questions whether it should even be brought up, or if they're just being "too sensitive" due to a lifetime of conditioning to treat their own needs as invalid just because they're aren't "typical"

Meanwhile, no one on the call even realizes something is wrong or that the autistic person just got screwed over, completely by accident.

#Disability
#Accessibility
#AccessibilityMatters
#Autism
#ActuallyAutistic
@actuallyautistic

@actuallyautistic

Little things done to be respectful of others' needs have an outsized positive impact on other people's lives -- *especially* those of us who don't fit in as well, and have unusual needs that others overlook on a regular basis.

@actuallyautistic This isn't an occasional thing. This sort of silent sidelining of our needs happens literally every day, though the details vary. The end result is a feeling of being trapped and your own needs not mattering. There's also a massive load of stress from dealing with these situations, which results in perpetual fatigue & low energy, a weakened immune system, and often depression, anxiety, and even suicidal thoughts. And then we are blamed for not paying attention or not being engaged enough. It's a perpetual snowball effect.

#MutualAid
#MutualAidRequest
#FoodInsecurity

Please boost for reach.

So, the latest news: I started a new position today! Thanks to a certain amazingly wonderful person from Germany who I've never met in person, we were able to eat and pay bills throughout December, which is why you haven't had to see me begging like this. (Thank you sooooo much, sir!) Now we are down to the last $15 of those funds, and I've got to figure out a way to feed my family for the next 2 weeks, and then move to the bay area in California (without them :( ) on the money I get from my first paycheck. Way less than ideal, and yet waaaay better than what we've been facing for the last 11 months. This is the home stretch!

Please help us out with food money if you can. Boosts help, too! Many thanks to all of you.

https://paypal.me/AaronHosford
https://venmo.com/u/Aaron-Hosford-42

#MutualAid
#MutualAidRequest
#FoodInsecurity

I'm in contact with a recruiter who is looking to fill 5 to 8 data science roles. If you're in the market, DM me, and I'll put you in contact with him. The pay is decent, and it's on-site in either Virginia or the San Francisco Bay area.

Oh, and please boost for reach. Jobs are hard to come by, and you might be saving someone's life.

#DataScience
#MachineLearning
#FediHire
#FediHired
#GetFediHired
#GetFediBHired
@datasciencejobs