@TheOfficialACM

@TheOfficialACM

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1/Children & young people with autism and learning disabilities who could be living in the community with specialist support are languishing for years in Assessment & Treatment Units, some of them locked up 24/7 in isolation rooms, bec of severe financial pressure on Local Auths

2/ At the same time, private providers running these ATUs are raking in profits, being paid £452m per yr in what has become a market driven provision where autistic and LD people are little more than commodities

3/ This in spite of the fact that caring for them in the community would be far less expensive not to mention far better for the individuals concerned, their quality of life, their security and safety and their wellbeing

Read 20 tweets

Sue Fletcher-Watson

@SueReviews

OK folks... I've been waiting a few weeks to do this... Strap in!

Our cover story on DIVERSITY COMPUTING is now open access in @TheOfficialACM Interactions magazine - link below.

Here's a thread about this exciting new vision for tech #DivComp

delivery.acm.org/10.1145/325000…

@theblub

First things first. The ideas in this paper and this htread came from a serious of thrilling and inventive conversations and writing-sessions with @theblub @cfrauenberger @MauriceMagnee @participha and others not on twitter - especially Juan Ye from @univofstandrews

And what were those conversations about, I hear you cry?

Well, they were mostly about how we could make computing a tool for a better society. We had a strong focus on #neurodiversity & #autism (obvs) but actually these ideas link to all sorts of diversity dimensions

#DivComp

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Errol Kerr

@criptacular

@NevilleSouthall

Dear @NevilleSouthall,

Hi! You're a great human. I respect all you do. But you're letting a non-autistic person speak for #autistic people, and I - we - need to talk to you about why that isn't okay.

(A thread - that I am happy for others to post on.) #ActuallyAutistic

#ActuallyAutistic people, like myself and many others, are spoken for - a lot. We often find ourselves without the ability to speak freely.

Not because of our own difficulties, but because we are spoken over. And ignored.

This can be small-scale, like at home...

...or large scale. Like providing a platform for people who aren't autistic to talk about autism.

I'm also bisexual. You wouldn't invite a straight person to talk about LGBT+ stuff, would you?

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lex

@lex6m

Thread.
Selected list of #indictments and #sentencings
Week of July 30, 2018
👇

1. Las Cruces Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Child Pornography Charges.

#childpornography #projectsafechildhood #ICAC #NewMexico

justice.gov/usao-nm/pr/las…

1a.
kvia.com/crime/document…

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Tim Youmans

@youmans_tim

The #JobGuarantee is more than a price stabilizing tool, or a "buffer stock of labor" to keep ready for private sector employers. It IS those things, but more importantly it's a life changing policy that will eliminate involuntary unemployment. And for me it's personal.. 1/

My son Jared turns 7 in a few weeks. He was 3 when he was diagnosed with autism. The official diagnosis wasn't a surprise to me, it was almost like diagnosing my daughter with curly hair. We knew. I WAS surprised however when I heard of the unemployment #'s for autistic adults 2/

"There will be 500,000 adults on the autism spectrum aging into adulthood over the next 10 years. Yet a whopping 85% of college grads affected by autism are unemployed, compared to the national unemployment rate of 4.5%" (2017) 3/
moneyish.com/heart/most-col…

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Mary Aspinall-Miles

@MAM12CP

So let me tell you a story about the Lost Boys of the CJS. There are girls too but they are even harder to see because, well, everyday sexism in diagnosis of #Autism.

#AutismAwarenessMonth is meaningless unless we actually start to accept & understand Autistics as they are.

This is a thread - I don’t know how many parts.

Warning: I apologise in advance if I use inadvertently ableist language or non first person #autistic terms. I am not Autistic but I try and fail.

2/?

Let me choose Peter as my generic example. He’s no more real than the original Lost Boy, Peter Pan but just as lost.
Peter is now 19. And when I first meet him, he looks so young and small even in the tiny cell at Court.But his solicitors have already sent me his life story.

3/?

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Pete Wharmby

@commaficionado

Things that YOU can do to help #autistic children in school. A thread of ideas, titbits of info, things to consider and so on. I hope it's useful and even more importantly, hope it helps some kids cope with the waking nightmare that is 'Neuro-typical Academy' #autismacceptance /1

1. Have your lesson stick to a rigid routine as far as possible. This is good as it arguably is good for all kids, but is a huge benefit to #autistic student. At primary, have a clear daily routine if possible. /1

2. Only have posters and displays if they are actually useful, and don't make them too 'busy'! Simple colour schemes too, rather than rainbows, and if may be worth seating #autistic children away from particularly distracting or detailed displays. /2

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Pete Wharmby

@commaficionado

PDA in the world of neurology is an initialism standing for 'pathological demand avoidance'. It seems to be a type or subset of #autism as it shares some traits, but it is a bit of a mystery to be fair. #AutismAcceptance /1 THREAD

As it's name suggests, at the heart of PDA is a desperate wish to avoid having to do anything that could be seen as a demand. This could be rooted in fear of failure, fear of change, fear of any social situation or simply a need to be in control. #AutismAcceptance /2

But it's an interesting aspect of neuro-diversity for many reasons. Firstly, people with PDA tend to be much better at camouflaging their autistic tendencies (which they're likely to have a lot of). They can have excellent social ability, though only surface #AutismAcceptance /3

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Pete Wharmby

@commaficionado

Sensory overload is an aspect of #autism that is hard to explain, and by no means standard for all autistic people. I have it, to an extent, so I'll be leading with that, but some people have it to a far greater or lesser extent. Buckle up, its THREAD time again. /1

Firstly, all five main senses can be overstimulated for #autistic people, possibly all at the same time. I'll go through each of them in a moment. As for 'overload', this is a discomfort that can be extreme in response to sensory stimulation. /2

So visual overload is being overwhelmed by the visual detail and colours and shapes around you. In a busy space, like a city centre, the sheer quantity of things jostling for visual attention can be painful to experience,leading to panic, anxiety, migraine or meltdown. /3

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Victoria Brownworth

@VABVOX

Hours of my work day and my very limited energy have been spent fighting with my health insurance company about my coverage.

As of January, my freaking premium now costs $1,978.10 PER MONTH.

This is what Trump did to sick people & everyone applauded last night at the #SOTU
1/

I have no idea who has this kind of money but it's more than I make.

The sicker you are, the more expensive your plan.And there's no option because the #GOP allowed health insurance companies (who just got a huge tax cut) to charge whatever they want for coverage.
2/

So The Wife, who is the same age as I am and who has the exact same plan, pays $239.00 a month for hers.

This is America right now for sick people. I would qualify for #Medicaid expansion if I lived in a different state, but I do not.

This is madness. Just madness.

3/

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Pete Wharmby

@commaficionado

If there is an autistic person in your midst this Christmas, please bear in mind the following pieces of advice to help them and you enjoy the season, from one of them 1/?

THREAD...

First of all, Christmas is a potential nightmare for autistic folk. The lights, noise, Slade, too many people squeezed into a front room, drunk people - it's a recipe for utter misery for some autistic people, children and adults. 2/?

They will need, first and foremost, and escape route from any busy locations, especially places they've never been before. But it's not enough to have a way out ready - people have to not make a big thing about them disappearing for a while! 3/?

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Al Martel

@martel_al