Reading time: 4 minutes
There is a truism in neurological functioning: use it or lose it! Hubel and Wiesel demonstrated this when they sewed the eyes of kittens shut; autistic people when they don’t learn social perceptions.
Reading time: 1 minute
A new semi-regular column letting you know what’s going on this week with Ye Olde Blogge. This week: school’s out, calling your MoC’s about saving our democracy, economy, and climate, and Cambodian #COVID19 news.
Reading time: 8 minutes
My PDA daughter did a thing. She made a podcast on being a PDA’er in school for a school assignment. As it turns out most of the accommodations that schools make are more for their sake than the PDA’er.
Reading time: 7 minutes
Are you ready for some anecdotes about my hard-assed mother? This post has ’em! Are you ready for some child-rearing words of wisdom? This post has ’em! Are you ready for some solid info on qualified immunity? This post has it! Are you ready for some hard truths about policing in America? This post has ’em! Are you ready to call YOUR senators about the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act? This post is!
Reading Time: 6 minutes
Part of the issue of autism is the use of interpersonal emotions. Autistic people don’t use them well. They have emotions, but understand their role in communication. But, there is a role of intrapersonal emotions in the meltdowns that autistic people and people with pathological demand avoidance have because we rely on our emotional reactions to make decisions.
Dopamine is the neurotransmitter that motivates us to pursue things we think will be pleasurable. It keeps us feeding at the trough. If the mesolimbic dopamine system is broken, we are not motivated to do anything. Could it be one of the drivers of Pathological Demand Avoidance?
I’ve been struggling to write something about Autism Awareness Month for a while. It is too wrapped up with grieving my mother and sister. So, here’s a short revelatory self-pitying piece about my messy autistic life.
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