Blog Archives

Homelessness, Employment & IDIOSYNCRATIC BRAINS

12/20/2023

Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman

Aurora mayor hones in on "work first" approach to homelessness in state of city speech -- The Denver Gazette

I agree --- but like so many things --- if a lecture was going to fix it --- we wouldn't have a problem.
We'd like to see more partnerships with Voc ReHab and others to make this the SUCCESS --- everyone wants it to be.

Unfortunately, Neuro-Diverse folks are over-represented in the chronically homeless population and that Neuro-Developmental Continuum is also a Psychiatric Continuum.

Addressing this has been hard to do --- but we have more understanding and tools then we ever have had before.

Idiosyncratic brains

"When researchers superimposed non-autistic brain scans on top of each other, the brains were all very similar.

"However, when the same thing was done to autistic brain scans, the autistic brains were all very different.

"The autistic brains all had areas of high and low connectivity, but no distinct areas of high and low connectivity were discernible.

"In other words, autistic people have more individualized, idiosyncratic connectivity patterns than controls do; each autistic brain differed from the norm, but each did so in its own way."

National Center on Advancing Person-Centered Practices & Systems

October 2023

Screening for Autism Spectrum Condition Through Inner City Homeless Services in the Republic of Ireland

"These findings suggest a high estimate of autism prevalence and support emerging evidence that, people with autism are overrepresented in the homeless population, compared to housed populations.

"Autism may be a risk factor for entry into homelessness and a challenge to exiting homeless and engaging with relevant services."

Nov. 2016

Childhood Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Homelessness: A 33-Year Follow-Up Study

"Conclusion:

"Among boys of white ethnicity who were followed into adulthood, childhood ADHD was associated with an elevated rate of homelessness.

"Findings point to the need for clinical monitoring of childhood ADHD through adolescence, even when ADHD does not persist, in hopes of mitigating a cascade of malfunction that includes homelessness."

Uncertainty, Complexity and Stigma are Driving the Need for Better Treatments and Answers

12/19/2023

Conjecture

I came across a Harvard Course on STIGMA and they were looking at it from various perspectives including mental health, weight, sexuality, poverty, etc.
- I thought it was very interesting the discussion on "Mental Illness" and it was very much looking at PUBLIC ATTITUDES to various explanations of Mental Illness.
  - None of which seemed particularly accurate given current research.

The point I'm trying to make is that PUBLIC ATTITUDES are not IRRELEVANT ---

But the keys that are really going to alleviate that UNCERTAINTY ----
Are better understandings and treatments.

Further, our CHRONIC DISEASE CRISIS is driving the need for PRECISION, INDIVIDUALIZED MEDICINE.The NUMBER OF FACTORS to be considered is also driving the development of AI in Medicine.

Neuro-Developmental & Psychiatric Disorders and An IQ over 70

12/10/2023

For people with neuro-developmental & psychiatric disorders and an IQ over 70 ---

I would submit they need pretty much the same things as people with an Intellectual Disability and IQ under 70 ---
- But tailored to their specific higher intellectual needs

The American Psychiatric Association lists the following needs for people with Intellectual Disability --- I'm adding some of the MODIFICATIONS I think need to be there for Neuro-Diverse People with an IQ Over 70:

Early intervention (infants and toddlers).
Special education.
- Providing Specialized Educational Support for "gifted"/asynchronous kids is at least theoretically recognized in Education.
Family support (for example, respite care support groups for families).
- I remember my parents saying, "Someday Val you're gonna have children of your own and we will be laughing in the background."
- School Psychologist Cait Curley makes the important point that these kids are NOT EASY TO RAISE. [ Asynchronous Development & the Gifted Child ]
- See Also Asynchrony, Integrative Thinking & The Need for A Third Alternative
Transition services from childhood to adulthood.
- I'm 60 years old and some of the Senior Neuro-Diverse People I'm running into could use those TRANSITION SERVICES ---NOW.
  - Couldn't we all.
Vocational programs
- This is a HUGE ISSUE
- For Neuro-Diverse People with an IQ over 70-- you have to INCLUDE THEM in the STRUCTURE & DESIGN ---
  - Because they may be "SMARTER" than anybody in the room
  - Even if they are struggling with
    - Short Term Memory
    - Sensory Processing Issues
    - Organization
    - Emotional Regulation
    - Etc.
  - BUT DON"T MAKE THEM MINI OR LARGE-SCALE DICTATORS
    - Even if they think they are BENEVOLENT, they generally aren't.
Day programs for adults.
Housing and residential options.
Case management.

Our Mental Health Crisis and our Addiction Crisis are putting into HIGH RELIEF that Neuro-Diversity is becoming much more the NORM than the EXCEPTION.

Further, I think DEVELOPMENTAL INFLAMMATION DRIVES IT --- BUT that can be many things and many combinations of things.

The Society has largely thought it didn't need to make ACCOMMODATIONS or WORK-AROUNDS or EXPLICIT GUARD-RAILS for Neuro-Diverse People with an IQ over 70:

that just hasn't turned out to be the case
further we've been using Unconscious Bias, Hierarchy and our spoken and unspoken CASTE SYSTEM to manage ---
a great deal of HUMAN COMPLEXITY
See also Isabel Wilkerson's "Caste -- The Origins of our Discontents"

The Bottom Line is it IS WORSE TO BE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SOCIAL HEAP:

But if we're NOT CAREFUL --- we're just playing MUSICAL CHAIRS
- That's becoming very obvious to a lot of people in 2023.
"EQUALITY" is part of the WAY OUT
- But we're NOT CLONES
- Equality of What?
  - What works for me --- doesn't work for others --
  - And what works for them --- doesn't work for me.

What Is "MINORITY STRESS" ---???

12/9/2023

Val's Take/Conjecture

I would say there is MORE going on here than we may realize.
Specifically, I think there are some POSITIVE FEEDBACK LOOPS that when we're under STRESS -----
- We're becoming "MORE SENSITIVE"
- We're RAMPING UP that SENSORY PROCESSING ---
  - Ostensibly --- so we can REASON and get out of the STRESSFUL SITUATION.

When you're in a COMPLEX SOCIETY and you're being MARGINALIZED ---
- It is a long, hard road to get out of that --- that may SPAN GENERATIONS.
- At that point --- we are into MATERNAL IMMUNE ACTIVATION.

LGBTQ+ are often Neuro-Diverse ---

Not everyone who is Neuro-Diverse is LGBTQ+
BUT the percentages of Non-Heterosexual People are HIGHER in Neuro-Diverse Populations ---

The Link Between Neurodiversity and the LGBTQIA+ Community

I will just say this as a Heterosexual Neuro-Diverse woman --- the smartest women at my college were lamenting the fact that many (not all) of the smart men were gay.

So there was a lot of competition for those heterosexual smart men.

Neuro-Diversity, Gender & Sexuality

Understanding The Weight Of Minority Stress

"Minority stress is a type of stress felt by members of minority groups that involves emotionally taxing situations and experiences specific to one’s race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and/or gender."

ETC.

Rock-n-Roll Baby --- Making Autism Cool

12/5/2023

Grateful Dead --- "Touch of Grey"

I think the Modern Music Scene is "ADAPTED" for people with Autism ---

gives people something to do with their hands
there's plenty of "ROCKING" which is a physical release and could be thought of as a form of "stimming"
repetitive sounds and vocals -- can be done in COMPLICATED PATTERNS
"ACCOMMODATES" --- Circadian Rhythms that might be a little different .
Musical Artists and Artists in general are often very concerned about being "HONEST" ---
- I think that is being driven a lot by INTENSE EMOTION and sometimes the MAJORITY ---
  - does not want to hear it.
  - so I think Neuro-Diverse people often turn it into a "VIRTUE" or "ART" or at least try.

I think there is a lot behind the statistic below right (73% of independent music makers experience symptoms of mental illness) ---

one of the things (not necessarily the only thing) is that Neuro-Diverse people are having a hard time fitting into the dominant economy.

See"Go With the Flow."

There's a big need to "CO-CREATE OPPORTUNITIES" for the people we actually have.

Composing to Avoid Cacophony --- Composing to Avoid Cacophony

Why Do Autistic People Rock Back and Forth?

Image Credit the Conversation

Music and Autism | Spectrum Disorder

Music therapy has been shown to improve symptoms associated with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), such as anxiety, depression, and hyperactivity.

In addition, music therapy has also been found to increase attention span, reduce aggression, and improve language development.

On the other hand . . .

The Music Industry is Having a Mental Health Crisis

"More than 73 percent of independent music makers experience symptoms of mental illness.

"And this statistic was released before the pandemic. In 2019, Swedish digital distribution platform . . ."

NEURODiversity Wednesday

Homelessness, Employment & IDIOSYNCRATIC BRAINS

Uncertainty, Complexity and Stigma are Driving the Need for Better Treatments and Answers

Neuro-Developmental & Psychiatric Disorders and An IQ over 70

What Is "MINORITY STRESS" ---???

Rock-n-Roll Baby --- Making Autism Cool

Neuro-Diversity
Wednesday

(with variable spellings of Neurodiversity)

Archives

Categories

​ NEURODiversity Wednesday

Homelessness, Employment & IDIOSYNCRATIC BRAINS

Uncertainty, Complexity and Stigma are Driving the Need for Better Treatments and Answers

Neuro-Developmental & Psychiatric Disorders and An IQ over 70

What Is "MINORITY STRESS" ---???

Rock-n-Roll Baby --- Making Autism Cool

Neuro-DiversityWednesday(with variable spellings of Neurodiversity)

Archives

Categories

NEURODiversity Wednesday

Neuro-Diversity
Wednesday

(with variable spellings of Neurodiversity)