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Neuro-Diversity in the Workplace: Is It A Blessing or a Curse?

2/13/2022

If done CONSCIOUSLY --- it can be a BLESSING --- If not, the ROAD TO HELL WAS PAVED WITH GOOD INTENTIONS

The inset to the right is a Survivor of the 1972 Andes Plane Crash.

The survivors were given WRONG DIRECTIONS --- and ultimately resorted to CANNIBALISM to SURVIVE.

One of the things that many --- OUT-GROUPS come to realize is that IN-GROUPS are CANNABALIZING them --- meaning IN-GROUPS are using people in OUT-GROUPS to:

Prop up their own egos;
Serve as a buffer from the bottom of the social heap: and
Strengthen Ties Among the "In-Group"

Of course, if you're in a HIERARCHICAL SYSTEM, without REAL INCLUSIVITY --- we're NOT RECOGNIZING that EVERYONE has STRENGTHS and WEAKNESSES --- then the POWER to DEFINE is going to DEFINE that OUT-GROUP to the BOTTOM OF THE SOCIAL HEAP.

I think the IN-GROUP(s) may have some PLAUSIBLE DENIABILITY because a lot of this is UNCONSCIOUS --- BUT it is NOT UNCONSCIOUS to People in the OUT-GROUP(s).

So when we think about NEURO-DIVERSITY ---- at least 4 Groups need to be IDENTIFIED --- and interestingly they are often considered OPPOSITES:

People who didn't do well in SCHOOL and had EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING ISSUES;
People who did great in SCHOOL and had EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING ISSUES;
People at the TOP of this SOCIETY with EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING ISSUES;
People at the BOTTOM of this SOCIETY with EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING ISSUES.

So in our SOCIETY --- what are the GO-TO EXPLANATIONS for the UNDER PREFORMERS --- well, they just didn't APPLY THEMSELVES, they didn't work hard enough--- or they just don't have the TALENT --- they don't have what it takes .

However, I would submit if you really start INVESTIGATING this --- IT IS MUCH MORE COMPLICATED.

So WRONG DIRECTIONS ---
- What we're often not taking into account is that the person is BENEFITTING from SUPPORTS in the ENVIRONMENT that are MASKING or MAKING IRRELEVANT these EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING ISSUES.

So for someone like myself, my DAD wasn't doing my homework for me --- BUT
- He was a lover of STRUCTURE and ORDER --- not in a pathological way ---
  - It drove me crazy sometimes but it allowed me to THRIVE ---
  - Further, I didn't really know what CRAZY was or how much I depended on that SUPPORT until it wasn't there.
  - Further, even my father didn't realize how much I was dependent on that SUPPORT.

Additionally, all this STRUCTURE & ORDER was paired with unparalleled
- COACHING,
- CHEERLEADING and
- an APPRECIATION of INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES--- it's a RARE COMBINATION --- it wasn't perfect but it allowed me to thrive --- certainly in SCHOOL.

I knew I had weaknesses --- BUT they had been COMPENSATED FOR pretty EFFECTIVELY.
- What I really knew was that I had BIG STRENGTHS.

I didn't know that my WEAKNESSES could overtake me without the PROPER SUPPORT.

I think this is TRUE for people across the board.
I think it is easier to see with NEURO-DIVERSITY because the perceived (or hidden) STRENGTHS can be BIGGER and so can the perceived (or hidden) WEAKNESSES.

That ASYNCHRONY (or perhaps SYNCHRONY if properly understood) is a source of a lot of FRUSTRATION ---

Those STRENGTHS have to be addressed just as much as those WEAKNESSES through
- COACHING and
- CHEERLEADING
- NOT understanding and developing the person's STRENGTHS ends up being just as much of a problem as not understanding WEAKNESSES because ----
  - Those STRENGTHS are the FIRST LINE of COMPENSATION for the WEAKNESSES.

On the other hand, to me Bill Clinton and Donald Trump are CAUTIONARY TALES about what happens if we allow NEURO-DIVERSE people with BIG STRENGTHS and BIG WEAKNESSES to RUN AMUCK.
- Throughout history, people really have had a hard time dealing with COMLEXITY in their Leaders ---
  - the Divine Right of Kings comes to mind, and
  - JFK

BUT ultimately that is not just COMPLEXITY in the PERSON at the TOP or in the SPOTLIGHT --- it's COMPLEXITY in HUMAN BEINGS.

According to some Service Providers, many incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people have tried to START their own BUSINESSES and are interested in ENTREPEURSHIP.

In some cases the lift to SUPPORTED ENTREPRENEURSHIP may be less than the lift to SUPPORTED EMPLOYMENT --- if we know what we need to COMPENSATE for and what we need to BUILD UPON.

I'm not sure it's an "UNDUE HARDSHIP" on Employers to ACCOMMODATE their NEURO-DIVERSE Employees --- but the fact of the matter is it can take a FAIR AMOUNT OF EFFORT ---
- Especially, as the PATH is BEING BLAZED.

Intensity and Burnout in Autism, ADHD & Giftedness

2/7/2022

Someone like me --- I have aspects / symptoms that look kinda like:

Autism
- Food sensitivities and pickiness
- Considerable RATIONALITY to deal with SENSORY OVERLOAD and INTENSE EMOTIONALITY
ADHD
- Interested in EXCITING things --- CRIMINAL LAW
- Sensory Overload and Intense Emotionality
- Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria -- which can probably be seen in Autism and Giftedness as well
GIFTEDNESS
- was one of 3 high school valedictorians
- graduated Top 10 Seniors at a State University
- Sensory Overload and Intense Emotionality
Tourette's
- Not exactly Tourette's but a Movement Disorder that gets triggered by INTENSE EMOTION.

So what happens if we FOCUS on the CATEGORIES in the DSM? Somebody like myself --- GETS MISSED.

That FAILURE to IDENTIFY and COMPENSATE for NEURO-DEVELOPMENTAL DIFFERENCES --- has CONSEQUENCES.

However much we may be fascinated by NEURO-PLASTICITY --- our current understandings and automatic biological processes have their LIMITS ---

I would submit that the HYPER-CONNECTED BRAINS of people with PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS are PHYSICAL EVIDENCE of our current LIMITS.

Asperger's from the Inside: Avoiding Autistic Burnout

Paul asks the question --- Is it even possible to avoid BURNOUT if you are on the Spectrum?

Because the way one's brain works is ---- INTENSE FOCUS and CRASH.

Recognizing that EXTRA TIME you need to take to RECOVER is important.

Of course, the SOCIETY doesn't UNDERSTAND that --- and maybe it is hard for FAMILY AND FRIENDS to UNDERSTAND as well.

How to ADHD: What Does It Mean to Have "Burnout"

Gets into the official definition of BURNOUT and recognizes it as a SYSTEMIC MISMATCH between the PERSON and the ENVIRONMENT.

In other words --- we're not blaming the INDIVIDUAL.

Edvin Palmer: Living with Emotional Intensity - Part 1 - Intellectual Giftedness

"When people think about intellectual giftedness, they often get stuck on the intellectual part of it. But, giftedness also has an emotional component. So, in this video, I speak with openness and honesty about what it's like to live with emotional intensity."

I think a lot of "GIFTED" People think the answer is going to be to find somebody else who is INTELLECTUALLY or otherwise "GIFTED" --- and the reality is often one has just SQUARED the EMOTIONAL INTENSITY.

RELATIONSHIPS are HARD for NEURO-DIVERSE people --- you're having to work harder and so is the other person.

Neuro-Developmental Differences / Disorders are NOT Just Differences of the Brain

1/27/2022

If we didn't know that Neuro-Developmental Disorders affected the Brain and the Central Nervous System --- that would be a big problem.

We do know that even as we're resistant to the ramifications of that.

BUT what if NEURO-DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS are NOT just differences and disorders of the BRAIN & CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM?

What if they are affecting MULTIPLE SYSTEMS of the BODY?

The "OPTIMISTS" among us may say --- that marginalized poor person with Neuro-Developmental Disorders should be "CONTROLLING" all this with the proper values and work ethic ------

even as the BILLION DOLLAR RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS are struggling to figure it all out.

[BTW --- I am an OPTIMIST when it comes to ULTIMATELY UNDERSTANDING and CONTROLLING for these CHALLENGES --- but it is a WORK IN PROGRESS.]

In the meantime, the POOL of people with NEURO-DEVELOPMENTAL DIFFERENCES / DISORDERS seems to be steadily increasing.

Which is NOT surprising if you realize that these DIFFERENCES & DISORDERS are linked to the IMMUNE SYSTEM, MATERNAL IMMUNE ACTIVATION, EPIGENETICS and INNATE & ADAPTIVE IMMUNITY.
By way of "EXPERIMENTATION" ---- "abnormal immune systems" --- can give rise to BIG STRENGTHS and BIG CHALLENGES --- and that can be in the SAME PERSON
- which has really CONFUSED our ASSUMPTIONS and RULES of THUMB --- that all the good traits are going together and all the bad traits are going together.
- People are "SELECTING" for the "good traits" and --- when they picked up one end of the stick --- they got the other as well.

Appropriately, we can't understand "NEURO-DIVERSITY" without using CRITICAL THINKING.

We must CONSCIOUSLY address both the CHALLENGES and STRENGTHS of NEURO-DIVERSITY.

Focusing on STRENGTHS ALONE --- may not currently be enough but those STRENGTHS can MITIGATE some of the weaknesses.

Those who were sad had rapid improvements in mood when they utilized their strongest skills.

---Jan. 23, 2022

The Environment, Sensitive / Reactive Systems & Enlightened Self-interest

1/20/2022

My experience is that the SOCIAL HIERARCHIES one is in during one's lifetime can change dramatically.
Many people experience the Hierarchies in SCHOOL and ACADEMIA as significantly different in SOME RESPECTS than those found in most ADULT ENVIRONMENTS.

For many Neuro-Diverse People --- SCHOOL is a TORTURE CHAMBER

For others, SCHOOL is a DREAM COME TRUE.

If that ENVIRONMENT is "WORKING" FOR US or "WORKING GOOD ENOUGH"--- we may see its FLAWS ---
- BUT we don't have enough SKIN IN THE GAME to do the HARD WORK to CHANGE it.
- OR Stick OUR NECKS OUT to CHANGE IT.

What's the POINT?:
- DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS work for DIFFERENT PEOPLE.
- Ironically, NEURO-DIVERSE PEOPLE often find themselves on OPPOSITE ENDS of the SPECTRUM ---
  - That's a lot of what I'm trying to say with the "Odd Couple" --- Autism & ADHD --- which are surprisingly

BLURRED.
Further, NEURO-DIVERSE People tend to be CONTROL FREAKS in their own ways because they are SO SENSITIVE or REACTIVE TO THE ENVIRONMENT.

Is the Line between --- "Oh, that person is so 'PASSIONATE and SENSITIVE' to that person is 'PATHOLOGICAL and REACTIVE' " ----- really SO FINE --- or are we just OBLIVIOUS to the many steps it took to get from one to the OTHER ---

AS WELL AS the DIFFICULTY of recognizing COMPLEXITY in ourselves and others.

Nowhere is that perhaps more on DISPLAY than the "GIFTED COMMUNITY" that is having a hard time recognizing that their EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING ISSUES are DEVELOPMENTAL and BIOLOGICAL ----

which given the ASSUMPTIONS of the Society is quite understandable.

More and More --- "GIFTEDNESS" is recognized as part of NEURO-DIVERSITY.

Who we are willing to recognize as "GIFTED" is also subject to UNCONSCIOUS THINKING & UNCONSCIOUS BIAS.

A lot of "GIFTED" People are working to change that.

Frank Sinatra
That's Life

Big Chill (1983)
Rationalizations

In 1983, I was not in my 30s --- I was in my early 20s and at the TOP of MY GAME.

In less than 5 years --- I was wondering what had happened.

The Revivalists
All My Friends

(I wasn't getting HIGH --- BUT I had my first MAJOR EPISODE of DEPRESSION -- and recall feeling as though I had jumped out of a plane without a PARACHUTE -- BUT I didn't know it was DEPRESSION)

So by my late 20s -- I was already struggling ---

I had assured my Mother who had grown up during the DEPRESSION with a SINGLE MOTHER with POLIO --- that this LIBERAL ARTS MAJOR was all going to work out because I was going to LAW SCHOOL and not only that I really wanted to be a LAWYER --- and SAVE THE WORLD.

We all have SKIN IN THE GAME when it comes to CHANGING THE ENVIRONMENT

That's why it is so hard.
Ultimately, this needs to work for EVERYONE --- and that EVERYONE is DYNAMIC --- its not going to be the same in 50 years
And we're likely going to understand more in 50 years than we understand now.
Even if we don't have all the SPECIFICS of that KNOWLEDGE we can still operate under principles of the BELOVED COMMUNITY & ENLIGHTENED SELF-INTEREST in creating ENVIRONMENTS that are USER-FRIENDLY for DIVERSE USERS.

Alan Bloom on Enlightened Self-Interest

Composing to avoid Cacophony --- Understanding asynchrony

1/15/2022

It is hard to understand any BIOLOGY outside of the Environment and that's both a physical environment and a social environment.

The great MODERN ENTREPRENEURS and BENEVOLENT DICTATATORS and NOT SO BENEVELOENT DICTATORS often are NEURO-DIVERSE and if they are at the top they may feel safe to be open about that ---- Richard Branson and Elon Musk come to mind.

BUT you've really got to be at the TOP and feeling relatively INDEPENDENT --- often FINANCIALLY INDEPENDENT but INDEPENDENT in other ways as well--- to be open about NEURO-DIVERSITY.

Further, NEURO-DIVERSITY is often like that ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM -- that nobody's talking about in this case --- because they don't really SEE IT or UNDERSTAND IT ---

This ASYNCHRONOUS ELEPHANT is CONFUSING to everyone --- including the person.
Further, we and individuals themselves have ASSUMPTIONS about HIGHER ORDER THINKING and its relationship to EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING --- and the experience often the PAINFUL EXPERIENCE of NEURO-DIVERSE PEOPLE is that REALITY is much more COMPLICATED than those ASSUMPTIONS.

Asynchronous Development In Gifted People

So while NEURO-DIVERSITY tends to bring with it BIG STRENGTHS which can be in HIGHER ORDER THINKING that need to be DEVELOPED, EMPLOYED and REWARDED --- it brings BIG CHALLENGES too --- often in EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING.

If you DEVELOP and REWARD those NEURO-DIVERSE STRENGTHS and OTHERS COMPENSATE for REMAINING CHALLENGES ----

that person can start to look AMAZING and probably is doing AMAZING THINGS.

--- the other hand, if you don't DEVELOP and REWARD those DIVERSE STRENGTHS and people become SOCIAL OUTCASTS because all anyone can see are the WEAKNESSES:

that person can start to look TERRIBLE, and in one or more ways probably is DE-COMPENSATING.

Take the "O Train" to get to Criminal Justice Reform in a Hurry

Jazz Academy at Lincoln Center (2020)

Music scholar Greg Thomas discusses the lasting legacy of Duke Ellington's 1943 masterwork "Black, Brown, and Beige."

One of the many interesting observations of Thomas is that Ellington composed with certain musicians in mind --- understanding their strengths and weaknesses.

That complicated challenge is what we are called on to do as a Society.

Elon Musk

WHERE THIS STARTS TO GET BLURRED:

If we set people up on a PEDESTAL --- they are going to FALL OFF --- either in their LIFETIMES or to be WITNESSED BY HISTORY
- People are NOT PERFECT --- and for some / many NEURO-DIVERSE people those BIG STRENGTHS come with some BIG WEAKNESSES.

See The Microbiome, Stress, Trauma, the Anna Karenina Principle & Justice

Most people are dealing with COMPLEX, IDIOSYNCRATIC combinations of FACTORS (most of which aren't even HUMAN --- think the MICROBIOME) that are playing out INDIVIDUALLY in this MOMENT in TIME.

Ironically, it is UNDERSTANDING the BIOLOGICAL BASIS of BEHAVIOR that argues AGAINST:
- SOCIAL HIERARCHIES and
- EUGENICS
And FOR:
- A more COMPLICATED and CHALLENGING VIEW of HUMAN STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES
- That is NOT on a WILD GOOSE CHASE for the PERFECT PERSON, but is ---
- Taking people as THEY ARE:
  - Developing, Employing & Rewarding Strengths AND
  - Compensating for Weaknesses to the best of our ABILITY

Duke Ellington Composing

It's the DIFFICULT TASK of COMPOSING with the MUSICIANS in MIND --- ALL The MUSICIANS.

Y'All MEANS ALL

And because NONE of US are PERFECT --- we MUST do this together.

Richard Branson

Neuro-Developmental Continuums, Psychiatric Disorders, Trauma, Intelligence & Sensory Processing

1/11/2022

Understanding PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS as "DISORDERS of the NEURO-DEVELOPMENTAL CONTINUUM" has IMPLICATIONS.

One of the many things that has made this so DIFFICULT to tease out is even though PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS have been known to be for some time "HEAVILY GENETIC" ---- they weren't "TOTALLY GENETIC" ---

The Twin Studies were sometimes seen as saying MENTAL ILLNESS wasn't "TOTALLY BIOLOGICAL"
- I think what they were really saying was --- MENTAL ILLNESS isn't "TOTALLY GENETIC"

Further, the National Institute of Mental Health came up with a construction of GENES x ENVIRONMENT x AGE = MENTAL ILLNESS.

This was AFTER researchers had IDENTIFIED TRAUMA as being associated with MENTAL ILLNESS but BEFORE we had IDENTIFIED MATERNAL IMMUNE ACTIVATION as being associated with BOTH NEURO-DEVEPMENTAL DISORDERS and PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS.

Dr. Dawn Elise Snipes
Continuing Education Units

Neurobiological Impact of Psychological Trauma on the HPA Axis

Initially, "Oh TRAUMA -- that's 'PSYCHOLOGICAL'--- that's NOT 'BIOLOGICAL.' "

Now --- we're more likely to recognize that TRAUMA is BOTH --- "PSYCHOLOGICAL" and "BIOLOGICAL."
Most surprising it is involving the IMMUNE SYSTEM --- NOT JUST THE BRAIN. (and OTHER SYSTEMS OF THE BODY)

Automatic Brain: The Magic of the Unconscious Mind (2011)

"Over 90 percent of our daily actions are done unconsciously, an "autopilot" in our head. Automatic

"Brain takes a look at how unconscious processes steer the lives of two ordinary people, from everyday routines to life choices such as finding a partner. Featured by XIVETV."

Repurposed Genealogy

The Gifted Brain & Sensory Processing Disorder

Further, we've had SIMPLISTIC NOTIONS of INTELLIGENCE --- that have not held up in my life and I don't think I'm the only one.

So I would submit that INTELLIGENCE is not just "GENETICS" or for that matter "ENVIRONMENT" --- it is in fact closely related to INFLAMMATION that can lead to a perception of BELOW AVERAGE INTELLIGENCE or ABOVE AVERAGE INTELLIGENCE.

The Epidemic of "Misdiagnosis" of Mental Health Problems in the "Gifted" Community

High IQ & Psycho-Neuro-Immunology

PG Psych Lecture Series
D Y Patil University School of Medicine

Understanding Psychiatric Illnesses as Disorders of the Neurodevelopmental Continuum (2021)

This video is from India --- it's almost 1 hr. and 45 minutes long.

The point is really that this is more reflecting the NEW PARADIGMS regarding PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS and their relationship to NEURO-DEVELOPMENT.

National Institute of Mental Health (2018)

Big Brain: Perks & Costs

"It turns out that the bigger our brain is, the more its additional real estate is accounted for by growth in the higher thinking areas of the cortex, or outer mantle – at the expense of relatively slower growth in lower emotional, sensory and motor areas.

"This mirrors the pattern of brain changes seen in primate evolution and individual maturation – with higher-order areas showing greatest expansion.

"In the neuroimaging study of more than 3000 people, the investigators also found evidence linking these high-expanding regions to higher connectivity between neurons and higher energy consumption."

HERE'S THE CATCH-22

Our INTELLIGENCE is very much related to our abilities to take in "SENSORY INFORMATION" and find "PATTERNS."
Our BRAINS, IMMUNE SYSTEMS, MICROBIOMES, ENDOCRINE SYSTEMS, etc. ---- don't have an UNLIMITED CAPACITY to take in sensory information and process it.
The gains we have made have been over vast STRETCHES of TIME and it is not without MISTAKES.
Those MISTAKES often must be CLEANED UP by someone who hasn't been born yet.

The Star Institute is located in Centennial, Colorado

A pilot study by the STAR Institute found that the 35% of the children in one large sample (n=550) from a gifted and talented center exhibited symptoms of SPD (Sensory Processing Disorder).

This is significantly more than the 5% that pilot studies have found in the general population.

Getting Conscious & Honest about "Filling In the Gaps" in Mental Health & Law --- The Need to Make Some Revisions

12/30/2021

People do need LOYALTY and it is HARD to go 360 --- and that is what we are called on to do.

Further, sometimes it is that person who seems 180 degrees from us --- BUT often it is that person who is 1 or 2 degrees or less from us --- and we seem to be jostling for the same lane or niche.

the BRUTALITY of "INFIGHTING" is definitely there.

APPLYING this APPARENT CONFLICT between LOYALTY and SUBSTANCE and how this sometimes plays out for people who are maybe STRONGER on SUBSTANCE and WEAKER on EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING.

First, "EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING" seems more OBJECTIVE than FACIAL CONTOURS so ---
- The GROUP can generally CONSOLE THEMSELVES by saying "HEY, we're NOT UNFAIRLY DISCRIMINATING --- we're using OBJECTIVE CRITERIA."
How did this NEURO-DIVERSE person get STRONGER on SUBSTANCE?
- They probably asked a lot of questions because they had to.
  - Yeah, they don't have that AUTOMATIC FUNCTIONING to the same degree, BUT ALSO . . .
  - They need the DOPAMINE RUSH and other kind of RUSHES from SOLVING PROBLEMS --- that of necessity become MORE COMPLEX
    - we're not staying at SIMPLE ADDITION or LEARNING the ALPHABET --- we're MOVING ON.
- ACADEMIA is definitely a kind of INSTITUTION and ACADEMIC FREEDOM is IMPORTANT
  - Most people in their jobs don't have that
  - People in this COUNTRY have a RIGHT TO FREE SPEECH but they don't have a RIGHT TO A JOB.
    - MEANING --- most employment is AT-WILL --- and you can be fired for a lot less than a substantive disagreement.
    - Further --- there are these EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING ISSUES that can actually GET WORSE if you can't get SUFFICIENTLY CHALLENGED in your STRENGTHS.
- So some Neuro-Diverse People are coming in these quite ASYNCHRONOUS packages that are hard to FIGURE OUT if you're the person much less someone else.
- In our SOCIETY, NEURO-DIVERSE People at the TOP of Politics and BUSINESS are sometimes allowed to RUN AMUCK (think the US PRESIDENCY -- there are examples from BOTH DEMOCRATS & REPUBLICANS) and
  - At the BOTTOM --- NEURO-DIVERSE People are often unwittingly ABUSED and NEGLECTED.
- Now is maybe a good time when we have so many STAFFING PROBLEMS in so many areas to REALIZE that we need EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES more of a 2-Way Street and/or look at more CREATIVE OPTIONS such as SUPPORTED ENTREPRENEURSHIP.

It seemed so amazing when CAL-TECH's David Anderson was just logically explaining on his TEDx Talk why pouring psychiatric medication on billions of neural circuits globally might cause some unintended problems.

Now we're beyond BILLIONS of NEURO-CIRCUITS --- we're at TRILLIONS of MICROBIOTA --- and we're carrying around more of their genetic material than our own.

Further, those MICROBIOTA appear to be talking with our BRAINS and one of the pathways appears to be the STRESS HORMONE CORTISOL which is part of the ENDOCRINE SYSTEM.

The NECESSITY of RELIGION, REVISION --- and CONSERVATION

When I use the word "Religion" ---- I am referring to the monotheistic religions, the various spiritual paths, historical development of "Religious Beliefs" in humans which were originally not separate from other aspects of LIFE, CULTURE and ultimately "CIVILIZATION."

In addition to those meanings of "RELIGION" ---- I'm referring to the ESSENTIAL NEED to FILL IN GAPS of our IMPERFECT KNOWLEDGE.

The PARADOX of our EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE BASE is --- it also EXPONETIALLY EXPANDS our AWARENESS of how much we don't know.

SCIENCE is a wonderful thing and it does often require REVISION of BELIEFS we used to FILL IN THE GAPS ---
- BUT the IDEA that Science can OBVIATE the NEED to FILL IN GAPS --- seems DELUSIONAL, MAGICAL and even DANGEROUS THINKING.

REMEMBER: Seemingly OPPOSING IDEAS are not necessarily CONTRADICTIONS --- if you can view them in DIFFERENT RESPECTS.

Big Think
Us vs. Them Explained

There's a lot in this short video ---

RESOLVING the CONFLICT between LOYALTY and SUBSTANTIVE CONTENT is a BIG CHALLENGE for our Societies right now.

I think historically --- Societies have tended to shore up problems in the Society by focusing on an OUTSIDE ENEMY.

BUT we're not doing that AS MUCH --- but it is HIGHLIGHTING the CONFLICTS within the COUNTRY or GROUP --- and we don't always have the TOOLS to RESOLVE those.

Further, many of the ASSUMPTIONS Mental Health has on "PRO SOCIAL COMPETENCY" need to be QUESTIONED.

The ASSUMPTIONS that LAW has and MOST PEOPLE have about "BAD INTENT" need to be QUESTIONED ----

when most of the time --- if we go just 2 or 3 links back in that causal chain and more specifically get to the UNDERLYING BIOLOGY, we find:
- BRAIN INJURY
- NEURO-DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDER
- PSYCHIATRIC DISORDER, and/or
- A SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER that is often RELATED to one or more of the above.

Image Credit: NPR --- What's a Paradigm Shift

It's hard to overstate how much of our "Mental Health Crisis" is owing to PARTIAL and INCORRECT PARADIGMS.

Right up at the TOP is FAILING to RECOGNIZE that the population of NEURO-DEVELOPMENTALLY DIFFERENT PEOPLE (generally, with more DEVELOPMENTAL INFLAMMATION) is making up the BULK of the PSYCHIATRIC POPULATION, and for that matter the SUBSTANCE USING POPULATION as well.
Further, GENES are important --- BUT they are generally SHARED across our conceptualizations of these DISORDERS

Add to GENES ---MATERNAL IMMUNE ACTIVATION, RAMPED UP POSITIVE FEEDBACK LOOPS, LESS THAN PERFECT ENVIRONMENTS and EPIGENETICS ---

And you end up with IDIOSYNCRATIC, INDIVIDUAL CHALLENGES --- that often resemble those DSM categories at some point --- BUT often don't quite fit in them -- and often more than one "DIAGNOSIS" can seem to be implicated.

I think one of the reasons the Mental Health Profession has been so SLOW on the UP-TAKE with regard to the SIGNIFICANCE and IMPLICATIONS of a scientifically INVALID DIAGNOSTIC MANUAL:

Sure they don't have anything else --- BUT by and large they they are trying to tailor their treatments to the INDIVIDUAL.

BUT if the BIOLOGY is UNKNOWN or UNCLEAR === you might fill in the gaps with the PRO SOCIAL COMPETENCY RELIGION --- that sounds INNOCUOUS ENOUGH --- and I would say maybe even NECESSARY ----

BUT --- it's NOT corresponding with the RESEARCH of the last 10 years which BUILT on all the preceding RESEARCH -- but is coming with NEW SIGNIFICANT UNDERSTANDINGS.
- By and large, more ADDITION than SUBTRACTION.
- So NEURO-DEVELOPMENTAL and PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS absolutely involve the BRAIN and the CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM, but they also involve:
  - The IMMUNE SYSTEM,
  - The Microbiome
  - The Endocrine System
  - Etc.

-----and those Complicated Interactions.

Executive Functioning, Intelligence & Neuro-Diversity

12/25/2021

Is this distinction between Intelligence and Executive Functioning too simplistic --- it probably is --- BUT it is a BIG STEP UP from where we are at.

This DISTINCTION between INTELLIGENCE and EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING matters for:

Education
Employment, and
Criminal Justice

Further, it matters in unexpected ways which we are NOT sufficiently addressing.

There are INDIVIDUAL RANGES in which Executive Functioning can be IMPROVED.

BUT to do that --- we must be willing to accept the person where they are. What does that do?

It reduces the STRESS and INFLAMMATION for the PERSON and for the SOCIETY as well.

This person is UNLIKELY to become NEURO-TYPICAL --- we're talking about DEVELOPMENTAL DIFFERENCES that have sometimes been EXACERBATED by IGNORANCE.

BUT these DEVELOPMENTAL DIFFERENCES often come with their own ATYPICAL STRENGTHS --- and we are NOT sufficiently developing those ATYPICAL STRENGTHS.

The COSTS to the INDIVDUAL and the SOCIETY are EXTREME.

Neurodiversity Informational Series: Executive Functioning and Neurodiversity (April 2021) ---

Looks at the importance of a Strength-Based Approach vs. a Deficit Model

Learning Resource Center South

MISSING THE BOAT

Strength-Based Approach

Keeping the Inflammation Down & Accurate Maps of Reality

12/19/2021

Most Neuro-Diverse People are coming with more NEURO-DEVELOPMENTAL INFLAMMATION.
They are often coming with some EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING DIFFERENCES.

This IDEA of MORE ACCURATE MAPS is a big idea behind Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and it has helped many people.

The PROBLEM is that some of MENTAL HEALTH's CURRENT MAPS aren't ACCURATE.

Further those inaccurate maps are doing much more harm in some cases than the Mental Health Profession appears to realize.

If that PERFECT MAP is down the road, INCLUSION should be the next step.

Migraine and neuroinflammation:
the inflammasome perspective

Conclusion
Neuroinflammatory pathways, specifically those involving inflammasome proteins, seem promising candidates as treatment targets, and perhaps even biomarkers, in migraine.

Pathophysiology of Migraine: A Disorder of Sensory Processing

Migraine is largely accepted to be an inherited tendency for the brain to lose control of its inputs.

Basic and Clinical Neurosciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College, London, United Kingdom;
Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California; Department of Neurology,
University of Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany; and
Department of Neurology, University Hospital Bern-Inselspital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland

What's the Point of the Studies Below?

The new maps of psychiatric disorders tend not to rely as much on distinct categories --- BUT more and more researchers appear to be focusing on BROADER BIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS such as:
- Inflammation, especially Maternal Immune Activation, Trauma, Toxins, etc. and
- Sensory Processing
But if that Sensory Processing is ramped up --- you may be "SENSITIVE" --- in more ways than one.

Blue Sky Science: How Does Your Brain Think?

In order for your brain to think, you need nerve cells that can detect information about the outside world and can transmit that information to other nerve cells.

It’s the transmission of information, the cells talking to each other, that’s the fundamental physical basis for how thinking works.

Maternal Immune Activation and Neuropsychiatric Illness:

A Translational Research Perspective (2018)

Affiliation
1From the New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University Medical Center, New York; the Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Zurich-Vetsuisse, Zurich; and the Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich.

The Surprising Link Between Migraines and Mental Health

But is that as surprising as . . .

Celiac Disease & Sensitivities, the Immune System & Mental Health

Physical Health Issues, the Immune System & Mental Health

Intelligence, Giftedness --- More complicated than we thought?

12/12/2021

What is "INTELLIGENCE"? It is becoming more and more obvious that it is NOT what we "think":

Neuro-Diverse People (Can be Highly Emotional, Have High Logic Skills, and Have Difficulties in One or More Areas of Executive Functioning), and
More Perceived Neuro-Typical People (often not as far from that Neuro-Diverse Person as they might want to think)

"GIFTED" and The Principle of Least Effort

When "Gifted and Talented" as a concern in EDUCATION started it was largely perceived to be an UNQUALIFIED GOOD -- and it probably still is in the general public .

BUT the father of "Giftedness" Theory --- introduced this concept of "Over-Excitabilities" and that Gifted People had this tendency to EMOTIONALLY CRASH --- "POSITIVE DISINTEGRATION and PERSONAL GROWTH."

"Individuals with strong developmental potential tend to experience frequent and intense crises (positive disintegrations) that create opportunities for the development of an autonomous, self-crafted personality."
- This is spun about as "POSITIVELY" as you can, but why are these people having so many CRISES?
- I would submit it is because they have Lower Executive Functioning in one or more areas and they are needing to pull in more Sensory Information ---
- BUT that can lead to OVERLOAD and a MELTDOWN.
- You do become a more independent thinker because you've had to be --- there are a number things you may not be able to do on AUTOMATIC.
- On the other hand, if you and the society believe that there are NO LIMITS if you just TRY HARD ENOUGH --- you may be headed for a DISASTER.

The PROs and Cons of Where We Seem to Be Headed

Pros

We're starting to recognize "this" is more COMPLICATED than we thought (that hardly ever happens, right?) 
- That is exceedingly important --- because the MAP I was given of "giftedness" has NOT MATCHED the TERRAIN I have travelled -- and I don't think I'm the only one that got "LOST."
"Gifted" People are NOT some STANDARD of PERFECTION --- that's important for everyone to know.

Cons

We are Half-Way Down the Road to Defining "Intellectually Gifted People" OUT of our category of "Intelligence"--- which would be HILARIOUS if it weren't so SAD and DANGEROUS.
We are starting to recognize the COMPLICATED NATURE of "Intelligence" --- in the EXTREMES but we haven't been able to take it MAINSTEAM.
- MEANING --- these issues are NOT JUST in the "GIFTED" Population --- BUT it may be easier to see in the EXTREME.

How our "TRADITIONAL WRONG ASSUMPTIONS" play out in the person with a Neuro-Developmental Disorder involving Executive Functioning and Psychiatric Disorders.

All people with High Intelligence Have High Executive Functioning
I Have High Intelligence
Therefore, I must have High Executive Functioning

But you're saying that I don't have High Intelligence
because I don't Have High Executive Functioning . . .

BUT I DO HAVE HIGH INTELLIGENCE

[That person is grandiose and doesn't really have too much of a connection to reality]

Kirk, Spock, Scotty and McCoy OUTWIT the Androids

Why Gifted Kids Are Actually Special Needs

I really like this Psychiatrist but I don't buy into this idea that all that is going on is -- gifted kids didn't have to exercise those "study skills."

I think it is much more complicated than that.

AND the point I'm trying to make with the PRINCIPLE of LEAST EFFORT is quite different than the point above.

My take on it is ----

the reason you may have done well in school and/ or identified as "gifted with a lot of potential" was that you had access to a lot of SENSORY INFORMATION --
BUT WHY did you have access to more SENSORY INFORMATION?
I would submit at least in part it was to fill in some gaps in MORE AUTOMATIC EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING --- that's a BIG RANGE.
What were you using that SENSORY INFORMATION for ----- to REASON ---- TO FIND PATTERNS.
BUT your BODY & BRAIN wouldn't have done that to the DEGREE that "they" did ---if you had had access to that AUTOMATIC FUNCTIONING.
Further --- more gifted educators are RECOGNIZING that many gifted kids do have executive functioning issues --- and I think that is much more DEVELOPMENTAL than we've been willing to acknowledge.

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