Mindfully Scientific Mama

Are you autistic? Help us learn about the autistic brain and validate self identification. Where: Language & Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Teachers College Columbia University 525 W. 120th St NY NY 10027. How long will it take? About 2.5 hours (not including optional breaks). Compensation Up to $30 cash or 2 hours course credit. Additional gift card raffle available with chance to win one $50 or one of two $25 gift cards. Who can participate? Autistic people with a clinical diagnosis, informal diagnosis, or who are self identified/diagnosed People who learned to speak English as a baby People without a history of reading disorders (such as dyslexia) People who are right handed and have normal or corrected to normal vision Adults 18 years to 40 years of age without a history of seizures or intellectual disability What's involved? This study uses electroencephalogram (EEG), a non-invasive method that collects information about brain activity using a specialized cap, to learn about how autistics and non-autistics process written words. We are also looking to provide evidence supporting the validity of self identification within the autistic community. You will be asked to take a series of screener tests and answer some questions to make sure you are a good fit. This may take up to 1.5 hours. You will then sit in front of a computer and watch a series of different slides with words and word-like things. This takes about 25 minutes. This study is not being conducted in affiliation or cooperation with NIH/HHS or any prospective autism registry. WHO CAN I CONTACT FOR MORE INFORMATION? Erin Kirby - Email: langcog@tc.columbia.edu TC IRB PROTOCOL #23-067

In an era where it feels risky to have a dx of autism in your records many autistics are opting for self ID. Help us support them by participating in an effort to validate self dx/ID. THIS STUDY IS NOT BEING CONDUCTED IN COLLABORATION OR AFFILIATION W/ HHS/NIH OR ANY PROSPECTIVE AUTISM REGISTRY.

RFK Jr's registry is regressive, dangerous, and a waste of money that would be better spent solving one part of the real autism epidemic... the lack of resources for individuals and their families, especially ones that are neurodivergent affirming and person centered.
We need a village, not a cure.

REPLY PART 2 And autism isn't some preventable monster. Evidence suggests it has been around as long as humans have, we've just gotten better at identifying it. My heart really hurts that there's still a market for eugenics. (3/3)

MY REPLY: I'm a researcher, and there is exactly 0 chance I'd go along with RFK's unethical nonsense.
Autism isn't a disease.
Autism doesn't need a cured.
Autistic people aren't burdens, even those with the highest of support needs.
Autism isn't the problem. Lack of supports and abelism is (2/3).

Screenshot from Threads User: myadhdcounselor Text: Looking, I get I'm a therapist, but my code of ethics says to fight against injustice. And I' going to do that as long as a** hats like RFK Jr try and send us back to Nazi Germany with a HIPAA violating Autism registry. (Repost because typos were too much).

I reshared the following image on Threads, and the ableist anti science crowd stumbled upon my post with the predictable outcome. In an effort to combat misinformation broadly & anger bigots, I'm sharing here, too. Because facts matter & so do HIPAA/legal requirements for informed consent (1/3)

And a few final words of wisdom... Avoid anyone trying to sell you something, especially if they have a financial stake in discrediting current scientific and medical consensus. Learn the red flags of snake oil salesmen and conspiracy theorists [5]
#factchecking #evidence-based #combatmisinformation

Remember the hierarchy of evidence when verifying claims. Not sure what that is? Here's one of several versions (via Icahn School of Medicine).... note personal opinion here likely refers to personal expert opinion. Joe Schmoe on YouTube and your aunt's second cousin's dog aren't even mentioned [4]

Aren't sure how to curate your feed for a fact based experience? Look to people well versed in critical analysis or those held accountable in their jobs for telling the truth: scientists, nonpartisan investigative journalists/news sources, statisticians, data scientists, etc. [3]
#factchecking

Perhaps most importantly, Meta's announcement is a reminder to verify claims that don't seem quite right. You are about to be flooded with even more misinformation than you have been previously, and the burden is increasingly on you to determine the validity of claims made. [2] #combatmisinformation

Meta's announcement today is a reminder to curate your feed if you have yet to do so. Follow reliable sources that don't require fact-checking to hold them accountable for the truth. Follow accounts that fact-check disreputable sources. Unfollow accounts with a tendency to post misinformation. [1]

ND parenting during holidays: extending all your cognitive effort towards traditions & joy in the lead up/day of only to find yourself unsure of the steps to make a cup of coffee or get dressed the day after because you have nothing left to fuel executive functioning
#neurodivergent #parenting #adhd

Or whether so many of us who identity as devout Christians would care for or house Mary and Joseph, not knowing of the miracle about to unfold, only that God's message is to love thy neighbor, and to serve the lest among these? Merry Christmas!!! [3/3]

Curious whether he would be welcomed by so many of us, who spent this evening joyfully worshipping his miraculous birth, if he were to appear on our doorstep as a stranger in need? [2/3]

Just got in from church where we rejoiced in the birth of Jesus Christ... a brown, Middle Eastern, Jewish refugee, born to poor, young, unwed parents. [1/3]

Insurance cuts coverage for my meds to save $. I inevitably get sick & land in the hospital. I get discharged & told to see a range of specialists that I didn't see before the hospital because the systems set up to save $ make it impossible to see my PCP or get referrals to other doctors #healthcare

A small brown dog wearing a gray sweater sitting on a white blanket in a vehicle.

Life is hard. Puppies make it just ever slightly better, don't you think? My dog was abandoned in a box with his siblings at a high 💀 shelter in Alabama. At an age where he shouldn't have been weaned yet. Humans can be pretty terrible. But dogs? They love us despite our flaws. We don't deserve them.

😂😂😭😭😭

When your kid’s nose starts getting runny…

As w/ my experience on Threads, BlueSky is proving I'm incapable of being witty. I guess my need to communicate factually is why I became a scientist. So the facts are:
• I'm an evidence minded mom
• My space is neurodivergent affirming
• I'm unapologetically equality minded
Let's connect!