Beatrix Butnicu 🦆🪻

Alt text: Two African grey parrots sit in adjacent metal cages. One has a pile of metal rings, the other has a single walnut. Between them is a small hole in the divider. The image illustrates a study where parrots passed rings through the hole so their partners could trade them for treats. Post text: Scientists taught African grey parrots to swap metal rings for treats. Then they paired birds so one had ten rings and the other had none. The ring-rich parrots started passing rings through a hole so partners could “buy” walnuts — even with no reward for themselves.

Brucks, D., Krasheninnikova, A., von Bayern, A. M. P., & Bugnyar, T. (2020). Parrots voluntarily help each other to obtain food rewards. Current Biology, 30(2), 292–297.e5. doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...

Screenshot of a tweet from user @_grimm (@ExileGrimm). It reads: “What’s the dumbest beliefs you had as a child? When I was 4–5 I swore that bird seeds grew birds, thus the name. When my parents asked me to prove it to them, I planted a pile of bird seeds. The next day there were loads of birds where I planted the seeds, showing I was right.”

This adorable story shows how an experiment can seem to work but measure the wrong thing! A child tested if bird seeds grow birds, and birds appeared, confirming the idea. But the seeds *attracted* birds. In science that’s a threat to construct validity, and it happens to the best of scientists!

Discovery Programme Resources Gentle, neuroaffirming resources created by and for Autistic adults.

@thrivingautistic.bsky.social has a new resource signposting page about:
Masking, Emotional Regulation & Self-Care, Internalised Ableism, Sensory, Self-Advocacy, Intersectionality, Imposter Syndrome, Disclosure, Monotropism, Relationships, Burnout & more!
www.thrivingautistic.org/discovery-pr...

A rectangular infographic titled “Challenges, Strengths, and Joys of Autistic Parents: An Abductive Qualitative Content Analysis of Parent Interviews” by Thom-Jones, Brownlow, and Abel (2025). The background is a muted green with a white rounded rectangle in the center containing text. The infographic highlights that major challenges for Autistic parents are external, including lack of access to appropriate supports, inappropriate supports, and discrimination from professionals and service providers. It notes feelings of not being good enough or failing as a parent. It also states that some participants reported joy in parenting and strengths such as egalitarian parenting, open and honest communication, and insight and understanding. The bottom includes a formal citation and a small circular Autistic Realms logo with the words “Neurodiversity Affirming.

More new research!

Challenges, Strengths, and Joys of Autistic Parents: An abductive qualitative content analysis of parent interviews. Thom-Jones, S., Brownlow, C., & Abel, S. (2025).https://doi.org/10.1177/25739581251385735

YouTube video by Autistic Burnout Network Viv Dawes and Helen Edgar

Free training from @vivdawes.bsky.social and myself: Supporting Autistic Children and Young People through Burnout.
Shared via Autistic Burnout Network - lots more resources available!
autisticburnoutnetwork.com

youtu.be/LzBaTGZos8s?...

Pink smiling unicorn t-shirt with real sunglasses hanging as if under its eyes, curly purple hair strands and a multi colour polka dot scarf. The unicorn is my embodied metaphor for Monotropism, the horn (attention tunnel) coming out of the prefrontal cortex and converving into a singular point of focus, which often feels ike magic.

Beauty is in the eye of the monotropic unicorn. #monotropism

Hummingbird Hawk Moth in my garden this morning!

Can everyone take more paracetamol please? It would really help my headaches.

/Joke

Just to flag another thing from my recent experience at the GP... topimarate, an epilepsy drug, is absolutely tagged by the NHS as causing autism and it is legally mandated to take a pregnancy test before starting it. But the stats are 4-9 out of 100 pregnant people + epilepsy is a co-occurant...

Autism isn’t caused by medicine.
Claims that paracetamol in pregnancy causes autism are false.
We do not need to prevent or cure autism.
Autistic people are valuable.

Great guidance here from @contactfamilies.bsky.social for anyone who is worried or concerned with the news today.

#TheMostInterestingThinginMentalHealth: #Insomnia is major factor contributing to many mental health problems. @ProfEspie University of Oxford
@ox.ac.uk gives top tips for clinicians at the European CBT Conference
#EABCT2025 @babcpevents.bsky.social
@babcpjournals.bsky.social @babcp.com

YouTube video by Thriving Autistic Discovering You're Autistic

youtube.com/watch?v=-eDv...
This made me cry tears of joy. So beautiful.

Most beautiful video about this topic I've seen

YouTube video by Thriving Autistic Lightbulb Moments: Being Autistic

Hurrah!
We can finally share the animations I have been working on with @thrivingautistic.bsky.social

Lightbulb Moments: Being Autistic

Please do let us know what you think and share if you find valuable!

youtu.be/3O6hy-usIug?...

Thank you, yay. I am sick and couldn't attend yesterday. Glad I can still watch this!

Copper-coloured leaves with lots of little raindrops on them.

#glimmer I love these little raindrops.

So very happy to be part of the @stimpunks.org team working on this!
Updated page - have a look... exciting things happening and thoughts evolving...

Dish rack where a big white tray with colourful bird prints is sitting

#glimmer my work kitchen has a beautiful bird tray and I'm so happy

YouTube video by Meeka le Fay The Autistic Poetry of Emily Dickinson

youtube.com/watch?v=mldC...
Very interesting. In school the girls were asked to stand up if they were Christian. Emily didn't. She said, "They thought it queer I didn't rise, I thought a lie would be queerer."

Hope you can join us!
FREE tickets!
A great opportunity to watch the 2 new animations about being Autistic that I've been working on with @iara-abigalil.bsky.social, @fergus.oolong.co.uk , @scrappapertiger.bsky.social , @jessicakdoyle.bsky.social, Laura Buckland Mason & @somebodysomeone.bsky.social

😂😂

Monotropism: Supporting Young Autistic People With Transitions "Embracing Monotropism & Supporting Young Autistic People With Transitions at Home and School" by Helen Edgar (Autistic Realms). This is a neurodiversity-affirming guide for families, educators, and anyone supporting young autistic people.✨ Learn about monotropism — a powerful, positive theory of autistic experiences✨ Practical advice for supporting flow states, transitions, and sensory needs at home and school ✨ Ideas for creating environments where young autistic people can thrive✨ Resources, readings, and community support links included! Download now and help young people embrace their unique flow! (updated ebook originally created for PANDA charity 2024)

E-Book: Monotropism: Supporting Young Autistic People With Transitions At Home & School
Hopefully helpful for the start of term!

Seriously, please write to your MP about this, whoever they are, if you're in the UK.

This is so important. The NHS ADHD waiting lists are years long all over Scotland, apart from places where they've been closed entirely.

I got on the Edinburgh waiting list five years ago, just before a huge rise in people realising they need it; diagnosed after 4 years; still waiting on any meds.

I want a t-shirt of a unicorn saying "I'm Monotropic". The unicorn is not a symbol of uniqueness here, but I find that the horn coming straight out of the prefrontal cortex is a great embodied symbol for the attention tunnel. And also it's magic.

Thanks for confirming. Sad I missed it!

😂😂😂😂

Wait this is the same Brian Irvine @brianirvine.bsky.social from A Storm of Post It Notes!!! That's in my top 3 favourite papers of all time!!! I am too excited. Great monotropism quote!

Yes I am dying to read that!!! But do you know where Brian said the rocket fuel because I want to quote this to eternity!

Had my eye on this book for a while. That's an awesome quote. Did they say that in the book?