Jennifer Macko

I'm getting ready for the new semester and trying time blocking to manage teaching two courses, a research assistantship, a project coordinator role, and my dissertation. For those who've done it, how many hours a week did you typically spend writing your dissertation? #phdlife #AcademicSky

I would love to be added. I'm a neurodiveregent PhD candidate researching how to improve the well-being and mental health of autistic AFAB students.

You did a great job! I really appreciated the way you handled the round table discussion too. Using the ipad to have multiple screens was really effective! I might have to borrow this idea for next year.

This is so exciting! Your presentation at AERA was so good. I can't wait to read the article.

It's been a day. I finished my written PhD comprehensive exams this morning. They were planned for next semester, but my advisor & I decided that given the uncertain times, I should just get it done. Then this evening I submitted my final assignment for my last required course. Exhale.😮‍💨 #academicsky

Been a bit quiet, navigating program uncertainty to ensure I can keep doing the work I'm passionate about. Taking those steps feels important (more on this later.) Now I’m at #AERA2025 —a space where folks are deeply engaged in the work. It’s a welcome contrast to recent distractions. My ❤️ is happy.

Hi Kristen, I’d love to hear thoughts on this. I’m on Dr. Jamie Pearson’s team and we just discussed needing to figure out my timeline in relation to this issue.

I just added your session to my agenda on the app.

Thinking about your essay in Care Work on the pressure on femme leaders to be perfect and push through and proud of you for making the choice to cancel/reschedule to take care of your body. I hope you feel better soon!

U.S. Department of Education Cuts Over $600 Million in Divisive Teacher Training Grants The U.S. Department of Education today announced it has terminated over $600 million in grants to institutions and nonprofits that were using taxpayer funds to train teachers and education agencies on...

I completely agree with you and here’s your proof. The latest Department of Education press release explicitly states that they are terminating funding for grants addressing systemic ableism. www.ed.gov/about/news/p...

U.S. Department of Education Cuts Over $600 Million in Divisive Teacher Training Grants The U.S. Department of Education today announced it has terminated over $600 million in grants to institutions and nonprofits that were using taxpayer funds to train teachers and education agencies on...

If more proof is needed, check out the latest press release from the Department of education. It explicitly states that they are terminating funding for grants that are addressing ableism. www.ed.gov/about/news/p...

Specifically, it mentions the termination of grants for teacher preparation programs that involve “acknowledging and responding to systemic forms of oppression and inequity, including racism, ableism, “gender-based” discrimination, homophobia, and ageism”.

I’ve seen the posts hypothesizing that the special education transition program funding was accidentally cut due to a control F search for the word transition. However, this press release makes clear that disability justice in education efforts to reduce ableism are intentionally being targeted.

This a beautiful first person narrative of coming to self acceptance after learning about Indigenous views of autism. The author is
Cree and she explains that her “people have long had a word for people like me: pîtoteyihtam, which means ‘he/she thinks differently.’”

@aportraitinflesh.bsky.social Thank you for sharing. Autistic burnout is real and I’m so sorry you are struggling. You are not alone in feeling scared.

New #AutRes demonstrating the need for future research to address the well-being of transgender/gender diverse autistic folks…The authors found TGD adults were 10.9 times more likely to report a mental health condition & 5.8 times more likely to report self-harm than cisgender non-autistic adults.

A black father and mother embracing. A green text box reads: What is FACES? We address inequities in school and community- based services among Black autistic children across the lifespan by enhancing knowledge and empowerment among Black families. A black text box reads: What do we offer? Caregiver training sessions Community building Service provider connections IEP meeting advocacy Resource website A red text box reads: Join us! When: Between February and April 2025. Where: Various locations across NC; Washington, D.C.; Baltimore, MD; Atlanta, GA To learn more, scan the OR code or visit the link: go.ncsu.edu/joinfaces Black caregivers of Black autistic children ages 3-18 are eligible to participate. Caregivers must be 18 years of age or older to participate. The autistic child must have a medical or school-based diagnosis. All participant information will remain confidential. Caregivers will receive a $100 stipend for completing the five FACES sessions. This study is funded by the Institute of Education Sciences.

The FACES program is recruiting caregivers of Black autistic students to participate in our free upcoming advocacy trainings offered across NC & in Atlanta, Baltimore, & Washington DC. Families will be compensated for their time & snacks will be provided. Learn more at go.ncsu.edu/joinfaces #AutRes

NeuroWild Teach me about Spoon Theory. Spoon theory was originally coined in 2003 by Christine Miserandino to help explain the physical fatigue of her chronic health condition, lupus. It has been adopted in...

You can see @Neurowild's full explanation of spoon theory at www.facebook.com/permalink.ph...

Image credit: @NeuroWild on Instagram. The Spoon Theory, created by Christine Miserandino as explained by @neurowild. The image features a lavender smiling octopus holding 2 spoons and a written plan that reads "Saturday: Shelly's party! Today: Do not use spoons on masking, shopping, acting normal, or loud places." The text reads: So I don't run out, it helps to make a plan about how I will use my spoons. If I know there's something expensive coming up, I will save some spoons for that.

Spoon/capacity planning is the way I've made it through grad school. Today I'm planning my spring semester. In addition to classes & assistantships, I'll be traveling to Jamaica for an internship, Baltimore for CEC, Virginia Beach for ACRES, & Denver for AERA. The plan: hoard my spoons. #academicsky

This past semester seemed to linger. Each time I thought everything had been crossed off my to-dos something else popped up. Now that the holidays are over, I’m finally on break! My favorite reregulation activity is list making. Today I’m working on my list for 2025’s 52 week book challenge.

Academic Christmas

Of course, please let me know if you want to chat more.

"This offers further evidence that parasocial contact w/non-neurotypical individuals via the popular fiction we consume can generate positive attitude change." And since attitude impacts self-efficacy for inclusive teaching, I'm wondering if I should add a book club to the PD I'm developing. #AutRes

Thank you so much for coming!

Shout out to @kaylamalone.bsky.social who introduced me to GoblinTools, a set of AI tools to help neurodivergent folks with overwhelming and difficult tasks. I particularly appreciate the Magic ToDo, which task analyzes your to-dos & presents them back as manageable steps. goblin.tools

This book holds a special place in my heart because it was the first popular fiction novel written by & featuring an autistic female that I read. 😊

The 52 Book Club's 2025 Challenge Want to read more? Try new books? Work through that ever-growing TBR pile? Our 52 Book C...

It’s a book challenge available on StoryGraph and GoodReads. There are 52 prompts to guide your book choices. I feel like I’ve been in a reading rut lately so I was thinking this might motivate me. Here’s the challenge link for StoryGraph: app.thestorygraph.com/reading_chal...

Added.

Book cover of The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang featuring a teal background with scribbled math equations and dark blue division box upon which a kissing couple stand. The female has black hair pulled back in a bun and is wearing a pink long sleeve top black skirt and black shoes. The male has black hair and is wearing a white shirt, blue pants and black shoes.

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.

#Books
#BookSky
💙📚
#BookChallenge

Day 11

The autistic dream is to be a professional infodumper and this includes everything from being a teacher to writing instruction manuals