ECR community psychologist focusing on dehumanization and objectification of minority groups in science. Tweets my own.
Jan 10 • 11 tweets • 2 min read
✨ I am PTSD free✨
3 years ago I had a miscarriage. Almost 2 years ago, I had a traumatic birth that could have killed me, and almost killed my baby, and there was a time where I thought my baby had or would die. I developed severe PTSD. A clinical psychologist changed my life
I saw many health professionals, and for a time received inpatient care that was itself very traumatic because the unit wasn't disability friendly, and I felt punished for being a wheelchair using parent. But after my child's first birthday, I was finally offered EMDR
Jun 4, 2024 • 6 tweets • 1 min read
One of my biggest pet peeves is when people hold neurodiversity aligning theories like the double empathy problem (first written about 12 years ago), to a substantially higher standards than old scool pathologizing ones that are three times older.
While we can say that empirical evidence is new around the double empathy problem, theory of mind and empathizing literature is poorly operationalized and defined, poorly measured AND dehumanizing, and people have had much more time to get it right but have't.
Mar 1, 2024 • 22 tweets • 6 min read
This might be a bit of a rampage, but... I think it is particularly cowardly for clinicians or research based psychologists to talk to newspapers about how adults seeking diagnosis of autism or ADHD are responsible for swamping services or taking away resources - a thread 1/
Firstly, as far as disenfranchised groups go - you are looking at one. Undiagnosed adults or those seeking diagnosis do not have the social power to remove resources (even collectively) from others. That rests in the hands of our government, and the NHS. 2/
Feb 29, 2024 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
Something I don't usually talk about is my honestly debilitating fear of failure. Perfectionism to me is the height of masking neurodivergence because it's been a way to gain acceptance in society. I've been on both sides - the utter failure, and the exception 1/
I failed part of my leaving cert. I flunked school. I started with further education. I also have three degrees including a PhD now. Depending on who you ask and when in my life I am "going nowhere" and also "born to change the world".
Feb 5, 2024 • 14 tweets • 3 min read
✨📣 New Paper Alert ✨
What are the autism research priorities of autistic adults in Scotland?
A @STARTSNetwork project led by Eilidh Cage, with me, @cjcrompton, @SarahM_Dantas @khiahstrachan
@cmaccoinnich @ddmfhsuk @StasaMA @rachelcbirch @bigierosix journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/13…
Funded by @RoyalSocEd we aimed to understand exactly what autistic people living in Scotland wanted from autism research, and what they didn't. To date, autistic people, including autistic parents of autistic children have not particularly had their voices heard a lot on this! 2/
Dec 6, 2023 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
While there is Discourse™ on it, here is a helpful reminder:
Neurodiversity advocates advocate for all autistic people to be considered fundamentally human.
Neurodiversity advocates want better services through the lifespan for all autistic people
Neurodiversity advocates want the strengths, weaknesses, and neutral traits of the individual realised.
Neurodiversity advocates advocate for ending the dehumanization of all autistic people, especially those most dehumanized.
Oct 10, 2023 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
Here is a reminder for those who need it: having an identity around a minoritized characteristic can be a very positive thing. It helps to connect you to communities, drive social activism around the cause, and helps you challenge the internalization of stigma
There is a wealth of literature and studies out there showing that fostering positive identities around disability, mental health, sexuality, and gender can help prevent the internalization of negative social messages, help with self-esteem, connect you with similar others etc.
Jul 30, 2023 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
When we talk about subjectivity and the double empathy problem, this study highlights the lack of critical thinking in autism research. Non-autistic people struggling to interpret our facial expressions does not mean they are inappropriate.
It's a mismatch between how autistic & non-autistic people use facial expressions. Interactions between people inherently involves more than one person & more than one subjectivity. By the same logic, maybe the Neurotypicals are wrong. But it's a social group with more power 🤷
May 12, 2023 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
The thing with the panorama and ADHD diagnosis that they're missing, is that people seek out what they need. That's why so many who make an appointment end up with a diagnosis. This is only a scandal if people think that people are unable to to reliably know themselves.
As has been pointed out by others, seeking private dentistry in this country is not only accepted, but desired by the government. People often wonder or know for many years or their entire lives that they are different and have had to fend for themselves for often decades.
May 10, 2023 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
Great to be a part of this! Inclusion of autistic people in all parts of research is progress!
Dr Murphy did contact me to say that I just misunderstood technical language of the paper like everyone else. There is no mistaking "It is our intention to show that people with ASD exhibit less marked domesticated traits at the morphological, physiological, & behavioral levels"
Jan 25, 2023 • 28 tweets • 5 min read
We are going to talk about this article so buckle up. I am featured and I am not particularly happy with how I am featured in it, given the depth and breadth of what I discussed in my interview. I am not happy at the lack of nuance in the portrayal of autistic people 1/
What this article lacks iis any real examination of systemic and institutional power between groups of people who by definition do not have equal access to or use of power. It begins by pretending that autistic and non-autsitic people are on an even playing field 2/
Jan 23, 2023 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
Here is your daily reminder that a lot of undiagnosed neurodivergence correlates with increased suicidality in adults who have often been chronically failed by a system, especially for those Katie refered to as "high functioning" enough to still be alive when requesting help.
The adults who make it into a GPs office to ask for help to get a diagnosis or some of help from services relating to ADHD, autism, or any other neurodivergence is often because they are chronically struggling, developed co-occuring mental health conditions and need help.
Nov 28, 2022 • 27 tweets • 6 min read
✨NEW PAPER ALERT✨
“Autism research is in crisis”: A mixed method study of researcher’s constructions of autistic people and autism research - by me and Eiliidh Cage
Buckle up for a long(ish) thread about how autistic people disrupt research agendas! 1/
frontiersin.org/articles/10.33…
We wanted to understand ableism in autism research: dehumanization, objectification, & stigma of autistic people by researchers (empirically). From literature its pretty clear that researchers can have negative attitudes towards autistic people but few have studied this 2/
Oct 17, 2020 • 13 tweets • 3 min read
Woke up this morning to a book review in the @nytimes that thought it was acceptable to call autistic people murder hornets. Her child is autistic. The author also wanted to sterilise her child and all autistics. But autistic people are the ones who can't accept disability???
There are many misconceptions about neurodiversity and the @nytimes would know that if they actually bothered to #FactCheck. There are brilliant academics and journalists who have researched and written about #Neurodiversity who could have got the basics right.
