March 24, 2014

Female and Autistic: Masked

When you’re studying people with ASDs from an insider’s perspective, two things become obvious demographically, very quickly. Less than 1/4 of autistic females are diagnosed and given support before age 18. There are no services or supports funded for adults over 18. Add the western medical bias of assuming that […]
March 10, 2014

Naoki’s Autism Explanations Don’t Address Causes

I just finished reading Naoki Higashida’s book, “The Reason I Jump”, as translated by David Mitchell.  Naoki is both charming and highly direct, and the book is a very short read. He goes into detail about a whole host of autistic behaviours, and why he does them.  The only extra […]
February 28, 2014

Qigong Massage Averages 30% Improvements

Dr. Louisa Silva is one of the few North American MDs who is actively bridging the gap between Western medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).  While Western medicine is really good at diagnosis and crises such as heart replacements and broken limbs, TCM is really good at keeping people from […]
February 1, 2014

Why I don’t talk much about ABA and IBI

Travis just sent me a note, asking this: “Hi Jackie, I notice you don’t include any behavioural or other social, communication intervention in your training avtivities, They are among the most effctive for young children with ASDs in advancing their development. Is there a reason you don’t cover those? ” […]
December 6, 2013

Why Autistics Have Tics, Spasms, and Seizures

So why do autistics have so many tics, spasms, and seizures? This is complicated, but it has to do with neurotoxins. Neurotoxins are toxins which harm the nerves or nerve functioning somehow. They can be created inside the body (endogenous), or enter the body from outside (exogenous). [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1e0bB2VzeI[/youtube] Endogenous toxins […]
November 29, 2013

Why Autistics Have Digestive Stink and Upset

Why do autistics tend to have SO many digestive problems, and really bad stink associated with bowel movements?  Why are constipation or diarrhea so common?  Why are we so likely to have smelly feet, bad breath, and noxious body odours?  I’m sorry folks, but we can’t deal with it if […]
November 22, 2013

Why Autistics Have Meltdowns

Why do autistics tend to have so many meltdowns? Many people mix meltdowns with tantrums, and try to scold or shame the meltdown away (which in a true meltdown, doesn’t even register until later, when we’ve had a chance to calm down). There’s a very clear difference between meltdowns and […]
November 15, 2013

Why Autistics Have Rigid Routines

Our rigid routines can be really, really aggravating for the people around us. So I’m going to give you a little thought experiment, to help you understand what is going on for us autistics. My firm belief is that if you can relate our behaviours to your own life and […]
November 9, 2013

Why Autistics Have Sensory Sensitivities

In North America, the impacts of things like alcohol tend to be common knowledge, even if we haven’t experienced them ourselves.  We’re aware that getting intoxicated will entail sensory distortions, more emotional expressivity (and sometimes volatility), and the impairment of coordination.  We’re also aware that, once the intoxication is over, […]