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We have detailed accessibility checklists• Progress in human understanding has become increasingly complex and overwhelming.• Checklists help prevent serious but easily avoidable mistakes.• Checklists should be as short as possible, include all essential steps... More and recommendations in our course “Enable Dignity: The Accommodations for Natural Human Variation Should Be Mutual“, but for this piece we reduce down to five things you can learn and do to welcome all bodyminds
Bodymind: A term used to challenge the idea the body and mind are experienced separately (Descartes). Written in various ways, Bodymind or Body-mind, this usage foregrounds the understanding that experiences... More to your learning event.
- Create real access pages. The logistics of disability and differenceOur friends and allies at Randimals have a saying, What makes us different, makes all the difference in the world.Randimals We agree. Randimals are made up of two different animals... More are overwhelming. Reduce that overwhelm with information. Provide an access page on the website for your venue/event that provides what disabledThe label "disabled" means so much to me. It means I have community. It means I have rights. It means I can be proud. It means I can affirm myself... More people need to know. This is one of the best things you can do to further accessibility. Just tell us what we’re up against, and be honest. So many access pages are nothing but “call this number for accessibility details”. When you call the number, you get someone who doesn’t know anything about accessibility. Over and over. We shouldn’t have to call, especially given that phones are inaccessible to many of us. Visit our access page for Stimpunks home base to see what we like in an access page.
- Create Cavendish Space
Cavendish Space: psychologically & sensory safe spaces suited to zone work, intermittent collaboration, and collaborative niche construction. Since reading NeuroTribes, we think of psychologically & sensory safe spaces suited to... More. Cavendish Space is psychologically & sensory safe space suited to zone work, intermittent collaborationThe best solutions come from "intermittent collaboration" -- group work punctuated by breaks to think & work by ourselves.Daniel Pink Our cave, campfire, and watering hole moods map to the red, yellow,... More, and collaborative niche construction
Positive Niche Construction--practice of differentiating instruction for the neurodiverse brainNeurodiversity in the Classroom Positive niche construction is a strengths-based approach to educating students with disabilities. Reimagining Inclusion with Positive Niche... More. Cavendish space provides caves, campfires, and watering holesFuturist David Thornburg identifies three archetypal learning spaces— the campfire, cave, and watering hole—that schools can use as physical spaces and virtual spaces for student and adult learning (bit.ly/YvRuWC)Australia’s Campfires,... More so that dandelions, tulips, and orchids
According to empirical studies and recent theories, people differ substantially in their reactivity or sensitivity to environmental influences with some being generally more affected than others. More sensitive individuals have... More alike can learn, together and apart. Online and offline, provide individual spaces as well as community
What I have always been hoping to accomplish is the creation of community.Community is magic. Community is power. Community is resistance.Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century https://www.amazon.com/Disability-Visibility-First-Person-Stories-Twenty-First-ebook/dp/B082ZQBL98/ https://www.amazon.com/Disability-Visibility-Adapted-Young-Adults-ebook/dp/B08VFT4R9T/... More spaces so that learners can progressively socialize according to their interaction capacity. Our Classroom UX page tells of Henry Cavendish, discoverer of Hydrogen, his autistic
Autistic ways of being are human neurological variants that can not be understood without the social model of disability.If you are wondering whether you are Autistic, spend time amongst Autistic people, online and offline. If... More ways of being, and how he constructed social and sensory niches that allowed him to become one of the first true scientists in the modern sense.
- Provide interaction badges. Interaction badges enable opportunity without pressure. Interaction badges facilitate intermittent collaboration, psychological safetyPsychological safety is a condition in which you feel (1) included, (2) safe to learn, (3) safe to contribute, and (4) safe to challenge the status quo—all without fear of... More, and sensory safety. Many of us Stimpunks
Stimpunk combines “stimming” + “punk” to evoke open and proud stimming, resistance to neurotypicalization, and the DIY culture of punk, disabled, and neurodivergent communities. Instead of hiding our stims, we... More, with our exposure anxiety
Exposure anxiety (EA) is a condition identified by Donna Williams in which the child or adult feels acutely self-conscious; it leads to a persistent and overwhelming fear of interaction.Exposure anxiety... More and situational mutism
I am situationally mute. For anyone that isn’t aware of what that is, it simply means that in certain situations, places or around certain people I don’t want to and... More, cannot and will not attend events that do no use interaction badges.
- Offer bodymind affirmationsNeurodivergent and disabled speakers, notably Lydia X. Z. Brown and Jonathan Mooney, preface their presentations with an access note and a bodymind affirmation. They encourage people, be it in an... More and provide outlets for stimming
Self-stimulatory behavior, also known as stimming and self-stimulation, is the repetition of physical movements, sounds, or words, or the repetitive movement of objects Stimming - Wikipedia Autistic adults highlighted the importance of stimming as... More, pacing, fidgeting, and retreating. At Stimpunks, we use this bodymind affirmation before all meetings/gatherings: “We should all move in our space in whatever way is most comfortable for our bodyminds. Please use this space as you need or prefer. Sit in chairs or on the floor, pace, lie on the floor, rock, flap, spin
I don’t know who invented the phrase “special interest.” Probably some researcher. Autistic people don’t really love the term because the term “special” has become tied so closely with terms... More, move around, come in and out of the room. This is an invitation for you to consider what your bodymind
Bodymind: A term used to challenge the idea the body and mind are experienced separately (Descartes). Written in various ways, Bodymind or Body-mind, this usage foregrounds the understanding that experiences... More needs to be as comfortable as possible in this moment. This is an invitation to remind yourself to remember and to affirm that your bodymind has needs and that those needs deserve to be met, that your bodymind is valuable and worthy, that you deserve to be here, to belong.”
- “Ensure there is quiet space and outdoor space that people can access at any time. Many people find being outside and in nature very calming. Space to move away from other people, internal noises and distractions can be a good way to self-regulate. Easy access to a quiet space to de-stress can be an enormously helpful tool for people to be able to self-manage. Ideally, this room will be away from areas where there is heavy footfall or other outside noise. Many people find neutral spaces beneficial, with the option of lights and other sensory stimulus.” —It’s Not Rocket Science: Considering and meeting the sensory needs of autistic children and young people
We Stimpunks really appreciate when the recommendations above and the access and understanding they afford are offered. We bring our whole bodyminds — stimsSelf-stimulatory behavior, also known as stimming and self-stimulation, is the repetition of physical movements, sounds, or words, or the repetitive movement of objects Stimming - Wikipedia Autistic adults highlighted the importance of stimming as... More, senses, perceptual worlds, and all — to every learning experience.
These apply to virtual and meatspace events. Even at virtual events, we are bodyminds with needs.
The Sixth Way: Go Online
As a disability organization operating in the trenches of a mass disabling event, we recommend everyone get good at virtual.
Design around the accessibility and sustainability of virtual learning. Follow the lead of the Conference to Restore Humanity by Human Restoration Project.
Now we have the opportunity and understanding to move from emergency pandemic remote school and its pantomime of learning to purposefully designed online education spaces that are accessible, sustainable, and representative of the communities
What I have always been hoping to accomplish is the creation of community.Community is magic. Community is power. Community is resistance.Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century https://www.amazon.com/Disability-Visibility-First-Person-Stories-Twenty-First-ebook/dp/B082ZQBL98/ https://www.amazon.com/Disability-Visibility-Adapted-Young-Adults-ebook/dp/B08VFT4R9T/... More they serve. It’s time for the academic conference model to respond accordingly.
Our conference is designed purposefully around the accessibility and sustainability of virtual learning, while engaging participants in a classroom environment that models the same progressive pedagogy we value for our students. Instead of long Zoom presentations with a brief Q&A, keynotes are flipped, and attendees will have the opportunity for extended conversation with our speakers.
And instead of back-to-back online workshops, we are offering asynchronous learning tracks where you can engage with the content and the community at any time on topics like anti-carceral pedagogy, disrupting linguistic discrimination, designing for neurodivergence
Conference to Restore Humanity: The NeedNeurodivergent, sometimes abbreviated as ND, means having a mind that functions in ways which diverge significantly from the dominant societal standards of “normal.”NEURODIVERSITY: SOME BASIC TERMS & DEFINITIONS Neurodivergent is quite... More, promoting childismChildismEmpowering children by transforming norms.Wall, The Concept of Childism, Exploring Childism Across Disciplines, January 22, 2021 Childism empowers children by transforming norms and structures. It is like feminism but related... More in the classroom, and supporting feedback over grades
Grades tend to diminish students’ interest in whatever they’re learning. A “grading orientation” and a “learning orientation” have been shown to be inversely related and, as far as I can... More.
Starting at 13:07 minutes, this podcast with the folks at Human Restoration Project gets into why the accessibility, sustainability, and affordability of Conference to Restore Humanity is a model for our times. They touch on the accessibility of asynchronous communicationThis is a style of communicating which lots of neurodivergent people prefer - including myself. Asynchronous communication is when you send a message without expecting an immediate response. Examples: receiving... More, written communication, and distributed communication stacks. As we say around here, “Written communication is a social equalizer and a path to power for those born without power.“
Stimpunks is mentioned at 14:52 regarding accessibility and the course we facilitated at the conference called, “DIY at the Edges: Surviving the Bipartisanship of Behaviorism by Rolling Our Own“.
It’s a reimagining of the conference model using virtual space as an asset.
How can we build community and have communion in these digital spaces? What are the strengths and affordances of being able to participate in those virtual spaces.
I appreciated the intimacy it allowed with the presenters and track leaders.
—Nick Covington, Human Restoration Project Talks Professional Learning & Progressive Pedagogy
Whether online or offline, it’s relational, contextual, and human.
There is no what works for everybody. There is no silver bullet in education. Education is relational. It’s contextual. It involves understanding the human beings in the room.
Nick Covington, Human Restoration Project Talks Professional Learning & Progressive Pedagogy
NeurodivergentNeurodivergent, sometimes abbreviated as ND, means having a mind that functions in ways which diverge significantly from the dominant societal standards of “normal.”NEURODIVERSITY: SOME BASIC TERMS & DEFINITIONS Neurodivergent is quite... More people are psychological safety barometers.
Relate to us.
Understand our context.
Put out the welcome mat.
The reality is that marginalizedFor me this space of radical openness is a margin a profound edge. Locating oneself there is difficult yet necessary. It is not a “safe” place. One is always at... More people experience discrimination in public spaces. As they move through their lives and through various spaces, they cannot predict if they will be treated with respect, let aloneAloneness is a characteristic that many creatives embrace and yearn for. Being alone is anything but lonely. Reading, writing, and creating art all demand a personal space where one can... More if they will be safe. When they attend a show or event at your space, they should be able to know what to expect, or at least what you intend to have happen—and not happen—within your walls. So, how can you let them know? You can’t just open the door; you have to put out a welcome mat.
Making Spaces Safer: A Guide to Giving Harassment the Boot Wherever You Work, Play, and Gather
But you’re not doing all this just to avoid litigation, right? You’re doing it because you want people to feel welcome. I encourage you to exceed legal requirements and even people’s expectations.
Of course, making safer spaces is more than a checklist
Making Spaces Safer: A Guide to Giving Harassment the Boot Wherever You Work, Play, and Gather• Progress in human understanding has become increasingly complex and overwhelming.• Checklists help prevent serious but easily avoidable mistakes.• Checklists should be as short as possible, include all essential steps... More. You have to think both holistically and specifically. For instance, don’t overlook the little things that make up the overall feel of your space.
Further readingThere are three types of reading: eye reading, ear reading, and finger reading.The Dyslexia Empowerment Plan: A Blueprint for Renewing Your Child's Confidence and Love of Learning Most schools and... More,
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