Cavendish Space: psychologically and sensory safe spaces suited to zone work, flow states, intermittent collaboration, and collaborative niche construction.
The Main Elements of Cavendish Space Are
Since reading NeuroTribes, we think of psychologically and sensory safe spaces suited to zone work as “Cavendish bubbles” and “Cavendish space”, after Henry Cavendish, the wizard of Clapham Common and discoverer of hydrogen. The privileges of nobility afforded room for his differences, allowing him the space and opportunity to become “one of the first true scientists in the modern sense.”
Let’s build psychologically safe homes of opportunity without the requirement of nobility or privilege.
A school struggling with the ravages of American poverty has to first be a home — the kind of home the children may not have at home. A place that is relentlessly safe, that is both calming and exciting, that offers unconditional love, and that offers boundless opportunity.
That ‘home’ must be supportive and accepting, loving and encouraging, and it must provide the biggest possible window on to the world, on to the universe.
A home of opportunity.
What does opportunity look like? First, it looks like trust. It looks like freedom. And it looks like choice.
You must see your school as a home of opportunity | by Ira David Socol | Medium
Build Homes of Opportunity
- Replace the trappings of the compliance classroom with student-created context, BYOD (Bring Your Own Device), and BYOC (Bring/Build Your Own Comfort).
- Inform spaces with neurodiversity and the social model of disability so that they welcome and include all bodyminds.
- Provide quiet spaces for high memory state zone work where students can escape sensory overwhelm, slip into flow states, and enjoy a maker’s schedule.
- Provide social spaces for collaboration and camaraderie.
- Create cave, campfire, and watering hole zones.
- Develop neurological curb cuts.
- Provide psychological safety, learner safety, and sensory safety.
- Enable cognitive liberty and somatic neuroqueering.
- Fill our classrooms with choice and comfort, instructional tolerance, continuous connectivity, and assistive technology.
In other words, make space for Cavendish. Make spaces for both collaboration and deep work.
One of the more interesting ideas emerging from attention capital theory is the surprising role environment can play in supporting elite cognitive performance.
Professional writers seem to be at the cutting edge of this experimentation, but I wouldn’t be surprised if, in the near future, we start to see more serious attention paid to constructing seriously deep spaces as our economy shifts towards increasingly demanding knowledge work.
Simon Winchester’s Writing Barn – Study Hacks – Cal Newport
At our learning space, we provide Cavendish space of peer respite and collaborative niche construction where our learners can find relief from an intense world designed against us.
We use Cavendish Space to pursue special interests and intrinsic motivation. We use it to assist attention tunnels so that learners can slip into flow states.
We provide caves, campfires, and watering holes so that dandelions, tulips, and orchids alike can find respite.
Caves, campfires, and watering holes are necessary to designing for neurological pluralism and providing psychological safety and sensory safety. They’re necessary to positive niche construction.
Online and offline, we provide individual spaces as well as community spaces so that learners can progressively socialize according to their interaction capacity.
For an autistic person ‘it’s about finding the right niche’, because ‘if you have a particular interest, you can really thrive in a particular niche.’
Happier on the outside? Discourses of exclusion, disempowerment and belonging from former autistic school staff
Make space for Cavendish.
Let’s hit thrift stores, buy lumber, apply some hacker ethos, and turn the compliance classroom into something psychologically safe and comfortable to a team of bodyminds engaged in experiential learning.
Caves, Campfires, and Watering Holes
Like Cavendish, we’re autistic. We relate to much of his personal life. He needed his bubble, his cave, his sensory and social cocoon.
He also needed, occasionally, the company of a small set of his Royal Society peers. The Royal Society Monday Club was his campfire, his place where he could lurk at the edges and socialize with a small group on his terms.
The source of this apparent shyness was social anxiety so intense that it nearly immobilized him in certain situations.
It is not true, however, that he wanted to remove himself entirely from the company of his peers; he just wanted to stand off to the side, soaking everything in. Two scientists conversing on a topic of interest at the Royal Society’s Monday Club might notice a hunched figure in a gray-green coat lurking in the shadows, listening intently. Eager to solicit his appraisal of their work, his fellow natural philosophers devised a devious but effective method of drawing him into an exchange. “The way to talk to Cavendish is never to look at him,” said astronomer Francis Wollaston, “but to talk as it were into a vacancy, and then it is not unlikely but you may set him going.”
NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity
Learn about Cavendish’s neurodivergent traits in our glossary.
Cavendish was very uncomfortable in the public eye. He formed an alliance with Charles Blagden, an extroverted and outgoing Monday Club peer, whereby Blagden introduced Cavendish and his ideas to wider audiences. Blagden brought Cavendish to the creative commons, to the watering holes of science and naturalism.
Cavendish needed intermittent collaboration.
Cavendish needed control over parts of his world in order to build his niche.
This is my space. It allows me to have control over one small part of a traumatic and offensive world.
AuDHD and me: My nesting habits – Emergent Divergence
Intermittent Collaboration
Groups whose members interacted only intermittently preserved the best of both worlds, rather than succumbing to the worst. These groups had an average quality of solution that was nearly identical to those groups that interacted constantly, yet they preserved enough variation to find some of the best solutions, too.
Problem-solving techniques take on new twist: For best solutions, intermittent collaboration provides the right formula
Our cave, campfire, and watering hole moods map to the red, yellow, and green of interaction badges (aka color communication badges).
The three-level and three-speed communication flow used at Automattic, WordPress, and other distributed companies reflects the progressive sociality of cave, campfire, and watering hole contexts and red, yellow, green interaction moods.
TODO: Insert accordions for comm flow and interaction badges.
These tools facilitate intermittent collaboration, psychological safety, and sensory safety. They help us develop and respect flow states. They help us solve problems togethers.
Is it better to solve problems in isolation or by collaborating with others?
Daniel Pink
Harvard research says . . . neither.
The best solutions come from “intermittent collaboration” — group work punctuated by breaks to think & work by ourselves.
Niche Construction
For an autistic person ‘it’s about finding the right niche’, because ‘if you have a particular interest, you can really thrive in a particular niche.’
Happier on the outside? Discourses of exclusion, disempowerment and belonging from former autistic school staff
Niche Construction
In Nature: Helping to ensure the thriving of an organism by directly modifying the environment in such a way that it enhances that organism’s chances for survival.
In Culture: Helping to ensure the thriving of a child by directly modifying the environment in such a way that it enhances that child’s chances for success.
Neurodiversity in the Classroom
niche construction may be every bit as important for survival as natural selection
Reimagining Inclusion with Positive Niche Construction
Positive Niche Construction
Positive Niche Construction–practice of differentiating instruction for the neurodiverse brain
Neurodiversity in the Classroom
In his book, Neurodiversity in the Classroom, Thomas Armstrong argues that the concept of neurodiversity is a “concept whose time has come.” What he means by this is to re-imagine how special education is constructed in our education system. The idea Armstrong highlights in his book is called, “positive niche construction” (PNC). Armstrong proposes this idea as an alternative to the more classic idea of “least restrictive environment” (LRE).
Reimagining Inclusion with Positive Niche Construction
Positive niche construction is a strengths-based approach to educating students with disabilities.
Reimagining Inclusion with Positive Niche Construction
Collaborative Niche Construction
Collaborative niche construction allows organisations and people to participate in the evolution of a living system and results in resilient social ecosystems.
The Beauty of Collaboration at Human Scale: Timeless patterns of human limitations
A Space of One’s Own
When we operate within a space over which we feel ownership—a space that feels like it’s ours—a host of psychological and even physiological changes ensues. These effects were first observed in studies of a phenomenon known as the “home advantage”: the consistent finding that athletes tend to win more and bigger victories when they are playing in their own fields, courts, and stadiums. On their home turf, teams play more aggressively, and their members (both male and female) exhibit higher levels of testosterone, a hormone associated with the expression of social dominance.
But the home advantage is not limited to sports. Researchers have identified a more general effect as well: when people occupy spaces that they consider their own, they experience themselves as more confident and capable. They are more efficient and productive. They are more focused and less distractible. And they advance their own interests more forcefully and effectively. A study by psychologists Graham Brown and Markus Baer, for example, found that people who engage in negotiation within the bounds of their own space claim between 60 and 160 percent more value than the “visiting” party.
Benjamin Meagher, an assistant professor of psychology at Kenyon College in Ohio, has advanced an intriguing theory that may explain these outcomes. The way we act, the way we think, and even the way we perceive the world around us differ when we’re in a space that’s familiar to us—one that we have shaped through our own choices and imbued with our own memories of learning and working there in the past. When we’re on our home turf, Meagher has found, our mental and perceptual processes operate more efficiently, with less need for effortful self-control. The mind works better because it doesn’t do all the work on its own; it gets an assist from the structure embedded in its environment, structure that marshals useful information, supports effective habits and routines, and restrains unproductive impulses. In a familiar space over which we feel ownership, he suggests, “our cognition is distributed across the entire setting.” The place itself helps us think.
The Extended Mind – Annie Murphy Paul
Perhaps the most important form of control over one’s space is authority over who comes in and out—a point missed by those who believe that our workspaces should resemble a bustling coffeehouse. The informal exchanges facilitated by proximity are indeed generative. But the value of such interactions can be extracted only if it is also possible, when necessary, to avoid interacting at all.
The Extended Mind – Annie Murphy Paul
Living by her own rules has had a massive positive effect. She’s constantly making adjustments, finding new ways to make herself more comfortable. “Everything feels different, it really does impact everything. Like my body was masked!” she says. Now that her daily environment works with her body rather than against it, she feels physically and mentally free. Marta Rose writes that divergent design should honor the unique relationships Autistic people have to objects.
Unmasking Autism: Discovering the New Faces of Neurodiversity (p. 16
It took me decades to learn how to change my environment to make myself comfortable.
@steve_asbell
@willaful
It took decades to learn I was allowed.
The place itself helps us think.
The place itself helps us think.
The Extended Mind – Annie Murphy Paul
Flow States
Entering flow states – or attention tunnels – is a necessary coping strategy for many of us.
Fergus Murray
People need to feel appreciated and safe, to give themselves to an activity; and they need to feel like they are making progress to keep giving themselves to it. To get into The Zone, you need to know you’re getting somewhere, that you’re in the process of mastering a skill – you need ongoing feedback, whether from another person or another source. There is also something uniquely satisfying about working with other people effectively, towards a shared goal; in my experience there is no substitute when it comes to building a community.
Flow states are the pinnacle of intrinsic motivation, where somebody wants to do something for themselves, for the sake of doing it and doing it well.
Flow allows us to recharge, to feel a sense of achievement and satisfaction, and a kind of respite from the often-baffling demands of the school social environment.
Craft, Flow and Cognitive Styles
When focused like this an Autistic person can enter a ‘flow state‘ which can bring great joy and satisfaction to the person experiencing it.
Monotropism
However it can make switching between tasks and other transitions difficult.
If you imagine that an autistic kid at school is likely to be wrenched out of their attention tunnel multiple times every day, each time leading to disorientation and deep discomfort, you are on your way to understanding why school environments can be so stressful for many autistic students. If you can avoid contributing to that, you may find that you have an easier time with your autistic students: try entering into their attention tunnel when you can, rather than tugging them out of it. Parallel play is one powerful tool for this; start where the child is, show interest in what they’re focused on. If you do need to pull them out of whatever they’re focusing on, it’s best to give them a bit of time.
Craft, Flow and Cognitive Styles
If an autistic person is pulled out of monotropic flow too quickly, it causes our sensory systems to disregulate.
This in turn triggers us into emotional dysregulation, and we quickly find ourselves in a state ranging from uncomfortable, to grumpy, to angry, or even triggered into a meltdown or a shutdown.
This reaction is also often classed as challenging behavior when really it is an expression of distress caused by the behavior of those around us.
How you can get things wrong:
An introduction to monotropism – YouTube
- Not preparing for transition
- Too many instructions
- Speaking too quickly
- Not allowing processing time
- Using demanding language
- Using rewards or punishments
- Poor sensory environments
- Poor communication environments
- Making assumptions
- A lack of insightful and informed staff reflection
Down the rabbit hole: If it exists, you can reasonably assume there will be an autistic person to whom that thing is the subject of intense obsession and time spent.
The reality is that if it exists, you can reasonably assume there will be an autistic person to whom that thing is the subject of intense obsession and time spent, from blankets to drain covers (both of these are special interests of people in my acquaintance) and pretty much anything in between. When engaging in a special interest, autistic people are typically calmer, more relaxed, happier and more focused than they would otherwise be – for many, it is a form of release or even self-medication: a well-timed foray into a special interest can stave off meltdown and be a generally extremely positive force in an autistic person’s life.
Learning From Autistic Teachers (pp. 30-31)
Learning From Autistic Teachers (pp. 30-31)
Many people with autism are stressed individuals who find the world a confusing place (Vermeulen, 2013). So how does someone with autism achieve a sense of flow? McDonnell & Milton (2014) have argued that many repetitive activities may achieve a flow state. One obvious area where flow can be achieved is when engaging in special interests. Special interests allow people to become absorbed in an area that gives them specialist knowledge and a sense of achievement. In addition, certain repetitive tasks can help people achieve a flow like state of mind. These tasks can become absorbing and are an important part of people’s lives. The next time you see an individual with autism engaging in a repetitive task (like stacking Lego or playing a computer game), remember that these are not in themselves negative activities, they may well be reducing stress.
If you want to improve your supports to people with autism from a stress perspective, a useful tool is to identify flow states for that person and try to develop a flow plan. Remember, the next time you see a person repeating seemingly meaningless behaviours, do not assume that this is always unpleasant for them – it might be a flow state, and beneficial for reducing stress.
What is ‘flow’?
“Down the rabbit hole” is an English-language idiom or trope which refers to getting deep into something, or ending up somewhere strange.
Down the rabbit hole – Wikipedia
Learning how to learn on his own proved one of the most important lessons of his life.
What the Dormouse Said: How the Sixties Counterculture Shaped the Personal Computer Industry
In another moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how in the world she was to get out again.
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Psychological Safety
Psychological 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 being embarrassed, marginalized, or punished in some way.
The 4 Stages of Psychological Safety: Defining the Path to Inclusion and Innovation
All human beings have the same innate need: We long to belong.
In the hierarchy of needs, psychological safety straddles fulfillment, belonging, and security needs—three of the four basic need categories (figure 3). Once the basic physical needs of food and shelter are met, psychological safety becomes a priority.
The 4 Stages of Psychological Safety
Psychological safety is a belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes.
Building a psychologically safe workplace: Amy Edmondson at TEDxHGSE – YouTube
All human beings have the same innate need: We long to belong.
The 4 Stages of Psychological Safety
Dandelions, Tulips, and Orchids
In summary, while some people are highly sensitive (i.e. orchids), the majority have a medium sensitivity (i.e. tulips) and a substantial minority are characterised by a particularly low sensitivity (i.e. dandelions).
Dandelions, tulips and orchids: evidence for the existence of low-sensitive, medium-sensitive and high-sensitive individuals | Translational Psychiatry
sensory hyperreactivity can greatly impact quality of life and has been found to correlate with clinically elevated levels of anxiety in both autistic children and adults
Autistic sensory experiences, in our own words
Sensory Safety
Understanding the sensing and perceptual world of autistic people is central to understanding autism.
Considering and meeting the sensory needs of autistic people in housing | Local Government Association
Understanding the sensing and perceptual world of autistic people is central to understanding autism.
Everyone has eight sensing systems: the first five being the familiar sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste. These five give us information about the world outside our bodies. Three internal sensing systems give us information from inside our bodies – our vestibular system (coordinating movement with balance), proprioception (awareness of position and movement of the body) and interoception (knowing our internal state including feelings, temperature, pain, hunger and thirst). Although not all the external senses are equally affected by the physical environment, we consider them all – as they collectively add to the ‘sensory load’ that many autistic people often experience. Any sensory input needs to be processed and can reduce the capacity to manage and process other things.
As many autistic people process one thing at a time, sensory stimulation can stack up. As the brain’s highways become congested, there are repercussions throughout the entire neural network. This can lead to headaches, nausea and the fight and flight response, this is what causes many meltdowns and shutdowns.
Considering and meeting the sensory needs of autistic people in housing | Local Government Association
Imagine having no choice but to zoom in on life.
Perpetual defense mode – the silent wave
Sensory Overload by Alexis Quinn
If we are serious about enabling thriving in autistic lives, we must be serious about the sensory needs of autistic people, in every setting. The benefits of this extend well beyond the autistic communities; what helps autistic people will often help everyone else as well.
Considering and meeting the sensory needs of autistic people in housing | Local Government Association
“Patterns are a real problem for me. I get absorbed by them – they take all my focus and it’s really distressing. When I’m overloaded sound and visuals can become too intense. My ability to manage fluctuates depending on how overloaded I am. When I’m overloaded, I can’t manage visual clutter, things on mantelpieces and walls, open fires, pattered carpets or clocks ticking. These are all things that would seem fine on a good day but become too much.”
“I have massive sensory sensitivity. Especially to light and sound. My sensitivity fluctuates depending on how overloaded I am. If I’m not overloaded, then I can tolerate a lot more.”
Supporting Autistic Flourishing at Home and Beyond – Alexis Quinn artwork – NDTi
The divergent ways in which we process the world around us can also leave us fatigued and sapped of energy, as autistic people have “higher perceptual capacity” than our neurotypical counterparts, meaning that we process greater volumes of information from our environment. Autistic people commonly use the concept of ‘spoon theory‘ to conceptualize this experience of having limited energy resources. Initially theorized in the context of chronic illness, spoon theory can be explained as every task and activity (enjoyable or otherwise) requiring a certain number of ‘spoons’. Most people start their day with such an abundance of spoons that they can do whatever they choose, and rarely run low. We autistic folk start with a limited number of spoons, and when those spoons run dangerously low, we need to step back, rest, engage in self-care, and wait for our spoons to replenish.
Doing More by Doing Less: Reducing Autistic Burnout | Psychology Today
The long-term effects of misunderstanding or mislabeling sensory trauma can be catastrophic.
How sensory trauma affects how we grow develop and learn
Neurological Pluralism: Co-Designing Cognitive and Somatic Liberty
When everything is a monoculture, diversity can look scary, wild, out of control. It’s understandable, but it’s unsustainable. To reconnect with diversity, we need to expand and rewild our thinking, and change our practices on a fundamental level. We need to notice and challenge the things that we take for granted.
But when we get too used to seeing monocultures, we forget that there can be anything else. We don’t notice what is being pushed out in favour of the familiar sameness we have gotten used to. Diversity becomes worrisome and weird and unfamiliar.
Counselling for different ways of being | by Sonny Hallett | Jun, 2023 | Medium
Recognizing diversity enables collaborative niche construction that supports monotropic minds, and any type of mind. Monotropic people are recognizing and diversifying monocultures so we have the flexibility to create our niche and get into flow states.
We must build for the psychological, social, and sensory safety of neurodivergent people.
- Caves, Campfires, Watering Holes
- Dandelions, Tulips, Orchids
- Red, Yellow, Green
- Conversation, Discussion, Publication
- Realtime, Async, Storage
These reductions are a useful starting place when creating Cavendish Space and designing for neurological pluralism.
When we design for pluralism, we design for real life, for the actuality of humanity.
Make space for Cavendish.
⏭ Continue with “✌️ We Believe”
The story concludes on page 5, “✌️ We Believe“.
