“I can’t be subtle with my reaction. I cover my face or hide away.” — Helen, Autistic InnerSpace Comic No.146 Contents Selected Reads Sensory Entrancement Sensory Resources Chuckles + Daydreams Sources Discussion Comments
Music duo Polychrome multi-tracked vocals in ‘Synesthesia’, a literacy specialist shares her sensory-friendly reading log, and hypnotic laser engraving
“Unlike most reading logs, there are no requirements on the type of book to read. Readers don’t have to keep track of time or write down the book title. The only requirement? To read — anything! There is a list of interesting and fun reading opportunities, and kids check them off as they are completed. For instance, kids can read a comic book or a newspaper article, read in the bathtub or listen to an audiobook, read to a family […]
Dinosaurs apparently smelled flowers, nature sounds become a multi-million dollar industry, and a perspective shift in what students value in writers
“McKamey argues that the most important skill for a teacher is his or her ability to build trust with a student, which develops when students can sense that the educator is willing to hear their ideas, thoughts, and musings despite their challenges with grammar, low grades, or test scores in previous classes. This doesn’t mean that teachers need to cushion their feedback with fake praise, but it does mean, she thinks, that schools should help teachers develop skills to recognize […]
Presumptions of deficit can be damaging, embracing rather than masking autism can open the door for happiness, and piercing ASMR supercuts found in Harry Potter #takethemaskoff
“I have seen some autistic people argue that blaming society for our difficulties is shirking personal responsibility and that we should be aiming to ‘improve’ ourselves. This stance says a lot about their conceptualisation of autism: If one sees autistic people as deficient or lacking in some way compared to non-autistic people then it is understandable that one would believe that acting more like a non-autistic person is “self-improvement.” I do not see autism that way at all. All humans […]
Florence Welch shares poetry in her book Useless Magic, a mind-bending sensory reading list from Tom Parks, and humans can detect quantum photons
“Welch’s mother is a professor of Renaissance studies at King’s College London who worried about her daughter skipping university to focus on her musical career, lamenting “what a waste of a brain!” Both the lyrics and the poetry in Useless Magic validate Welch’s choice, offering a chance to appreciate on the bare stage of the blank page the fineness of her words. And like fellow poet-musician Nick Cave (thanked for “inspiration and encouragement” here), Welch has found a way for the song and the voice of the rabbit-hearted girl to coexist. As she says herself: “you can have everything.”
Spoken word poet Saul Williams gathers to the ancient, formal ASMR research studies begin, and Koko the signing gorilla dies at 46
“According to Williams, however, the recent attention given to spoken word as a distinct genre within the arts is more a return to something that has deep and rich roots in our society: “The resurgence of poetry is cyclical and perpetual. It’s always engaged a new generation of youth who have brought it back to the forefront of culture and put new terms on it, whether it’s beat poetry, bebop poetry, slam poetry – there’s always been these resurgences. But it’s ancient.”
Hearing silent images is the most common synesthesia, UCLA transferred snail memories, and I hear “Yanny”
“Up to one in five people may show signs of a synesthesia-like phenomenon in which they ‘hear’ silent flashes or movement, according to a new study from City, University of London.
While the effect is barely known to science, the researchers found that this ‘visually-evoked auditory response’ (vEAR) is far more common than other types of synesthesia – such when certain sounds elicit a specific colour – with flashing lights and motion evoking vivid sounds.
The survival of this association may also explain other links between sound and vision, such as why we like to listen to music synchronised with flashing lights or dance.
…While other typical synesthesias are estimated to have an overall prevalence of 4.4 per cent, the vEAR effect has recently gained some prominence on social media following the rise of ‘noisy GIFs’, and in particular the ‘thudding pylon’ GIF which received thousands of retweets.”
An undiagnosed love story, autistic vision focuses on the details, and an auditory dimension augmented reality experience
“…The turning point came with a startling realisation: we don’t argue. Ever. Early on in our marriage I was terrified of any sign of anger on his part. Even mild irritation left me quaking. I would shut down and not respond. In the end, we found a way to be and we haven’t had a cross word for more than a decade.
Years ago, Tim would snap over something small and I would retreat upstairs and not come down until I knew he had either gone out or had calmed down. I simply didn’t engage. Now he no longer even considers getting cross; he knows nothing will come of it. Problems are discussed calmly and solutions negotiated. Anything else seems bizarre to me. Why would anyone want to scream and shout at the person they love?”