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“Zoom Fatigue”: A Taste of The Autistic Experience

Photo © Sybren Stüvel | Flickr / Creative Commons [image: Frustrated white person at a computer keyboard. Their hands are on their head covering their hair, and they are wearing glasses.] Maxfield Sparrow UnstrangeMind.com Like many folks, I had not heard of Zoom before the pandemic. My friends in IT tell me they were using it for work meetings before much of the United States went into self-quarantine, shelter in place, lockdown, or whatever you want to call the “social distancing” we were urged to observe to help slow the spread of the virus. One bonus for me of the way things have shifted during the pandemic is that I’ve been able to join small groups of people from whom I’m genuinely geographically isolated. For the holy season, I celebrated in community with a Lodge in Sacramento. My friend, Smash Ford, invited me to attend a meeting of the Non-Binary Union…

Disability and Inclusion Strategies During COVID-19

We recently co-hosted a webinar on Disability and Inclusion Strategies During COVID-19 with Magical Bridge foundation, to address some of the issues disabled and autistic people and their families are struggling with right now. Jill Asher from Magical Bridge moderated, TPGA’s senior editor Shanon Rosa ran the questions, and our panelists were three disabled parents of chidren with disabilities: Our own editor Carol Greenburg, and disability consultants Anne Cohen and Deborah Vick. We hope this is the first of many useful sessions! Video and full transcript below. Jill Asher: Hi everyone. Good morning, or good afternoon wherever you are. My name is Jill Asher. I’m the executive director and co-founder of Magical Bridge. We are so incredibly grateful to have you join us today as we discuss disability and inclusive strategies during COVID-19. We hope everyone is safe and health and sheltering in place right now, wherever you are. A…

TPGA’s Resources for COVID-19 Times

This is a selection of resources for autistic and/or disabled people and their family members during the COVID-19 pandemic. Feel free to suggest more options in the comments. COVID-19 Information including Plain Language, Easy Read format, and Social Stories Resources Animated COVID19 explainer for people with developmental disabilities (Oregon Office of Developmental Disabilities Services) youtu.be/MJ8eeC-tVD4 Autism and the Corona virus (Dr. Peter Vermeulen) petervermeulenblog.wordpress.com/2020/03/16/autism-and-the-corona-virus-20-tips CDC’s COVID-19 Information For People With Disabilities:  www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/people-with-disabilities.html COVID-19: Advice and resources for autistic people during the pandemic (ASIAM.ie) asiam.ie/autism-and-covid19-healthcare-information One Autistic’s Guide to Thriving During Social Isolation / Social Distancing (Marie Porter) www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog/2020/03/17/one-autistics-guide-to-thriving-during-social-isolation-social-distancing/ Plain Language Booklet: My COVID-19 Plan informingfamilies.org/covid-plan The “Now, Next, Later” autistic-specific planning strategy (Jamie and Lion) twitter.com/spacedoutsmiles/status/1241518988045230084?s=20 Thoughts from a Quarantined Autistic (Autistically Alex) autisticallyalex.com/2020/03/20/quarantined-autistic Social Stories explaining COVID-19 to people with developmental disabilities For all ages: tinyurl.com/GigisPlayhouseCOVID19story For those who live with parents: tinyurl.com/COVID19SocialStoryFamilyHome For those who live in group homes: tinyurl.com/COVID19SocialStoryGroupHome We…

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Autism and Coping With Pandemic Stressors: Advice from TPGA Community Members

Photo © Tony Cheng | Flickr / Creative Commons [image: Blue medical mask painted with a toothy, red-lipped smile.] Content note: Discussion of self-injury, self-harm, and aggression. —- Of all the varied stress bombs COVID-19 has lobbed at autistic people and their families, one of the more universal is the stress caused by routine disruption, coupled with constant close quarters. Few of us are at our best under such circumstances, so we wanted to share some advice and insights from autistic people and/or parents who are experiencing what you are experiencing about handling some of the tougher aspects, like increased tendencies towards self-injury and aggression. We also want to direct people towards our existing resources: Autistic Insights on Meltdowns, Aggression, and Self-Injury Understanding Autism, Aggression, and Self-Injury: Medical Approaches and Best Support Practices Behaviour Analysis, The Autistic Way  Eleven Ways You Can Make Your Autistic Child’s Life Easier First, we…