This is a great podcast with Dr. Louise Kirz, who was interviewed with autistic advocate, Sam Way, a few weeks ago. Here, she shares more about anesthesia and the ways someone can advocate for themselves with anesthesiologists and more. Please see synergyautismcenter.com/podcast for more podcasts. And for the handout that goes with this podcast, please go to this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1H3Rmdeptwem9RCNlPBCeQsxrWZGap_Oj__AmSIIP8v8/edit?usp=sharing

Today, I am expanding on my blog post about The Telepathy Tapes. Please find the original blog post on my website: www.synergyautismcenter.com Ky Dickens actually seems in support of autistic spellers and keyboarders. The podcast, however, is about telepathy. It is not about whether or not autistics can use augmented means to communicate like using a keyboard or letter board. My concerns are squarely on the fact that autistics should not be used to prove telepathy when their communication using these augmented means is already under fire by so many. I worry (and it has been confirmed) that speech language pathologists and others who criticize the use of letter boards and/or keyboards to communicate now have additional fodder to weaken the legitimacy of autistics communicating in these ways. My concerns were recently confirmed when I joined a respected speech and language pathologist “watch party” where we all watched the actual videos of the autistics on the podcast communicating their telepathy. As the videos were played, the argument was NOT on whether they were telepathic but on whether or not they were even communicating. The majority of the participants were arguing that they were not actually communicating anything let alone telepathy. I very pointedly argued that the tapes were NOT to prove communication but to prove telepathy. Therefore, they should not be under fire for whether or not they were communicating. While they did shift their conversation and agreed with me, my point was made in that setting and not in so many more conversations. People across the world listening will now question the legitimacy of a vulnerable population communicating through means that are already questionable and in dire need of further research. Next, I spoke with a friend who is autistic and a magician. He turned my attention to James Randi, The Amazing Randi, who was a magician who turned his work to people using “magic” to trick people into believing they are telepathic, speaking to God, the deceased, etc. and getting money for it. He thought it was tragic and criminal, of course. My friend (Jonathan Chase, if you know him) helped me consider that one of the many ways to “trick” people is to use a vulnerable population in their providing “proof." Because then if you voice your doubt, you are speaking against a vulnerable population - which we just wouldn’t think of doing, right!? ugh. I never intended to imply that Ky Dickens was against Autistic people using Spelling and Keyboards to communicate. In fact, she seems to be in support of it. The podcast's focus is on telepathy, not on whether Autistic people can use these tools to communicate.

Episode #72: Part 1 in our Series on Anesthesia and Autism. In this podcast, I was lucky enough to sit down with both a fabulous anesthesiologist who happens to have two autistic children as well as a wonderful autistic man who is trying to understand an upcoming procedure requiring anesthesia. I learned so much about anesthesia through this discussion and I hope you do, too. Correction: "MAC stands for minimal alveolar concentration not minimal anesthetic concentration. It’s the concentration of the gas in the lungs."

Listen in as I have a conversation with Blake Baxter about the experiences of masking and camouflaging. We discuss what they are and how they manifest in the autistic experience. SHOW NOTES: https://synergyautismpodcast.blogspot.com/2024/10/episode-71-masking-and-camouflaging.html

Listen in to an interview with Blake Baxter regarding the diagnosis of Aspergers and the controversy around Aspergers having ties to the Third Reich. Blake shares the reading and research he has done and you can read more in the show notes found at https://synergyautismpodcast.blogspot.com/2024/10/episode-70-aspergers-controversy-with.html

Part of the Blake Baxter conversation series, listen in was we discuss Pathological Demand Avoidance... AKA Pervasive Drive for Autonomy... a profile for some individuals on the Autism spectrum. Show notes: https://synergyautismpodcast.blogspot.com/

Blake Baxter and I dive into the book titled Against Empathy by Paul Bloom. As Blake puts it, "empathy has been weaponized against autism." Listen in to hear more about both autism and the concept of empathy. Show notes: https://synergyautismpodcast.blogspot.com/

Listen in to Blake's story of his diagnosis in his 50's and how his life began to make more sense because of it. Show notes: https://synergyautismpodcast.blogspot.com/

My friend, Blake Baxter, shares his diagnosis story and we are collaborating on a podcast series regarding the ambiguous concept of empathy. This is part 1 of our series together as we venture together to figure out what is the definition of empathy and why it is assumed to be missing in those with autism when we have seriously different experiences. This is truly just part I. We know this is a bit of a hodge podge to get us going. We will be reviewing books on Empathy, going deeper into his diagnosis, and more. Follow this podcasts to be alerted of upcoming episodes! Show notes: https://synergyautismpodcast.blogspot.com/

Amazing Inclusion Discussion with Dr. Pretti-Fronczak & Dr. Julie Causton. I feel blessed to have these two on my podcast to talk about the importance and criticalness of inclusion for all students now rather than later. Research is telling us it is the right way to be ensuring education for our children. Let's get our schools, classrooms, and students feeling successful together! We talked about a video to play at IEPs by Dr. Julie Causton. Here it is! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_8EwDZDfV0 Sample book chapters of their new book, The Way To Inclusion by Dr. Kristie Pretti-Frontczak and Dr. Julie Causton: https://files.ascd.org/pdfs/publications/books/The-Way-to-Inclusion-sample-chapters.pdf To learn more, go to: https://www.inclusiveschooling.com And to learn more specifically about the upcoming professional development opportunity for school personnel: https://www.inclusiveschooling.com/sli2023/