Au-ccam’s Razor

Yes!

Rise in Autism rates. Autism Epidemic. Autism Boom. Spike in Autism. No matter how you phrase it the question is the same. We have many theories but no one seems to agree. However, sometimes the answer is so simple and obvious it’s mind boggling and so I step forward to posit an answer to the question, “What is causing the increasing rates of Autism?” I put forth that the internet is a major factor that answers why we have been seeing an increase in Autism Rates over the last 20 years. 

Since the beginning the internet has connected people. After all, that is what it was made to do! It went from simple information exchange to the leviathan it is today. Social media connects nearly everyone on the planet including Autistics and Autistics connect via the web just like everyone else and just like everyone else Autistics have found it to be a boon to their community. One that didn’t exist in pre-internet times. One we are protective of and cherish.

Before January 1, 1983, the birth of the internet, and the subsequent invention of social media Autistic people depended on the same modes of communication that everyone else did. The spoken or written word and anyone can correctly guess how that went for us! As the dawn of the internet communication revolution progressed little by little Autistics, like the rest of humanity, have become connected via the internet. 

Autistic people now have a tool, the internet, of juggernaut proportions and it has led to the increase in Autism rates. The use of the internet by Autistic people gave the Autistic community a way to simply meet. Something that was more difficult to do in pre-internet days. 

One way the world wide web has fostered our growth is recognition. We see others like us now and we connect. We realize we are Autistic too and seek out a diagnosis. One must also take into account that parents and families will see Autistic tendencies in children and each other and pursue an Autism diagnosis for their loved ones. This is all thanks to the internet where before we may not have known others like us existed at all. Internet access has increased recognition and therefore DX’s of Autism have gone up.

A stimulating aspect of the Autism boom, is that the internet has fostered, to be blunt… sex and reproduction. Prior to the mainstream internet we were either not aware of each other, or were under watchful eye.  Both can cause issues with meeting and having sex. Now we have a way to connect and don’t fool yourself. Autistics even use hook up apps such as Tinder. These meetings have led to romances, interludes, and marriages. Just as it’s helped non Autistic communities improve their sex lives. 

Another way the internet has affected Autistic mating is observation and comfort. We can now get to know people prior to meeting. We can process and analyse, as we do, potential sexual partners. This increases comfort when finally meeting and the subsequent relationship that follows. Not all internet friends turn out to be intimate partners but it’s safe to say they the internet has quelled some of the anxiety that comes with seeking a sexual partner. As a result, birth rates between Autistics have gone up. We are seeing more Autistic people because Autistic people are having Autistic babies.

As mentioned before the internet has helped form an Autistic community. Now we aren’t afraid to go out and seek a DX or even come out self DX’d, when we realize that we are Autistic! We know there is no shame in our community and we are protective of our own. Instead of hiding in the shadows and masking a life that is not true to us we can go forth and say “I think I’m Autistic” or “I’m Autistic” and I need a diagnosis. Autists aren’t alone anymore and people feel better about seeking a diagnosis because of the community the internet has allowed to form. We have a cushion to land on when we get that final word that we are Autistic. It has emboldened people!

It seems overly simplistic when you think about it. However Occam’s Razor says the simplest answer is the best one. The internet gives us a platform in which recognition of each other, reproduction and romance, community, and comfort has increased the rates of Autism in the world. Do you know what? It’s a good thing!

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Shock and Au

Danger High Voltage

Waves have gone through the Autistic community this week as electric shock of disabled adults, and more appallingly, children has been deemed legal by a US appeals court. Here’s a bit of backstory. Recently, in the US, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) had banned the use of a device called the Graduated Electronic Decelerator (GED) that is commonly used at the Judge Rotenburg Educational Center on Autistics of all ages to shock them into obedience. This week the ban was overturned in court and lifted. The use of this dreadful device is continuing at Rotenberg in Canton, Massachusetts. 

Now while I am tempted to go on a rant on “How in the world is shocking someone considered education?”, I am resisting, for now. Before I get to that I’m addressing some misnomers that are going around about the use of electricity and it’s validity in medicine. Let’s start with the good stuff that can be done with electricity in medicine!

It’s Aliiiiive!

Electricity sounds scary as a medical treatment however it does have some useful applications. I’ve seen a few that are mislabeling the GED as Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) but it’s not. ECT is a powerful emergency or last resort type of treatment for those with severe and untreatable depression and it has up to a 90% success rate. I know a small handful of people that have had ECT. They are forever grateful for their ECT treatment and how it relieved them from their debilitating depression. ECT is done with a patient’s consent under a doctor’s supervision. 

The patient is sedated with general anesthesia and given muscle relaxers to prevent convulsions, their vital signs are monitored during the procedure. An electric current is applied to the patient’s temples via electrode until the doctor sees the patient’s fingers and toes twitch. This let’s the doctor know the treatment is now complete. While no one knows exactly how ECT works, it works! Theories from changing the polarization of the brain to the stimulation of neurotransmitters exist but no one has pinned down what goes on in the brain during the procedure that alleviates depression. ECT has saved lives and, when performed under general anesthesia, is a humane and effective treatment. 

Another application of electricity in medicine is the defibrillator. The Automated External Defibrillator (AED) can be found in many public places like malls and in airports. The AED is an emergency tool that is used in the event that someone is experiencing sudden cardiac arrest. 

The AED electrodes are applied to the chest and can diagnose and treat or prompt the user to treat the heart by administering an electric shock to the heart to get it beating probably again. The AED is a modern miracle and has saved lives. It can be used by both the average person and trained professional to stabilize a situation until help arrives or until they can get the patient to the hospital. The AED is another application of electricity that is relevant in medicine. 

I do acknowledge that these two treatments are while people are unconscious and if I am to continue on to make my point I need to have some experience in the matter. Do I have any experience in medicinal use of electricity? Why, yes, I do! I have been fully conscious while given a shock and it wasn’t pleasant. Thankfully it wasn’t an emergency or a GED that I experienced! Instead it was a test that read my nerves to diagnose Peripheral Neuropathy called an Electromyography (EMG).

During the Electromyography my doctor placed an electrode in the form of a needle into my upper calf then he shocked my foot. The needle would read the shock as it traveled up my leg and tell the doctor how much of the electricity was making it through my nerves. The doctor said it would be a little sting or pinch or other inadequate saying they use to not tell you it’s really going to hurt. The shock hurt my toes, my foot, and made all the muscles in my leg jump. It was extremely unpleasant and my leg was sore for that day.

I’ll make it hurt!

The sensation was stronger than the one you get when you scuff your feet on the carpet and then touch the door knob. It was stronger than the static in the blanket. Yet, I have a feeling that the medically sound shock to my foot wasn’t as strong as the aversive called the GED that is being used to torture disabled people into submission in school. They say it feels like a bee sting, have you ever been stung by a bee? It is painful!

I’d like to point out that Rotenberg is not a medical establishment as it claims to be a “school” and a place of “education”. It’s the only school in the United States to use shock treatment on disabled adults and children alike. The GED is worn by the victim while the control for the device remains in possession of the “teacher”. When the so-called “student” does something that the teacher disapproves of, the teacher then shocks the pupil until the pupil complies with the demand. These demands are as petty as not taking your coat off within an acceptable amount of time which is decided on by said teacher. Students are even shocked for crying because they were shocked. Self-stimulatory Behavior, which enables Autistics to produce necessary neurotransmitters to process the environment and release anxiety in the body, is punished by shock. This is not medicine, this is not education. It’s senseless abuse and it should be considered cruel and unusual punishment. The GED needs to be recognized as such under the Constitution. 

There is no medical or educational application for the GED when there are more humane ways to help someone that is disabled. Care, Patience, Time, Repetition, Respect, and many other methods exist to teach. The GED does not teach nor treat, the GED scares people making them live in fear of doing the most human thing of all and that is making mistakes. No one should be punished for that. 

More on: 

GED (Graduated Electronic Decelerator)

ECT (Electroconvulsive Therapy)

AED (Automated External Defibrillator)  

EMG (Electromyography)

App Review: Loóna

Loóna in Google Play

Almost two years ago, before the pandemic, I started this blog and the accompanying Twitter account. One of my projects I said I was going to do was to review apps that I found to be helpful as far as Autism goes. I have finally found one worthy enough to write about! It was a long, arduous journey but I think this is worth it. 

Now, I don’t know about you, but I have the hardest time falling asleep. I go over every interaction that I had during the day and then my mind goes 200 mph as soon as I lay down. But of course it does! I have no stimulation to hinder my thoughts as they come cascading out of every wrinkle in my brain. I have tried many sleep apps to help calm the storm so to speak. I’ve tried white noise, ambient noise, binaural beats, ASMR… All of it, I have done. None of it really worked. 

However, earlier this year I stumbled across an app called Loóna that you use before you fall asleep. It has what they call Sleepscapes and they can be very relaxing. How does this work? Loóna is an interactive app designed with the intent of helping you disengage from the day and relax and the Sleepscapes it takes you through are wonderful bedtime stories. The tales they weave are calming, they bring you back to those childhood days when someone read to you and you felt content. For me those days were the days I was with my grandparents or during quiet time in elementary school. 

Loóna For You menu that features the new Sleepscape of the night

The best way I have found to use Loóna is about 45 minutes before bedtime to get ready for bed. Make sure to brush your teeth and use the bathroom so you don’t have to get back up. Turn off all distractions and mute notifications on your phone. Get everything together you need to be comfy. Pillows, blanket, teddy bear and whatever else you sleep with. Perhaps make a cup of warm milk (there is a “how to” at the end of this article) or tea to sip while you’re doing your Sleepscape. (I love Sleepytime tea with Valerian Root in it. It’s a great choice as well as affordable.) Get your headphones and then get in bed and get settled in.

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Sleepscape Menu and Sleepscape

Loóna has a new Sleepscape every night. Calming music plays as you listen to the calm voice tell the story as it gives you items to tap on. As you tap on the beautifully done pictures they come to life with colors you choose at the beginning of the app. I chose pinks, purples, and blues. The interaction with the picture is just as important as listening to the story. It helps immerse you by combining physical repetitive actions, occupying your mind, and lulls you into relaxation with the rotation of the floating landscape. 

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Floating Interactive Landscape and Sleepscape with color

When you’ve completed the Sleepscape you can do another Sleepscape (up to three, the new one and two from the menu, before it warns you of screentime) or you can listen to one of Loóna’s Immersive Stories that accompany the Sleepscape. Immersive Stories are unlocked at the end of some Sleepscapes. An Immersive Story is a story without the Sleepscape’s visual and physical activity. You just turn out the lights and listen as you drift off. 

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Playlist Menu and Morning Inspiration

If you prefer music to drift off to, Loóna also has playlists of calming music to doze to. Loóna also has the option to turn off the audio bedtime story for those who need quiet to relax or just prefer to read. You can easily keep up with the story being told by reading it’s subtitles. For those that have trouble remembering (ex. ADHD) that they have the app on their phone, Loóna has a reminder option that notifies you when the new Sleepscape for the day is available. Last but not least Loóna had inspirational morning messages that include a playlist to listen to in the morning to help you ease into your day in a calmer state of mind. Bonus! Loóna is also a great way to calm down throughout the day as well.

Loóna does have a hefty for an app subscription price at 12.99 a month (cancel anytime). It’s more economical to pay for the year at 39.99 which, in my opinion, would be worth it. It does have a trial, as most apps do, in case you want to try it free for a week. I used the trial and purchased one month to try it out for an extended period of time before I reviewed this app. I suggest, if you have a spare $13, that you try it out for the 30 day trial. Everyone is different and it may not be for you but you may be pleasantly surprised!

Here is the link.

Warm Milk: 

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Vanilla
Milk
Sugar or other sweetener
Microwave or saucepan
Coffee cup

Heat the desired amount of milk (or if you’re a Vegetarian or Vegan your favorite unsweetened plant based milk would work too) in the microwave for a minute and check the temperature. If it’s not warm enough then microwave it in 30 second intervals until the desired temperature. You can also heat it up over low heat on the stove. Make sure you don’t scald it (burn the milk that is). 

When the milk is heated, take it out of the microwave carefully or if you heated it on the stove gently pour it into a cup so it doesn’t splash. Add one cap full of vanilla. If you don’t want the alcohol content then use imitation vanilla. (It’s also cheaper for those who have limited funds.) 

Then add one teaspoon of sweetener. I like good old fashioned white sugar but Stevia or another sweetener would do well too. 

Stir until the sweetener dissolves (mostly dissolved is good, it doesn’t have to be perfect).