Aut_Scot

Seen on BBC wewb site "'Playing an autistic character helped me unmask myself' Comedian Ashley Storrie has revealed playing an autistic character in her first lead acting role helped her to become more open about her own challenges. Ashley plays Nina a neurodiverse palaeontologist in Dinosaur, a comedy drama set to air on BBC Scotland on 14 April. The six-part series follows Nina and her family in the lead up to her sister Evie’s impromptu wedding. Ashley, who has autism, said the role enabled her to “unmask” in real life. ... ": https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c19xxxjgy4ro You can watch Dinosaur on the BBC Scotland Channel on 14 April at 22:30 or on BBC Three on 16 April at 22:30. Programme web site: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001ybcl

Some Autism and neurodiversity petitions currently open on the UK Government website: "Increase funding to reduce the waiting times for Autism Diagnoses" https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/655479 "Ensure that benefit assessors are trained in autism" https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/656656 "Review police training around personality disorders, autism and adhd" https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/656351 "Fund more services to support adults with autism and mental health issues" https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/649257 "Provide dedicated funding for community residential services for Autistic people" https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/648053 "Require all school and college staff to attend Neurodiversity training" https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/656407 "Provide Funding for Neurodiversity Diagnostic Assessments in State Schools" https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/652118

A recent publication from the The National Autistic Taskforce, titled "Recognising Behaviour as Distress in Practice – a discussion paper": https://www.skillsforcare.org.uk/resources/documents/Developing-your-workforce/Care-topics/Supporting-people-with-challenging-or-distressed/NAT-and-SfC-Recognising-Behaviour-as-Distress-in-Practice-discussion-paper.pdf

Seen on the "Scottish Autism" website an article about an app called "AutNav": "Scottish Autism in partnership with the National Autistic Taskforce are delighted to showcase our new AutNav app, specifically created for autistic people. The app has been developed in line with the vision of the late Dr Dinah Murray, who was passionate about supporting the rights of autistic people with profound communication difficulties, often supported in long-term residential care, and saw AutNav as a method to enable people to communicate their interests, and interact with friends and wider family. ... ". Link: https://www.scottishautism.org/services-support/autnav

Article seen online; "Reading and being Autistic As part of our series on reading identity, PhD researcher Charlotte Webber shares her insights and experiences of reading as an Autistic person. ... ": https://www.scottishbooktrust.com/articles/reading-and-being-autistic

Seen on the BBC website - "Caragh McMurtry: Great Britain rower's neurodiversity journey ... By changing the environment around her, rather than her own brain chemistry, McMurtry found the freedom to exist and perform unhindered. Together with the panel, she drew up a three-point plan. The team nutritionist was asked to provide McMurtry with bland food, as highly flavoured or spiced options were overwhelming. The coaches were asked to avoid asking her open-ended questions in the morning and to provide a sum-up at the end of team briefings to ensure they had been understood. ... ": https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rowing/68554234

Article on BBC web site titled "Autistic people held back by job interview questions - report Ambiguous interview questions and application forms are keeping autistic people out of work, a report has found. While 53.6% of all disabled people are in work, only 30% of autistic people are, the latest official figures show. One autistic person told BBC News having more tick-boxes in applications might help him to land an interview. The government has urged employers to "get behind" all recommendations set out in Sir Robert Buckland's report on autism in the workplace. ... " https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-68381352 Link to Sir Robert Buckland's report: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-buckland-review-of-autism-employment-report-and-recommendations/the-buckland-review-of-autism-employment-report-and-recommendations

Some Autism news stories from the BBC web site: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/cwlw3xz045jt

The film "Meet You in Scotland" gets mixed reviews here: https://letterboxd.com/film/meet-you-in-scotland/ If it is on at the cinema, I'll maybe go and see it. Is the Edinburgh Filmhouse cinema still operating?

There is a radio series by neurodiverse comedian Ashley Storrie called "What's the Story, Ashley Storrie?" it is on Radio 4 on Wednesday at 23:00 hrs on Radio 4, for more information see the link below: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001vtn5

Thank you and a happy, healthy, prosperous and successfull New Year to you and all other users of this forum.

Two online articles on the use of artificial intelligence to help diagnose autism: "A Hidden Pattern in Children's Eyes Can Reveal if They Have Autism": https://www.sciencealert.com/a-hidden-pattern-in-childrens-eyes-can-reveal-if-they-have-autism "Can Artificial Intelligence Detect Autism?": https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/the-science-of-autism/202312/can-artificial-intelligence-detect-autism

Seen on BBC web site "My autistic self": https://www.bbc.co.uk/ideas/playlists/my-autistic-self Four short video clipsabout people on the autistic spectrum.

Seen online article titled "Greta Thunberg is far from the only neurodivergent climate activist – many who see the world differently also want to change it": https://theconversation.com/greta-thunberg-is-far-from-the-only-neurodivergent-climate-activist-many-who-see-the-world-differently-also-want-to-change-it-210492 The article contains a section about Autistic traits and activism.

There are some more autism related petitions on the UK Government and Parliament petitions website, including: "Fund an autism awareness campaign The Government should fund an awareness campaign to help people understand autism. In particular it should help people understand how to better approach people with autism and cope/ spread awareness of their mannerisms and how they express their emotions. More details Because I personally have autism and I struggle to express my emotions properly. As a result, it has caused arguments and I don't feel it’s right that me or anyone else with autism should be made to feel bad for something they can't control. ": https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/644986 "Review treatment of neurodiverse prisoners Neurodiverse prisoners can be extremely vulnerable in prison settings and in too many cases we believe they are not being treated fairly or having their needs met. This staff having no understating of the needs of neurodiverse people, and neurodiverse prisoners being punished unfairly. More details We want the Government to review treatment of neurodiverse prisoners, to identify any issues with how neurodiverse prisoners are treated at present, and consider reforms that would ensure that all neurodiverse prisoners are treated fairly and have their needs met. ": https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/643253