dheadley @dheadley@learningdisability.social

When looking at the 1921 census records, you may find additonal information on the free header page (found via a link at the top of an entry from the census). In this case my great uncle John Paton was noted as a lodger and belt maker for R&J Dicks in Glasgow, but no address listed, just a long list of names. The header page notes he was with the Queen's Own Regiment Yeomanry, in camp and under canvas at Lanark Race Course, Lanark. #genealogy #FamilyHistory #1921census #Scotland #StAndrewsDay

I still have 2 spots left in my #ActuallyAutistic life coaching group that begins tomorrow! Are you in Europe/Africa/Asia/Oceania? If so, the times work perfect for you! Come learn and grow with fellow #AutisticAdults from around the globe. https://www.theautisticcoach.com/autistic-group-coaching

@actuallyautistic #ActuallyAutistic I'm still quite new to all of this... I'm reading about the pros and cons of an official diagnosis, telling a circle of people, the pros and cons of being invalidated by some or others using it as an excuse to invalidate and bring into question your decisions because "you are autistic" or "you're just being OCD" ... Back to the question I was hoping to ask... I am hunting for resources to help me more definitively come to a conclusion as to my place on the spectrum, the more I read about it, I'm confused by the amounts of characteristics that I either relate to or don't relate to... Is there a resource, a book, a website, something that is very much recommended to help me figure this out? Please recommend if you do. Thank you very much for your patience as this was a longish toot.

I just caught up with some news about Post saying they aren't going to prioritize accessibility and oof.

We're gonna see them with an overlay in 3 months guarantee it.

Introducing #Mastodon Fossilize - A GitHub Action for backing up your Mastodon account 🐘 Backup on a schedule or on-demand. https://github.com/marketplace/actions/mastodon-fossilize

Be patient with your online autistic pals right now. These massive changes in social media landscapes & drastic, sudden overhauls in atmosphere on platforms that have been a lifeline for us are really hard to adjust to. For many of us, it’s how we connect. The sudden inaccessibility & overwhelming hostility is also really triggering of past social trauma. Be gentle with us while we find our feet with it all.

If you are a pregnant teen (<18) in any of the 36 states with a "parental-involvement" law, getting an abortion requires involving your parents or petitioning a judge for permission. Or you can travel out of state.

I made these maps for Lizzie Presser's incredible and infuriating story about teen access to abortion and the devastating impact of parental-involvement laws. https://www.propublica.org/article/how-states-limit-teen-access-to-abortion

🆕: In the past few elections, youth voters have consistently turned out and had major impacts on election results. But rather than celebrate this civic achievement, Republicans are passing laws restricting young voters’ ability to cast their ballots.
https://www.democracydocket.com/analysis/how-republicans-target-young-voters/

After the initial adjustment period, I fell in love with the #fediverse because of its differences from #Twitter, not despite them.

Yes, let's keep working to make the fediverse and #Mastodon safer, more inclusive and affirming, and easier to use.

No, let's not try to make it into a new Twitter.

I've collected some #Mastodon 🦣 #instances to help with the #TwitterMigration focused in #inclusion, #accessibility and #minorities. They look like safe spaces for most of us. I'd appreciate the boost and new recommendations to add to the list:

🔗🇬🇧🇺🇲 https://ableism.rip/about - space to fight ableism
🔗🇬🇧🇺🇲 https://disabled.social/about - for disabled people
🔗🇬🇧🇩🇪 https://fedisabled.social/about - for all disabled people
🔗🇬🇧🇺🇲 https://neurodifferent.me/about - neurodiversity and neurominorities
🔗🇬🇧🇺🇲 https://mentalhealth.social/about - focus on mental health and help
🔗🇬🇧🇺🇲 https://iaccessibility.social/about - interest in assistive technology
🔗🇬🇧🇺🇲 https://a11y.info/about - Acessibility and digital inclusion
🔗🇬🇧🇺🇲 https://indg.club/about - by and for indigenous people from North America and worldwide. All First Nation people welcome
🔗🇬🇧🇺🇲 https://blacktwitter.io/about - history and voices for black people
🔗🇬🇧🇺🇲 https://babka.social/about - A community for Jewish people of all kinds and their allies, safe from antisemitism
🔗🇬🇧🇺🇲 https://lgbt.io/about - for LGBT+ and allies
🔗🇬🇧🇺🇲 http://queer.party/about - queer-oriented instance
🔗🇬🇧🇺🇲 https://autistics.life/about - space by autistics for autistcs
🔗🇬🇧🇺🇲 https://ehr.scot/about - Equality and Human Rights defenders, advocates and organizations
🔗🇬🇧🇺🇲 https://tech.lgbt/about - for tech workers, academics, students, and others interested in tech who are LGBTQIA+ or Allies
🔗🇧🇷🇪🇸 https://ursal.zone/about - antifascist, feminist, antiracist, anticolinialist, accesible, and trans-and-nb-inclusive, in Latin America
🔗🇧🇷🇵🇹 https://bantu.social/about - non-white portuguese speaking people
🔗🇧🇷🇵🇹 https://colorid.es/about - queer/LGBTQIAPN+ people

Please boost to reach more people!

#MASTODONTIPS HUGE THREAD!

For those that joined #Mastodon and grabbed the first server they could find but would prefer to #migrate to a different one, I created a short guide on how to do this quickly and easily.
It also allows you to easily move any followers across to your new profile and leaves a redirection on your old profile for those that find it. 😁👍

And be sure to check out the threaded replies for more tips. I will continue to add more. 👍🏼
#feditips
https://youtu.be/BpI-SplOXVE

Unfortunately I have to stop actively working on #Metatext for a while due to health issues. I really wish I could implement Mastodon 4 features and squash every bug, but it's not possible for me to do so right now.

I know the app has become important to a lot people, so I'm open to a new maintainer who can carry on its values of privacy and accessibility taking it over if there's interest and a fit. Email info@metabolist.org if you (or your organization) are interested

Cricut cutting machines, ubiquitous in schools, libraries and makerspaces, can be used to make embossed or stenciled tactile graphics. A Braille embosser costs at least $1500 — Cricuts cost a fifth of that or less. Today I learned that I can handle the hardware and make great stencils: all that holds a Blind maker back is a set of unlabeled controls in the software. Does anyone know somebody at Cricut I could talk to about making the interface more accessible? Boosters beloved on this one!

Autism is a disability.

As long as we are functioning in a neurotypical society where Autistic people face social barriers erected by society, Autism will remain a disability.

The @actuallyautistic community has fought for years for acceptance, to tear down barriers, to eliminate hierarchical structures like functioning labels. Denial of the @disability aspect of Autism is a huge step backwards.

Denial that #Autism falls under the #Disability umbrella is similar to [edit] functioning labels.

You can claim "Autistics are just different", "Autism is a neurotype" but how is that any different than people are born with mobility issues or blind or deaf? These are only "disabilities" because the structure and functioning of society is such that people with these conditions face additional hardships (imposed by society) because of these conditions. How is Autism any different?

Disability is by its nature culturally defined. Autism (as well as ADHD, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, etc.) are disabilities. Creating a false dichotomy between physical disabilities and mental health disabilities serves little value except to impose a functioning-based hierarchy on socially stigmatized groups.

We should seek support and community and solidarity, not to set ourselves apart or "superior" because we're "not like them".

Anti-neurodivergent behavior and terminology is ableist because it attacks the abilities of people with different neurotypes based on societally-imposed stigmas.

I am happy to hear arguments for why Autism shouldn't be considered a disability. I've heard many attempts before and most of them have not been that good. If you (as an individual) choose to identify as disabled or not identify as disabled that is your choice, just as it is the choice of any Deaf person or Blind person or wheelchair user to define themselves as they see fit. But to re-define Autism as not being a disability is an insult to a generation of activists (both within the Autistic community and the larger Disability community) in their fight for justice.

[EDIT] Removed inappropriate and racist analogy to colorism. There is no excuse for racism.

[Addendum] Acknowledging that Autism is a Disability is distinct from claiming that all Autistic people are Disabled.

If you haven't already, subscribe to the Newsletter from Crystal Preston Watson's newsletter. She's a delightful human and accessibility specialist and it brought me a smile to read:

https://tinyletter.com/CrystalPrestonWatson

@forestine @actuallyautistic

I totally relate and discussed this with loads of other Autists on here in just the last few days so you're definitely not alone in doing this 💜

I'm afraid I don't really have advice on how to balance out explaining/over-explaining

Not sure there'd be a way that would work for me personally because my brain would still be convinced I've been misunderstood or mis-perceived regardless (and that cues big angst and rumination for me)

Fwiw, mast' has a 1500 character limit so it feels like it was made just for this over-explaining reality 😁🤓

OK #Mastodon. I've seen several toots on #accessibility for #screenreader users, however, I've not seen one from a screenreader user (as far as I know). I've used ZoomText, Outspoken, JAWS (AKA JFW), Supernova, NVDA (Windows), and VoiceOver (both on Macs and iPhone). I don't have experience with Windows Narrator or TalkBack. I would like to rectify and clarify a few small things.
First off, any awareness of accessibility issues, and endeavours to make things more accessible is great. Keep going!
But…
Blind/low-vision people have been using the internet as long as everyone else. We had to become used to the way people share things, and find workarounds or tell developers what we needed; this latter one has been the main drive to get us here and now. Over the past decade, screen readers have improved dramatically, including more tools, languages, and customisability. However, the basics were already firmly in place around 2000. Sadly, screen readers cost a lot of money at that time. Now, many are free; truly the biggest triumph for accessibility IMHO.
So, what you can do to help screen readers help their users is three simple things.
1. Write well: use punctuation, and avoid things like random capitalisation or * halfway through words.
2. Image description: screen readers with image recognition built-in will only provide a very short description, like: a plant, a painting, a person wearing a hat, etc. It can also deal with text included in the image, as long as the text isn't too creatively presented. So, by all means, go absolutely nuts with detail.
3. Hashtags: this is the most commonly boosted topic I've seen here, so #ThisIsWhatAnAccessibleHashtagLooksLike. The capitalisation ensures it's read correctly, and for some long hashtags without caps, I've known screen readers to give up and just start spelling the whole damn thing out, which is slow and painful.
That's really all. Thanks for reading! 😘

This #Microsoft article gives an excellent overview of their internal practices for securing #OneDrive, from the #PrincipleOfLeastPriviledge and #ZeroStandingPrivileges for employees to #PhysicalSecurity and #GeoRedundancy considerations for data centres. A good read for infosec students, I think! https://support.microsoft.com/office/how-onedrive-safeguards-your-data-in-the-cloud-23c6ea94-3608-48d7-8bf0-80e142edd1e1

@CarrieHall1001 @actuallyautistic
The Rainbow Infinity sign is used by #autistic people - it may be general for neurodivergence.

About at my wits end.

#Disability Fediverse, have any of you managed to get a thing notarized when you can't leave the house? How did you do it?

Boosts appreciated 🖖🏾✨