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Autistic PhD - Erika Sanborne @autisticphd.com · 1d

🤗 Hey!

aslynn's tremendous 'tism horror show 👻 🎃 @audhd-psychnp.com · 1d

If you follow me for my Autistic content, you should also follow Erika! We have mutual friends and have shared spaces on Facebook. I’m a fan! You will be too. 🫶🏻

Autistic PhD - Erika Sanborne @autisticphd.com · Nov 16

👋😁 btw I'm a #disabled #autistic #GenX #queer #FirstGen data nerd, and long-time #educator who researches wellbeing inequalities and population health outcomes. I heart #Stata so much they gave me ALL their merch at my last conference.
I've got three current projects which I'll mention in comments.

Autistic PhD - Dear Students, Grades are points on a rubric, nothing more

Autistic PhD - Erika Sanborne @autisticphd.com · 13d

I wrote this with love to my own students in 2023 🫶

#AutisticLife #AuDHD #AutisticStudent #AutisticPhD #Neurodivergent #AutisticProfessor
autisticphd.com/theblog/dear...

Autistic Professor reflects on grades, capacity, accessibility, and the game of it all.

“Autism Destroys Families”: An Autistic Social Scientist Responds

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Autistic PhD - Erika Sanborne @autisticphd.com · 23d

👋 😐 Autistic social scientist here, sharing my writeup that gets into the weeds a bit on some of the rhetoric that puts #autistic lives at risk. It's long, lots of subheadings. Scroll THOSE to get to topics of interest.

Be safe, friends. You're not alone in this mess.

#AuDHD #AutisticLife #AutRes

Autistic PhD - Erika Sanborne @autisticphd.com · Apr 25

#NewArticle Here I consider how “autism epidemic” scare is being used to push certain agendas and launch a national autism registry. As an #Autistic social scientist, I reflect on a rhetorical pattern that I observe and how it exposes this manipulation. #AutRes

autisticphd.com/theblog/auti...

How an "autism epidemic" and a registry are dangerous distractions

What is Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria? RSD Autism ADHD - Autistic PhD

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Autistic PhD - Erika Sanborne @autisticphd.com · Aug 17

What is #RejectionSensitiveDysphoria or #EmotionalDysregulation and what's it really like for folks with #ADHD or #Autism? It ain't fun. More here -

autisticphd.com/theblog/what...

#Autistic #AuDHD

Emotional Dysregulation, or a predisposition to expect, sense and then emotionally react bigtime to rejection

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Autistic PhD - Erika Sanborne @autisticphd.com · Aug 14

#Autistic Rachael the Beloved and I LOVE being at the beach. Those who know us know that it's sacred ground to us both. Here we are at the lakeshore of Gichigami, or Lake Superior, our first year after moving away from the ocean 10 years ago.

What do YOU look for in such a place as this?

Photo of two hands, palms up, coming from two people holding small rocks. One hand has about twelve, similar and mostly gray, flat rocks. The other hand has about 50 little rocks, of a wide variety of colors, textures, and shapes.

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Autistic PhD - Erika Sanborne @autisticphd.com · Aug 9

💔 I'm a Veteran for Peace who enlisted in 1994 when #DADT was so new the homosexuality question was still on my enlistment form AND asked by the MEPS anyway.

I'm a queer, nonbinary, disabled vet grieving SO many losses. This isn't The Worst Thing, but it's an injustice in an infinite line of them.

Alt National Park Service @altnps.bsky.social · Aug 8

Now, they must decide between signing a voluntary separation agreement or facing involuntary removal both options offering minimal, if any, benefits. For each, the outcome could mean losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in pay, medical coverage, and other long-earned benefits.

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Autistic PhD - Erika Sanborne @autisticphd.com · Aug 4

♿️ 4 of 4: Overall, I find that the Minnesota Zoo is pretty accessible. In addition to the mostly flat walkways, they're pretty good about having braille signage and lots of staff and/or volunteers are around to help with whatever too.

Autistic PhD - Erika Sanborne @autisticphd.com · Aug 4

♿️ 3 of 4: But other than that, there are mostly flat surfaces, lots of benches, and they previously told me that my DIY accessibility scooter would be allowed in the zoo. It wasn't charged, or today I would NOT have earned a high score on "steps" but I'm grateful that I CAN go back with the scooter.

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Autistic PhD - Erika Sanborne @autisticphd.com · Aug 4

♿️ 2 of 4: As an #autistic patron, my MAIN stressor at the Minnesota Zoo is the Entitled Parents cohort (not all parents). They will push their stroller right into a person who does not give way to them, EVEN when THEY are walking on the wrong side of the walkway, and WE are where we belong.

Autistic PhD - Erika Sanborne @autisticphd.com · Aug 4

♿️ 1 of 4: The Minnesota Zoo is a fairly disability-friendly place to go. I use earplugs for hyperacusis (many sounds cause pain, a new-ish thing for me). But reducing sounds for hyperacusis also benefits autistic-me by reducing auditory sensory information that can sometimes overwhelm me anyway.

Autistic PhD - Erika Sanborne @autisticphd.com · Aug 4

😍 We went to the zoo and I walked the most steps that I've walked in a year (confirmed truth).

Watching the prairie dogs is my favorite and feeding the goats is Rachael's. We both love the llamas 🤗 #Accessibility details in comments

#DisabledLife #AutisticLife #Grateful

Rachael (right) and Erika posing with a llama who is lying in the shade. Both people are wearing N95 masks and leaning in together.

Collage of two similar photos of a pair of prairie dogs upright eating blades of grass.

Rachael is feeding two very attentive goats from her hands.

A dark haired goat is showing his joy at receiving food by flashing a big smile.

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Autistic PhD - Erika Sanborne @autisticphd.com · Jul 19

✊ Disabled people don't owe anyone a performance of their pain, and our joys and freedoms are #DisabilityRights period.

See also: #DisabilityJustice #DisabledLife
#Ableism #DisabilityPrideMonth #InvisibleDisability #DisabilityPride

🔴 You know, someone else got some attention at a #Coldplay concert, last month in Vegas. Celine Dion was there with her sons and she playfully danced, and said she had the time of her life. 💕 I love that for her!

🟠 Except no. Skim any comment section on that story, and you'll find the folks doing the most to say that she must be faking her stiff-person syndrome.

🟡 Comedian Drew Lynch got his big break joking about his stutter on TV. He's funny, I'm a fan. He's done years of speech therapy and so sometimes now his stutter is barely there at all. WhenEVER that happens, people accuse him of faking it all along.

🟢 FFS. When Simone Biles said she had the twisties (which is a real thing) and so she didn't do the Olympics? Yeah, folks accused her of faking all that.

🔵 We can keep going. Selma Blair publicly shared that she has MS. And sometimes she uses a cane or needs help walking. Sometimes she doesn't. It's all good except folks are in her business when she's having a good day, there to accuse her of faking or exaggerating her support needs.

🟣 Folks with a disability do NOT need to publicly perform their suffering for you. Many disabilities come with a range, variables or whatever. People have Good Days and that really does not mean they're "faking" those Other Days.

🟤 None of us knows what it takes for another person to have a good day, and we definitely don't know how hard the bad days get.

⚫ Facts: Disabled people have better and worse days, and it's ableist af to expect disabled people to perform their suffering in some way that looks convincing enough for you. This is coming from the observer's bias, not the disabled person's alleged faking.

ℹ️ #Ableism is an oppressive set of assumptions that devalue and deny the realities of disabled people's lives. Ableism often comes from not understanding that many disabilities are invisible and/or variable, and the result is oppression.

Folks assume they'd for SURE be able to tell if someone's REALLY disabled or whatever, but you really can't. Most of life is unpredictable, friends. Disabilty usually is too.

And someone's support needs will probably not always look one way and remain constant either.

✌️😊 tl;dr People with disabilities have a right to experience joy and even some times of success and freedom without having to endure this bs about how they were surely faking those other times.

AutisticPhD.com

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Autistic PhD - Erika Sanborne @autisticphd.com · Jul 15

My peak is for about two hours after evening meds.

What I choose to DO in that sacred time reflects my values. That's #CripTime 🫶

Autistic PhD - Erika Sanborne @autisticphd.com · Jul 15

Crip Time is often assumed to refer to us always being late.

But Crip Time acknowledges {our finitude + the sacredness of our time}

#CripTime respects the reality that disabled folks are more likely contemplating that part.

#DisabledLife #DisabilityPrideMonth #DisabilityPride #DisabilityCulture

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Autistic PhD - Erika Sanborne @autisticphd.com · Jul 10

This is from the vault, from 2020, when my head was much rounder, so much that my brain no longer recognizes myself even knowing that it's me (ref: prosopagnosia).

👋😆 But I genuinely LOVE imagining what Morgan the Dog is thinking, as depicted here.

🤔 I wonder if other people do this??

The scene:

Erika and Rachael the Beloved are in the pool. Morgan the Dog is standing on the ground, and (I feel) talking to Rachael.

Text bubbles overlay:

Morgan: Mommy? I'm sorry I ate the pool noodle. I thought it was stick. As you know, I do eat sticks...

Erika: He did not think a pool noodle was a stick.

Morgan: Yes I did! I'm talking to my Mommy right now. Do you know my thoughts, hmm?

Erika: Sorry, counselor, I don't buy it. I see a demonstrated pattern of behavior.

Morgan: This is why Mommy is my favorite.

Autistic PhD - Erika Sanborne @autisticphd.com · Jul 7

The open-access, full-text article includes sensory accommodations, strategies for teachers and therapists, the backstory, and the science behind why this tends to work 👋😊💕

Autistic PhD - Erika Sanborne @autisticphd.com · Jul 7

Thanks for sharing this sensory memory hack article 🫶 The full text includes various sensory accommodations also.

Alt Moms ROAR @altmomsroar.bsky.social · Jul 7

This is good advice for everyone right now, not just autistics. For kids still working towards thinking in abstract terms, consider a tangible comfort item, predictable script/song, or even a laminated prinout of their favorite place or thing.

Autistic PhD - Erika Sanborne @autisticphd.com · Jul 7

#NewArticle Everything can seem out of control and threatening right now in the world near and far. And I am reminded of something that can actually help #Autistic #AuDHD folks with #EmotionalRegulation, hence this sensory memory hack!

Full-text: autisticphd.com/theblog/emot...

Disability Terms: crip, able-bodied, abled, and non-disabled

Autistic PhD - Erika Sanborne @autisticphd.com · Jul 7

#NewArticle Everything can seem out of control and threatening right now in the world near and far. And I am reminded of something that can actually help #Autistic #AuDHD folks with #EmotionalRegulation, hence this sensory memory hack!

Full-text: autisticphd.com/theblog/emot...

This text-based graphic is part of a series of 8 in total. Text overlay:

Just Go Somewhere: An Emotional Regulation Strategy in Honor of My Gram

Everything can seem out of control and threatening right now in the world near and far. And while I’m not (at all) getting into the CAUSES of that distress, I am reminded of something that can actually help, and I’d love to share that with you all.

Here is the Strategy for You to “Go Somewhere”

This works in the heat of the moment when you’re overwhelmed with Big Feelings. This doesn’t stop the Big Feelings per se, but it can help you reconnect at your baseline.

This text-based graphic is part of a series of 8 in total. Text overlay:

Just Go Somewhere: An Emotional Regulation Strategy in Honor of My Gram

Step 1: Choose a Somewhere

Think of a place you’ve been that felt okay. My Gram had two go-to places: the beach, and her mother’s kitchen. This is for you to choose, and there’s no wrong answer. Think of exactly when and where you were when you felt safe and calm.

This text-based graphic is part of a series of 8 in total. Text overlay:

Just Go Somewhere: An Emotional Regulation Strategy in Honor of My Gram

Step 2: Focus on the Smell

Yeah so what did your Somewhere smell like? Gram’s beach smells like salty air and a bit of low tide smell. Low-tide smell isn’t often deemed a pleasant one, but it can take you to that place. Think of exactly how this place smelled.

This text-based graphic is part of a series of 8 in total. Text overlay:

Just Go Somewhere: An Emotional Regulation Strategy in Honor of My Gram

Step 3: Smell the Smell

Describe that smell in some way to yourself. Dig into it. Take several slow, deep breaths while you recall the smell of the place where you felt safe and calm. If you can, push your brain to recall the smell as you are breathing in through your nose.

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Autistic PhD - Erika Sanborne @autisticphd.com · Jun 24

✌😊 Ever wondered if "able-bodied" really means non-disabled? Or when it’s ok to use #crip? This article breaks down some key #disability terms, how each reflects identity and power and privilege.

autisticphd.com/theblog/disa...

#DisabilityJustice #InclusiveLanguage #DEIA

The opposite of disabled is non-disabled, NOT abled. Yes, I know it's confusing.

Autistic PhD - Erika Sanborne @autisticphd.com · Jun 10

So THIS superstar (Seimith) 🏆 was in my high school Support Math back in 2004–05. Today I got to chat w/ a whole grown-up 35 yo. Same kindness that autistic-me remembers 🫶

My heart is full. I'm so grateful.

Seimith, I'm wishing you ALL the good things👋😊💕

#AuDHD #AutisticProfessor #AutisticTeacher

Screenshot from a Google Meet call.
Seimith is centered in frame: a Millennial with long hair, smiling and looking into the camera.
I'm Erika, in the inset: a Gen X person with short hair, glasses, and a slightly confused expression.
We're both in well-lit home offices.
Seimith's background looks tidy and professional, like she might be about to launch a shiny new tech product tomorrow or something.
I've got a Pac-man sign behind me, because Reasons.

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Autistic PhD - Erika Sanborne @autisticphd.com · Jun 6

What’s Threatening Higher Education Isn’t ONLY Students Using AI

What I’ve always loved about teaching has been supporting students. Right now, everything seems aligned against all of the good things. Saying I’m "sad" doesn’t come close.

#Autistic #AuDHD
autisticphd.com/theblog/stud...

text-based infographic: Students have been using AI since it became widely available in 2022. And in 2025, when they’re told AI will take over all the good jobs? They use the hell out of it.
– Erika Sanborne, Autistic PhD

Why Real Learning Is Disappearing

This whole process accelerates a rapid decline in our society’s ability to reason through its own problems. With fewer funded research opportunities and a growing reliance on generative AI, universities risk becoming less Sites of Knowledge Production and more Places of Technical Mimicry and I hate that, for everybody.

What I hate most about this (as an autistic person who values discovery and cares about students more than I am getting into here) is that students aren’t realizing what they are losing.

Read more at AutisticPhD.com

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Autistic PhD - Erika Sanborne @autisticphd.com · May 29

"Nobody calls me chicken."says Marty McFly in this screenshot of Back to the Future 2. Below the pic, a second text overlay adds commentary saying, Not the BTTF character who I'd normally associate, but... 🤷🌮

What's Threatening Higher Ed Isn't ONLY Students Using AI

Autistic PhD - Erika Sanborne @autisticphd.com · May 28

#NewPost Academia is breaking apart, and I KNOW many who care. 💔 My latest reflections on the runaway freight train re: students using ChatGPT, impending US policy changes, loss of research funding everywhere, etc.

#Accessibility #AutisticProfessor #AutisticPhD
autisticphd.com/theblog/stud...

Student debt, edu. policy, ChatGPT, and declining research capacity inside academia.