Jim Schneider
@jimschneider.bsky.social
Writer, speaker, dad, and nonprofit executive passionate about sustainability, climate mitigation/adaptation and building a better future. Host of the podcast, “A Pessimist’s Guide to Optimism.”
My son is one of millions of kids who benefit from an individualized education program (IEP), and who stand to lose with continued cuts at Department of Education. I shared my family’s story with columnist @heidikstevens.bsky.social. Check out her latest column and make your voice heard! #IDEA #IEP
7.5 million US children have disabilities. When you chip away at special ed, you chip away at the promise of our country. You chip away at education as the great equalizer. You chip away at our potential, our productivity and our moral character.
My column.
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/17/h...
My column.
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/17/h...
Heidi Stevens: Gutting special education services is a betrayal of conservative ideals and our collective values
When you chip away at any child’s ability to access education, you chip away at the full promise of our country, writes Heidi Stevens.
www.chicagotribune.com
October 18, 2025 at 5:14 AM
My son is one of millions of kids who benefit from an individualized education program (IEP), and who stand to lose with continued cuts at Department of Education. I shared my family’s story with columnist @heidikstevens.bsky.social. Check out her latest column and make your voice heard! #IDEA #IEP
Reposted by Jim Schneider
How is any of this making America safer?
Crueler? Certainly. Merciless? Absolutely. Heartless? We’re heading there.
My column.
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/01/h...
Crueler? Certainly. Merciless? Absolutely. Heartless? We’re heading there.
My column.
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/01/h...
Heidi Stevens: ‘We’re going to throw our humanity out?’ Immigration crackdown taking us down a cruel path
It’s hard to believe that this blitz has anything to do with public safety or ensuring that people come to the U.S. the so-called right way.
www.chicagotribune.com
October 1, 2025 at 10:02 PM
How is any of this making America safer?
Crueler? Certainly. Merciless? Absolutely. Heartless? We’re heading there.
My column.
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/01/h...
Crueler? Certainly. Merciless? Absolutely. Heartless? We’re heading there.
My column.
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/01/h...
Reposted by Jim Schneider
There’s been a lot of talk about autism from powerful government figures and the media. Let’s help young Coloradans with autism achieve their dreams through coaching, therapy, and social connections. I’ll match fifty $5 donations to REVEL: www.coloradogives.org/story/3s7h9f...
Support Be a Neurodiversity Ally With REVEL and Next on ColoradoGives.org
Empowering Neurodiverse Lives Through Skill-Building, Connection, and Independence
www.coloradogives.org
September 28, 2025 at 4:43 AM
There’s been a lot of talk about autism from powerful government figures and the media. Let’s help young Coloradans with autism achieve their dreams through coaching, therapy, and social connections. I’ll match fifty $5 donations to REVEL: www.coloradogives.org/story/3s7h9f...
Reposted by Jim Schneider
BREAKING: Trump goes on a wild and unhinged rant spouting misinformation and easily debunked lies about autism.
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
Trump;‘taking Tylenol is not good’ for pregnant women and makes wild autism claims
President Donald Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made an announcement declaring that they had found a link between autism and acetaminophen, commonly known as Tylen...
www.independent.co.uk
September 22, 2025 at 9:59 PM
BREAKING: Trump goes on a wild and unhinged rant spouting misinformation and easily debunked lies about autism.
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
If I wanted to see a bunch of super wealthy quacks shout fictional things to a TV audience, I’d watch “DuckTales.”
Trump: "It doesn't exist with the Amish community, and they don't take all this junk. It doesn't exist."
September 23, 2025 at 2:15 AM
If I wanted to see a bunch of super wealthy quacks shout fictional things to a TV audience, I’d watch “DuckTales.”
Reposted by Jim Schneider
COMMENTARY: Charlie Kirk was shot in Utah today. And so were schoolchildren in Colorado. Because of the sick delusion that violence solves problems. None of us is safe.
September 11, 2025 at 2:05 AM
COMMENTARY: Charlie Kirk was shot in Utah today. And so were schoolchildren in Colorado. Because of the sick delusion that violence solves problems. None of us is safe.
This is ghoulish, and I don’t know any other way to comment on it.
This essentially is sending #autism discussions back sixty years back to the days when society blamed unloving mothers for their children becoming #ActuallyAutistic. It's going to inflict endless guilt among moms across the country.
www.wsj.com/health/healt...
www.wsj.com/health/healt...
Exclusive | RFK Jr., HHS to Link Autism to Tylenol Use in Pregnancy and Folate Deficiencies
Kennedy’s autism report, touted by Trump, will suggest that using the pain reliever during pregnancy may be linked to the developmental disorder.
www.wsj.com
September 6, 2025 at 5:58 AM
This is ghoulish, and I don’t know any other way to comment on it.
Honestly, when did everyone lose their minds?
NEW: RFK Jr's purge of CDC leadership isn't shaking Democratic Gov Jared Polis' enthusiastic support of Kennedy to lead America's health policy. Today, Polis praised his collaboration with Kennedy, saying "We hope to work on making America healthier." #copolitics
August 29, 2025 at 2:30 AM
Honestly, when did everyone lose their minds?
Reposted by Jim Schneider
"Every dollar spent relitigating the disproven vaccine-autism link is a dollar stolen from research that could actually help people with autism — studies on support services, educational interventions, employment programs and other factors behind autism" www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Opinion | The Playbook Used to ‘Prove’ Vaccines Cause Autism (Gift Article)
Data can easily be manipulated to show causation that doesn’t exist.
www.nytimes.com
August 19, 2025 at 7:49 PM
"Every dollar spent relitigating the disproven vaccine-autism link is a dollar stolen from research that could actually help people with autism — studies on support services, educational interventions, employment programs and other factors behind autism" www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Mashing Pumpkins.
Slightly diminish a band: About as Good as Ezra
August 13, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Mashing Pumpkins.
MAHA isn’t about health or caring for people, it’s about creating a shame and blame structure and a market for wellness gurus and cons. Enjoy a slice of carrot cake and treat yourself to this observant piece from author @jessicacalarco.com. #LetUsEatCake #GrifterOfOz
"When I take off my chef’s hat and put on my sociologist’s hat, I can’t say I’m surprised at [Oz's] comments. The US has a long history of food shaming, particularly the food choices of people who are poor."
Thanks to @msnbc.com for letting me say: LET US EAT CAKE!
www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...
Thanks to @msnbc.com for letting me say: LET US EAT CAKE!
www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...
Opinion | Don’t let Dr. Oz shame you into avoiding carrot cake
The U.S. has a long history of judging food choices, especially those of the poor.
www.msnbc.com
July 18, 2025 at 9:55 PM
MAHA isn’t about health or caring for people, it’s about creating a shame and blame structure and a market for wellness gurus and cons. Enjoy a slice of carrot cake and treat yourself to this observant piece from author @jessicacalarco.com. #LetUsEatCake #GrifterOfOz
Reposted by Jim Schneider
If you’re wondering what exactly the Department of Education does (and, just as importantly, doesn’t do!) there’s an easy explainer you can read for free in my newsletter.
Wrote a quick and dirty illustrated explainer on The Department of Education because if I have to hear any more misinformation about it I'm going to lose my goddamn mind. open.substack.com/pub/aubreyhi...
Some Facts on the Department of Education
because even the president seems to have no idea what they do
open.substack.com
July 14, 2025 at 9:54 PM
If you’re wondering what exactly the Department of Education does (and, just as importantly, doesn’t do!) there’s an easy explainer you can read for free in my newsletter.
Reposted by Jim Schneider
It might be Prime Day, but you don't have to rely on Amazon to get a good deal on ebooks. @bookshop.org's ebook program has Holding It Together for $8.99--the same price as Amazon, with the added bonus of helping to support your favorite independent bookstore.
bookshop.org/p/books/hold...
bookshop.org/p/books/hold...
Holding It Together: How Women Became America's Safety Net
How Women Became America's Safety Net
bookshop.org
July 8, 2025 at 8:26 PM
It might be Prime Day, but you don't have to rely on Amazon to get a good deal on ebooks. @bookshop.org's ebook program has Holding It Together for $8.99--the same price as Amazon, with the added bonus of helping to support your favorite independent bookstore.
bookshop.org/p/books/hold...
bookshop.org/p/books/hold...
Traditional design doesn’t always meet the needs of neurodivergent individuals, who represent 15-20% of the population. Inclusive design looks at space differently. Check out my latest article in Retrofit magazine about neuro-inclusive design!
#neurodiversity #InclusiveDesign
tinyurl.com/3y23tpvm
#neurodiversity #InclusiveDesign
tinyurl.com/3y23tpvm
Neuro-inclusive Design Principles Create Better Spaces for Everyone - retrofit
The first step toward creating inclusion is recognizing it isn’t the default condition. The more we come to understand how human beings interact with the built environment, the clearer it becomes that...
tinyurl.com
July 9, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Traditional design doesn’t always meet the needs of neurodivergent individuals, who represent 15-20% of the population. Inclusive design looks at space differently. Check out my latest article in Retrofit magazine about neuro-inclusive design!
#neurodiversity #InclusiveDesign
tinyurl.com/3y23tpvm
#neurodiversity #InclusiveDesign
tinyurl.com/3y23tpvm
If you haven’t already read “Holding It Together,” it’s a very important read and here’s a chance to grab a half-priced copy.
Holding It Together is currently ~1/2 off the regular price. If you want the backstory of how we got here--to the point where billionaires are destroying the social safety net and forcing women to be our crisis management team--I've got the book for you.
www.amazon.com/Holding-Toge...
www.amazon.com/Holding-Toge...
July 6, 2025 at 11:41 PM
If you haven’t already read “Holding It Together,” it’s a very important read and here’s a chance to grab a half-priced copy.
Reposted by Jim Schneider
NEW from me: Tim Walz, who has a neurodivergent son, blasts RFK Jr.'s rhetoric about autism as "just so blatantly false and, quite honestly, just evil in its intent and all the work we've done." www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
Tim Walz calls out RFK Jr on children’s health: ‘Just so blatantly false’
Walz, a former teacher and a father of a son with nonverbal learning disorder, says the cuts to the Department of Education and RFK Jr’s words on autism are destructive
www.independent.co.uk
May 21, 2025 at 2:39 AM
NEW from me: Tim Walz, who has a neurodivergent son, blasts RFK Jr.'s rhetoric about autism as "just so blatantly false and, quite honestly, just evil in its intent and all the work we've done." www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
So to be clear, the guy with gold toilets thinks the problem these days is that kids want too many pencils. Got it.
Trump: "I don't think a beautiful baby girl that's 11 years old needs to have 30 dolls. I think they can have three dolls or four dolls ... they don't need to have 250 pencils. They can have five."
May 4, 2025 at 4:13 PM
So to be clear, the guy with gold toilets thinks the problem these days is that kids want too many pencils. Got it.
Reposted by Jim Schneider
If you haven't checked out HOLDING IT TOGETHER, Women's Day is a great place to start.
It shows how billionaires and their cronies force us to DIY society, how a DIY model traps us in precarity, and how we manage that precarity by forcing women--especially the most vulnerable--to be our safety net.
It shows how billionaires and their cronies force us to DIY society, how a DIY model traps us in precarity, and how we manage that precarity by forcing women--especially the most vulnerable--to be our safety net.
March 8, 2025 at 3:11 PM
If you haven't checked out HOLDING IT TOGETHER, Women's Day is a great place to start.
It shows how billionaires and their cronies force us to DIY society, how a DIY model traps us in precarity, and how we manage that precarity by forcing women--especially the most vulnerable--to be our safety net.
It shows how billionaires and their cronies force us to DIY society, how a DIY model traps us in precarity, and how we manage that precarity by forcing women--especially the most vulnerable--to be our safety net.
I am excited to share a new episode of my podcast, "A Pessimist's Guide to Optimism," featuring Dr. Lisa Gardiner, a climate scientist, writer and educator 🌏 We dive into the world of coral reefs, climate change and resilience. Check it out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Audible!
tinyurl.com/msae86b6
tinyurl.com/msae86b6
February 28, 2025 at 9:18 PM
I am excited to share a new episode of my podcast, "A Pessimist's Guide to Optimism," featuring Dr. Lisa Gardiner, a climate scientist, writer and educator 🌏 We dive into the world of coral reefs, climate change and resilience. Check it out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Audible!
tinyurl.com/msae86b6
tinyurl.com/msae86b6