Also, @4transfutures.bsky.social is collecting stories of people who've been affected. Particularly families who were not actually contacted other than the mass mailing and families of kids who were cut off of progestins prescribed for ob/gyn reasons: please reach out!

Kid didn't even claim to have a specific disorder. "Anxiety" is just a human experience. When in the history of the planet has anyone claimed to experience it but actually was completely chill? That's not a thing. Anyway, now the kid has a diagnosis. I should probably give the school one too. 2/2

@alt-text.bsky.social

YES! There is a huge difference between "we are looking to reduce ableism" (which is inherent in all spaces) and "someone called us ableist are we ableist?"

Yep. A place my family is affiliated with gets these, coming from people who normally don't believe that gender/race/etc. play into interactions whatsoever, yet strangely require these things on their "anonymous" surveys. Our family is the only one among thousands with our particular intersections.

We hope this one does everyone justice: paperpile.com/shared/sJ6WH...

Resist blanket rules that certain types of illness or injury are required for absences or accommodations -- this can make folks feel super anxious when they feel they may end up unable to do something but won't be excused. Work with folks supportively to determine what they can and can't handle. 7/7

We can support folks by validating they do experience something distressing even if they can't determine what. "I feel off" is enough. Sometimes just knowing someone else is aware and checking in can help. 6/

It's really about finding a balance between when we need to reassure ourselves and try work through unclear discomfort and when we need to make peace with deciding we really can't deal even if we can't determine exactly what's wrong. 5/

This is of course not entirely reliable, as some neurodivergent folks have autonomic systems that are so off that they won't have the typical symptoms (my kid's OT said to remind people that kid is so low tone and hypermobile most injuries won't appear swollen on exam). 4/

For people who tend to panic and overrespond, it can be helpful to practice self-validation, that what I feel is valid and I have a brain that does this, while also reality-testing that a serious medical issue would generally involve a fever, swelling, and other signs besides "feeling wrong." 3/

Some strategies that help some people are doing a body scan to narrow down the area of the body and type of issue, using a list of things that might need fixing (Kelly Mahler has a good list of these) and taking a moment to really tune in and assess how strong the alarm bells are. 2/

I had no idea this was...such a thing.

Scrolled to make sure this was here!

🎵 Kol ha'olam kulo...tzfardeah gadola... 🎵

Remember that people may need to use electronic devices in order to read or write, and these usually aren't a dedicated device. "Put it all away and use analog everything" isn't inclusive, and it's not even typical for nondisabled folks in 2025. Teach mindful electronics use, not "put it away." 3/3