Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

Healthcare providers used the tablet-based application developed by the Autism Center of Excellence at Duke University to screen toddlers ages 17 months to three years old during well-child visits. After identifying toddlers who are candidates for further examination for autism spectrum disorder, they can be connected with appropriate resources, WHY IT MATTERS The app, called…

Judges as gate keepers Reminiscent of the Zantac cases, where the federal judge rejected all the plaintiffs’ experts’ testimony, the federal judge in Daniels-Feasel v. Forest Pharm excluded the plaintiffs’ experts from testifying. While not as scientifically sophisticated as the Zantac opinion, the Daniels-Feasel case rested on the same legal standards set forth in the Daubert case and Rule 702 of the Federal Rules of…

Published on October 3, 2023 It’s the end of the day, and you’re exhausted. You’re ready for bed but your little one with autism can’t seem to wind down and fall asleep. And once he’s asleep it’s common for him to wake up throughout the night.  It’s become a pattern, and your sleep-deprived child is…

“Ow! Joey’s hitting me!” That phrase has been said far too often in my home. My son is considered “profound” on the autism spectrum and needs a lot of redirection. So, what do you do when your child is aggressive and hitting? Many autism advocates suggest using a social story for hitting. In simple terms,…

“Drinking diet soda during pregnancy linked to autism,” the New York Post and other media outlets similarly declared last month, after the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio put out a press release that touted new findings by some of its researchers. According to the study, boys whose mothers reported drinking diet…

I never wanted you, yet here you are. Over the years we’ve grown to have a love-hate-love relationship. You’re always at the forefront of our lives. You and all your comorbidity friends; ADHD, anxiety, ticks, eating struggles, language delays, epilepsy and intellectual disability. Just to name a few. So many days I just want to…

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that health care entities provide full and equal access for people with disabilities. Physicians must diagnose and treat such individuals, even though they receive little or no training in medical school. It’s tricky when the patient cannot convey where it hurts or describe their pain and may refuse…

LOS ANGELES — The orchestra tuned as the last musicians ambled into Schoenfeld Hall at the University of Southern California. On a muggy Sunday afternoon in September, they were rehearsing a new symphony, “Unforgettable Sunrise,” by an unknown local composer. Conductor Daniel Newman-Lessler snapped them all to attention: Today they’d run through the symphony’s second…

I have talked about autism classroom design a lot on this blog and this podcast. And that’s because I truly believe that getting the classroom setup well makes a world of difference throughout the year with student engagement and behavior. The troubleshooting part of autism classroom design is one of the most important, because, trust…

The orchestra tuned as the last musicians ambled into Schoenfeld Hall at USC. On a muggy Sunday afternoon in September, they were rehearsing a new symphony, “Unforgettable Sunrise,” by an unknown local composer. Conductor Daniel Newman-Lessler snapped them all to attention: Today they’d run through the symphony’s second movement, “Page Turner.” “This is more like…