Unmasking Autism

“Unmasking Autism” was a presentation and demonstration featuring Tessa Watkins at Rep. Dan Miller’s 9^th annual Disability & Mental Health Summit. This talk was given in person on May 26, 2022 at the Beth El Congregation of the South Hills.

They also wore a pretty rad shirt that said, “Hello, I’m probably anxious.” It was commissioned specifically for this event and future ones to come. If you’re interested in getting one, you can order it from Jasara Peskie’s Etsy shop (also @JazzyGoesBerserk on Instagram and the VIP Facebook group Jazzy Goes Berserk).

Sources

Below are the sources, references, and media credits that were used and/or discussed in the presentation.

• Autism Resources
• Autism & Age of Diagnosis Survey
• Autism & Age of Diagnosis Survey Results

References

• Lucina Q. Uddin, “The self in autism: An emerging view from neuroimaging” (Jun 17, 2011). Neurocase. National Library of Medicine.
• Amanda Brignell, Karen V. Chesnausky, Huan Song, Jianwei Zhu, Chen Suo, and Angela T. Morgan, “Communication interventions for autism spectrum disorder in minimally verbal children” (Nov. 5, 2018). Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.
• “Intellectual Disability and ASD” (Jun 15, 2020). The Center for Autism Research and The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
• National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, “Key Findings: CDC Releases First Estimates of the Number of Adults Living with Autism Spectrum Disorder in the United States” (Apr 7, 2022). U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• Maenner MJ, Shaw KA, Bakian AV, et al., “Prevalence and Characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorder Among Children Aged 8 Years — Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, 11 Sites, United States, 2018” (Dec. 3, 2021). U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• Claire Delano, “What is the ICD Code for Autism?” (Jul. 1, 2021). Autism Parenting Magazine.
• Child Welfare Information Gateway, “What is child abuse and neglect? Recognizing the signs and symptoms” (2019). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children’s Bureau.
• Dr. Glen Getz, “Clinical vs Legal Evaluations” (Mar. 1, 2019). Neuropsychology Speciality Care LLC.
• Luisa Carmen Spezzano and Márcia Radanovic, “Naming abilities: Differentiation between objects and verbs in aphasia” (2010). Dementia & Neuropsychologia. National Library of Medicine.
• “Naming Cognitive Ability” (Jan. 3, 2017). CogniFit Inc.
• Kendra Cherry, “Types of Nonverbal Communication” (Jul. 28, 2021). Verywell Mind.
• “Down Syndrome and Abortion: The Facts” Life Institute.

Autism, Schizophrenia, and Schizoid Personality Disorder

• Yael Dvir, MD, and Jean A. Frazier, MD, “Autism and Schizophrenia” (Mar. 16, 2011). Psychiatric Times.
• Kristeen Cherney, “Are Autism and Schizophrenia Related?” (Mar. 7, 2022). Healthline.
• “Schizoid personality disorder” (Aug. 17, 2017) Mayo Clinic.

History of Autism

• Dr. Ananya Mandal, MD, “Autism History” (Feb. 26, 2019). News-Medical. AZoNetwork.
• “Bruno Bettelheim” (Mar. 9, 2022). Encyclopedia Britannica.
• Sean Cohmer, “Early Infantile Autism and the Refrigerator Mother Theory (1943-1970)” (Aug. 19, 2014). The Embryo Project Encyclopedia.
• Jennifer LeGare, N.P., “Link between autism and vaccination debunked” (Mar. 24, 2022). Mayo Clinic.

Asperger’s Syndrome

• J.B. Barahona-Correa and Carlos N. Filipe, “A Concise History of Asperger Syndrome: The Short Reign of a Troublesome Diagnosis” (Jan. 26, 2016). Frontiers in Psychology. National Library of Medicine.
• Adam McCrimmon, “What happened to Asperger’s syndrome?” (Mar. 8, 2018). The Conversation US, Inc.
• W. R. Cummings, “Why I Went From Loving ABA Practices to Hating Them” (Jul. 1, 2019). Psych Central.

Life Expectancy and Suicide

• Ashley Welch, “Rate of Suicide 3 Times Higher for Autistic People” (Jan. 19, 2021). Healthline.
• Rajiv Bahl, “Autism May Be Revealed During Fetal Brain Scans” (Apr. 5, 2022). Healthline.
• David Mills, “Why People with Autism Die at a Much Younger Age” (Apr. 1, 2016). Healthline.
• Arianne Garcia, “Yeah I’ve Thought About It: Autism and Suicide” (Jun. 4, 2017).

Media Credits

• Slide 3, photo of a mother with Down syndrome and her daughter, “Advice and Facts for Mothers and Expecting Mothers with Intellectual Disabilities” National Research Center for Parents with Disabilities. The Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University.
• Slide 3, photo of a child with Cerebral Palsy published by My Cerebral Palsy Child.
• Slide 3, photo of Dresden using AAC device published by Variety Pittsburgh (Jun. 16, 2020).
• Slide 4, green summer background photo by Dmytro Tolokonov on Unsplash.
• Slide 5, Maggie Riverstone, “The Mask” (Mar. 6, 2022). Part 1 on TikTok (Feb. 10, 2022). Part 2 on TikTok (Feb. 12, 2022).
• Slide 6, notebook background photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash.
• Slides 8 and 13, image of brain by Antonio Gravante on scopio.
• Slide 11, hands holding brain background image by Antonio Gravanate on scopio.
• Slide 12, photo of hands counting money by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash.
• Slide 12, photo of Port Authority bus in sinkhole taken in Pittsburgh on Oct. 28, 2019, by Darrell Sapp, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP.
• Slide 12, photo of smartwatch on the wrist by Luke Chesser on Unsplash.