justin_kempton

Nailed it!

I also have a Framework 13! About a year ago or more I put out a request to get an ARM based processor. My reasons being the battery life on x86 are so weak, it almost defeats the mobility aspect of a laptop. I was using linux, and spent far too much time tweaking settings to get the longest battery life possible. When I compared this to a MBPro with the M1, which I use for work, it became nearly impossible to get my mind off of it.

Arm processors are way better with battery. There are these new Snapdragon X Elite Laptops, which verify the better battery life. I think to be competitive with Apple, the battery life must improve.

Also, the speakers are weak, likely due to none glued construction. I can live with that. Love how easy it is to swap stuff out. Screen is awesome, would love OLED if possible. Also, the bigger size 16, would better fit my needs.

Currently that computer is sitting on a shelf. Very cool technology. Love Framework!

Beautiful!

We were forced to homeschool our child due to Pandemic, and later, from desire for him to actually learn. It was eye opening! Schools are chaotic, and one of the biggest take aways for the child is conformity. In fact, I believe the entire institution of age based grades started in the militaristic state of Prussia. From the point of view of a state that needs soldiers, having standards and consistency is important. Individualism, and creativity are not very useful in a marching formation. And questioning authority, is equally frowned upon.

Oh, I understand! Yes! I actually have some of these tendencies myself, while my son has much more. My brain is naturally attracted to details, especially the intricate interlocking kind. That being said, I am not entirely certain that all autistic people are the same in this fundamental way. At least, I am not aware of it, I am still learning.

How do you feel about the analogy of Hardware / software. Like the hardware is the same, but the software is written different. Good talking with you. Would love to know more. Any types are welcome!

Not all autistic kids have food intolerance. But food intolerance is such a common thing in kids on the spectrum that it's part of the evaluation. Autism is a loose definition! My wife and I have had this discussion many times, with therapists, teachers, etc. If you look into it, being diagnosed with ASD, means that you answered yes to enough questions on a long list. That's basically it.

The fact that the definition is so broad leads you to conclude they don't know why it is, or how to change it, or even cause it. Even the definitions of ASD, and or Aspergers has changed. Many who would not have qualified for the diagnosis 30 years ago would qualify now. Money is involved, at the schools, and the schools are the ones doing the testing. But, there is a real need for it. These kids are smart, but the environment is blocking them from learning or expressing.

What is needed is some kind of scientific, measurable, and conclusive understanding of the condition. Until then we are all just grasping in the dark, without even a brain scan.

I think we are the early days of Neuroscience.

I respect your journey! My son, 8, is not able to cope in school, but is able to read, write, dream, solve math problems, and be extremely friendly to people. Due to the pandemic, we took him out of kindergarten, and homeschooled him, like many. Online classes were a joke for that age, but one on one with Mom worked great.

We wanted him to be in school with his peers, desperately. The steps involved in getting him re-enrolled were numerous, and exhausting. Once 2nd grade started, the reality quickly became obvious to us. He learns far more at home than in the 'structure' of school. He could be placed in a more severe structure, but we opted to bring him back home to teach him. My thinking is that by developing an ability to read, write, and think, he will have the tools to better cope with the world. Of course, it is a gamble, and social skills are not easy. But anyone who thinks, send him to school to develop social skills is not really looking at the details.

As for Autism being an adaptation, I think that is true, like many adaptations. His math skills, and memory are genius level. He seems highly adapted to computers, ipads, and abstract thinking, like numbers, spelling, birthdays, etc. He would make an excellent QA engineer.

Again, respects to you on your journey through this.

As a parent of Autistic child, I would argue it is a correlation. It only takes a few incidents of your child running off without interest in returning by your calling to him, to make you a helicopter parent. It's also true that since your child has no interest in playing with other kids, and you are trying to teach survival and social skills, you end up spending far more time with your child than the typically developing kid.

And it is further true that in social situations the anxiety level of the autistic child increases, as does the parent, and so people viewing the situation might be biased to see a highly anxious parent with a spoiled kid, and assume the causation.

My kid loves playing in dirt, he also loves to track it into the house, no-matter how many times you tell him. We live with dirt, and autism. My kid is also a genius, so there are good things about it also.

From my understanding, the 'wiring' of an Autistic person's brain is pretty much the same as that of the neurotypical person. Of course, it should be noted that Autism is not one thing, but a constellation of possible ways of thinking. For example, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, a trait common in Autistic people, but also a percentage of neurotypicals is not how the brain is wired, but a more complex mechanism that has not fully been understood.

What I am trying to say is the analogy of wiring is wrong. Our brains are not static, like the wiring in the walls of a house. New connections are formed all of the time, old connections are forgotten. Perhaps we should be more inspired by mycelium connections then wires. Research might open up new ways of thinking, for Autistics and Neurotypicals alike. Imagine, thinking like a child.

One of the issues with Autism is a total refusal to eat certain healthy foods. The argument for a pill, or better, gut flora transplant, would be for people unable to make informed decisions for themselves. Once the flora were in place, theoretically, repulsion of healthy food would be reduced, allowing the child to feed his gut naturally, and hopefully improve mental health over time. This would be the holy grail, I hope more research is done in this area.

Exactly what I was thinking. In my own sons case, 8, his food preferences are extremely limited. We've pushed to expand this, even slipping many things undetected into his oatmeal. I've even wondered, were it possible to do a gut flora transplant, easily, what would be the result. Since early intervention is the name of the game, if the root cause were as trivial as the biome of your gut, every parent in the world would be signing up.

Sadly, these results do not seem game changing. Keep going!