A Key Concept for Neurodiversity: Niche Construction When I suggest that neurodiverse individuals, such as those with autism or ADHD, might have been labeled gifted in other times and in other cultures, the quick retort is: “Well, we don’t live in other times or cultures. People have to adapt to the culture they’re in right now.” So what does the person who is a round peg have to do to fit into a square hole? Answer: Shave off enough of its wood to fit, uncomfortably, usually, into the square hole. That’s one solution. The other solution is to round off some of the square hole so that the round peg can stay a round peg and still fit in. That’s niche construction. In other words, I’m saying that people with neurodiverse brains can create special niches for themselves where they can be their unique selves. An example would be a person with ADHD in a job that requires novelty, thrills, and creativity. Instead of suffering in a 9 to 5 desk job (an example of poor niche construction), they create a career for themselves that allows them to be who they are. Another example: a person on the autistic spectrum who has keen mathematical skill working as a computer programmer in Silicon Valley, instead of wasting away in a group home somewhere. Niche construction is what animals have done for eons: the bird building a nest, the beaver building a dam. They’re modifying the environment to suit their unique needs. We need to make niche construction a key tool in improving the lives of individuals with autism, learning disabilities, ADHD, mood disorders, schizophrenia, and other neurological conditions. Yes, there will always be the need to adapt to the way the world is, and there are medications, behavior modification programs, and other adaptational programs that can help accomplish this. But let’s not lose sight of the fact that we can also help neurodiverse individuals be who they are and still fit in.
(Via Neurodiversity – The Book)
Temple Grandin spoke brilliantly on that theme at TED. Check this out:
neo bohemia – bicycle Two bicycle sticker designs that I have been working on. Clear stickers with the kanji in either black or white with my red stamp. Thought that they should be presented today.
And here is what the sticker looks like on a biycle:
I get up a little before 4AM and start to get ready. While I shower this comes into my mind:
Whatever you want, this world has it.
If it is greed and ignorance you are looking for, we got that.
Selfishness and inflated egos, yes, got that.
Hatred and violence, yes, plenty.
but also…
Poetry and wonder, yes.
Love and care and gentleness, yes.
Beauty, creativity and awe, yes.
Disliking greed and ignorance does not make it go away. Instead we notice more of it.
Hating violence and hatred doesn’t make them go away. It amplifies them and we see hate and violence everywhere.
Sure, we may know this. But, it slips my mind all the time.
Go to the Under the Rose webpage.
Click on Download this album in lossless FLAC format. Click on Click here to download a PDF you can print out for making your own CD jewel box insert.
If you don’t have FLAC software, go to this webpage and download some.
Burn an audio CD.
Print the jewel box insert.
Tie a ribbon around it.
It appears that SoundCloud has changed their rules overnight and disabled downloading of the tracks from Under the Rose. We are looking into an alternative – and I would also like to offer a lossless download option.
PS: I uploaded to zipped folders. One contains the ten songs in 16/44.1 FLAC format, and the other contains the songs in 320kbps mp3 format. The links will be added to the webpage soon.
TOUR REPORT
Tour Report #1
report: october 13th, 1996
Jacksonville, Florida: the Florida Theater is our first headlining show since Greece…luckily we get a long soundcheck and can rehearse all the pieces we haven’t played in all the weeks with Santana…tonight i get to use the Midi guitar again…Jon and i go for lunch to the nearby Riverside Mall and end up searching for a relatively quiet corner where we don’t have to hear the loud music that fills the mall, courtesy of a country music radio station and a P.A. system set up on a stage…
20 Icons of Echoes: John’s Picks « The Echoes Blog 18 OTTMAR LIEBERT
He created a sound that never existed before, Nouveau Flamenco and instead of riding that to infinity, he’s stretched and expanded it in a uniquely understated style for the entire existence of Echoes. Essential Album: The Hours Between Night & Day.
TOUR REPORT
Sound check at 2pm. Show at 8:30pm. Le Spectrum is a Club, not a theater, and the management has left space in front of the stage for dancing. Within the span of 4 songs people start dancing. The atmosphere is fantastic and I can see that the whole band is getting caught up in the great mood of the moment. The second set is happy, and exuberant, and the band gets as much joy from watching the smiling, dancing, standing, clapping audience, as they are getting from our music. A performance is a closed feedback loop. Undoubtably one of the highlights of the tour.
The webpage http://ottmarliebert.com/rose is live now. You can download the music for free, but the musicians involved in the making of this recording invite you to make a tax deductible contribution to Direct Aid Iraq. Read more at the webpage: http://ottmarliebert.com/rose
I hope you will help me spread the word about the album! It is very easy to embed the music on your blog or website, using the SoundCloud widget. Just go to our http://www.ottmarliebert.com/rose/ webpage and click on the embed symbol. It looks like this – I encircled it in red in this screenshot:
A few songs a day keep the doctor away | Health Tech – CNET News According to research out of the University of Belgrade at Serbia, listening to music every day might also be good for the heart. Predrag Mitrovic just presented his study of 740 patients to the European Society of Cardiology 2009 Congress, demonstrating that 12 minutes of music a day reduces blood pressure, heart rate, patient anxiety, as well as the likelihood of reinfarction and sudden death in acute coronary syndrome patients.
Let me get this straight. People should listen to music for their health. But, there is no money for music education in school. That is seriously wrong. (Thanks for the link Carol)
