Other Minds (Blogroll)

Resources with an * next to them are in the "if you can only read [x] number, make it this one!"  But please don't limit yourself to these.

This is a long, idiosyncratic, and incomplete list. These are people whose writing style I enjoy, and often whom I like personally.  But there are other wonderful bloggers I don't have the space to include.

Doing Good Science (and Statistics)
  1. Doing Good Science
  2. Female Science Professor
  3. Retraction Watch
  4. Simply Statistics
  5. Sometimes I'm Wrong
  6. Ten Hundred Words of Science
Psychology and Neuroscience Research
Autism and Atypical Development Research

Autism
This is a mix of blogs by autistic people and blogs by parents of autistic children, because some authors are both.
  • A Life Less Ordinary? by Emily Willingham, autistic science writer and mother of an autistic son
  • A Little Bit Autistic? by Laura, mother of Brad, who is diagnosed with PDD-NOS.
  • A Quiet Week in the House by Lori, an autistic mom of autistic children--lots of beautiful collages
  • Andrea's Buzzing About by an autistic "insect psychologist"
  • ASAN Washington chapter's blog 
  • Ask an Aspergirl by Stella S. (pseudonym), an autistic educational psychology PhD student and member of #neurodiverseSTEM
  • *Asperger's Diary by Lynne Soraya at Psychology Today
  • Aspie Writer by Jeannie Davide-Rivera, author of Twirling Naked in the Streets and No One Noticed: Growing Up with Undiagnosed Autism
  • Autism and Oughtisms by a New Zealand mother of a child with classic autism
  • Autistic Future: A Future of Our Own by R. Larkin Taylor-Parker, a "third year law student, disability rights advocate, internet and social media consultant."
  • *Autistics Speaking Day is a group blog for Autistics Speaking Day, November 2. New posts appear yearly.
  • Autism or Something Like It, by Mama Dulock
  • Autist's Corner by Lindsay, an autistic K.U. graduate
  • Autobiography of an Autistic Academic by an anonymous autistic academic
  • *Ballastexistenz, by Mel Baggs, is a blog not only about autism but about chronic illnesses, ethics, and life.
  • Diary of a Mom, by Jess, mother of an autistic little girl named Brooke
  • *Emma's Hope Book by Emma, a young lady who communicates through writing, and her mother Arianne Zurcher 
  • Faith, Hope, and Love...with Autism by Philip Reyes and his mother. "This is the story of a boy who could not talk, but learned to make his thoughts known by spelling on a letterboard. This is his path from silence to communication."
  • Flappiness Is... by Leigh Merryday, mother of an autistic little boy
  • *Ido in Autismland by Ido Kedar, an autistic young man who does not speak and communicates in writing; author of Ido in Autismland: Climbing out of Autism's Silent Prison.
  • *Illusion of Competence by Zoe, an autistic AAPD intern; uneven functioning is a major theme
  • I'm Somewhere Else by Amanda Forest Vivian, an autistic woman who writes "about being disabled, working for disabled people, and the stuff society thinks it is normal to do to us and say about us."
  • Intellectualizing by the parent of a very intellectual, systematic autistic son.
  • Invisible Strings by M. Kelter, who "was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome at the age of 30. He now writes about life on the Autism Spectrum, focusing on: childhood and adolescent experiences with mindblindess, depression and what it was like teaching himself to use body language."
  • Ischemgeek by an autistic person in academia (who also posts a lot about asthma)
  • It's Bridget's Word, by a "middle-aged not so newlywed autistic vegan. Coming up on thirty years of perpetual parenting. Homeschooling cookie goddess."
  • JRC Abuse by Jennifer Msumba chronicles the author's time in the Judge Rotenberg Center.
  • Just Stimming by Julia Bascom, author of Quiet Hands. Sort of like prose, sort of like poetry.
  • Kaz Brooks Blog by Kaz Brooks, parent of an autistic son.
  • K-Pagination, by Kit Mead, autistic college student, writer, reader, historian, advocate, activist, and ASAN Atlanta chapter leader.
  • LBRB by Matt Carey, parent, skeptic, and opponent of autism quackery and pseudoscience.
  • Living with Autism: A Blog for Dylan by Elizabeth Barrett, mother of Dylan, an autistic young man
  • Look Me in the Eye by John Elder Robison, author of Look Me in the Eye and several other books
  • Love Explosions by Beth Ryan, mother of E. and M.
  • Mama Be Good by Brenda Rothman, mother of an autistic little boy named Jack
  • Michael Forbes Wilcox by Michael Forbes Wilcox, an "activist Aspergian"
  • Mom-NOS by the mother of a teenage boy named Bud. Don't miss her posts on echolalia and explaining autism to elementary school-aged kids.
  • Musings of an Aspie by Cynthia Kim, a "a woman, wife and mother with Asperger's Syndrome"
  • Neurowonderful by Amethyst Schaber, an "artist, writer, public speaker, advocate, and activist" who blogs about autism and disability, and has a Youtube series called "Ask an Autistic."
  • Notes on Crazy by Nattily, "a 20-something grad student blogging about my experiences with bipolar disorder, EDNOS, and adult-diagnosed autism. And sometimes television."
  • *Quiet Hands by Julia Bascom--this is just one post, but one everyone should read.
  • Raising Asperger's Kids by Elise Ronan, an outspoken mother of two autistic young adults, one in college and one in grad school.
  • Raising Rebel Souls by Heather Clark, mother of autistic twins
  • *Real Social Skills, by Ruti Regan, has the most accessible explanations you can find on what disability means, how to live well with disabilities, and how to treat disabled people respectfully.
  • Sleep, Wake, Hope, and Then by Alana, an autistic graduate student
  • Snakedancing by an Aspie bellydancer and life coach. Interesting posts on executive function and hyperfocus.
  • Spectrum Perspectives, a composite blog with links to many others
  • Square 8 by Bev Harp. Don't miss her "Square Talk" cartoon
  • The Aspie Side of Life by Neo, self-diagnosed mother of "Sheldon, who is 15 and is diagnosed with Asperger's, ADHD, Anxiety, and Depression." 
  • The Cat's Aunt by Louise, an autistic woman
  • *The Thinking Person's Guide to Autism by a diverse group of autistic people, parents, and professionals that offers information and advice to parents.  Pro-science and pro-vaccinations.
  • *The Third Glance by E., an autistic PhD student who invites you to "take a third glance, because everyone deserves to be seen."
  • Theories of Minds by my #neurodiverseSTEM co-mod (@theoriesofminds on Twitter)
  • This is Autism flash blog by many autistic people and parents highlights the diversity of the spectrum
  • *Tiny Grace Notes by Ibby Grace, one of the sweetest people I have ever met, an autistic professor and mother of two adorable babies, and founder of Neuroqueer.
  • *Unstrange Mind by Sparrow, an autistic writer and author of No You Don't: Essays from an Unstrange Mind.
  • *We are Like Your Child is a group blog by disabled (mostly autistic) people who can talk about the experiences and behavior they shared (or still share) with kids who might not be able to communicate about them yet.
  • WeirdLaw by Twitchy Woman, "an attorney with an interest in disability and civil rights law. I've always been visibly 'weird' and, over the past two decades, I've collected a variety of different diagnoses, including Tic Disorder, OCD, ADHD, and most recently, Asperger's."
  • Wrong Planet is a community for autistic children and adults, with a subforum for parents.  It contains a little drama and a lot of interesting discussions.
  • Yes, That Too, by Alyssa, an Autistic math, engineering, and Chinese major, who has posts in both English and Chinese.

Other Disabilities, and Disability in General
  • Adapting Creatively is a guide to assistive technology and good teaching for children with disabilities.
  • All Kinds of Minds by Mel Levine. Not science, but good advice delivered with respect.
  • Disability: A Dialogue with Parkinson's and Other Diseases is a poetically-written meditation on disability in general, disability writing, and Parkinson's in particular.
  • *Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh is full of funny, poignant slices of life with ADHD and depression, told in expressive cartoons
  • Journey Through the Cortex by a woman who learned in middle age that she had a learning disability plus a plethora of vision, hearing, balance, and motor skill problems. Thus began "my wild ride through my tangled neurons...a journey through neuroscience, cognition, art, music, and life." 
  • Lessons More Special than Needs by Mardra Sikora, mother of Marcus, a young man with Down Syndrome who aspires to put on his own Broadway musical
  • NLDLine, an organization for people with Nonverbal Learning Disability
  • PhDisabled, a much-needed community for academics with a variety of disabilities, including chronic health conditions, mental illnesses, and physical disabilities, developmental disabilities.
  • Praactical AAC by Carole Zangari is a useful resource on AAC (augmentative and alternative communication) for people with disabilities that impair speech.
  • Sensory Processing Disorder Foundation
  • *Spoon Theory and Invisible Disabilities by Christine Miserando
  • *The Orchid Hypothesis is a provocative theory based on gene-environment interaction research. It argues that a minority of people are born unusually responsive to their environments. In bad environments, they become difficult children, even criminal adults. In good environments, they are happier and more successful than their less-sensitive peers.
  • Uncommon Sense, by Dana Nieder, the parent of Maya, a non-speaking child who uses technology to communicate. An amazing resource for anyone who loves or works with non-speaking people. Everything you ever wanted to know about AAC (augmentative and alternative communication) but were afraid to ask.

Gifted & Twice Exceptional
Read at your own risk, as this list contains the same anecdotes-being-bandied-as-if-they-were-science approach found everywhere in the gifted and twice exceptional communities. However, in my opinion, the quality is better. If in doubt, ask a gifted or twice exceptional person. (As most of the "experts" are just relying on anecdotes themselves, gifted and twice exceptional people are actually much more reliable).

Thoughtful Parenting and Teaching

  • Building Wing Span by "a stay at home mom to FIVE beautiful and crazy children, a wife to a great guy, an adjunct professor of communication, and a homeschooler. Education is something I've developed a passion for and I'm happy to share what I've learned and created."
  • Child in Mind by Claudia M. Gold. "Through stories from my behavioral pediatrics practice...I will show how contemporary research in child development can be applied to support parents in their efforts to facilitate their children's healthy emotional development."
  • Education Outrage by Roger Schank, researcher in cognitive psychology and artificial intelligence turned education gadfly. "There are only two things wrong with the education system: 1. What we teach. 2. How we teach it."
  • Homegrown Minds by a homeschooling parent.
  • *How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School, a report commissioned by the U.S. government, summarizes the state of the art in psychology, neuroscience, and education research on teaching and learning. Over a decade old, it's still a classic.
  • Mama Be Good by Brenda Rothman (described earlier, in the autism section).
  • Nurtured by Love, by a parent of four children on "our unschooling, Suzuki music-playing, eccentric, back-to-nature tech-nerd life." 
  • Professor Mother Blog by Megan Wright, a professor, parent, and teacher.
  • Teaching Learners with Multiple Special Needs: "resources and ideas for teachers of learners with severe, profound, intensive, significant, complex, or multiple special needs." Author takes a basically respectful approach, which is rare among people who work with this population.
  • The Thinking Mother by Christine MM, homeschooling mother of two sons, aged 17 and 14.
  • Mind, Brain, and Learning: Teaching with Donna Wilson


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  1. devanshJanuary 17, 2020 at 11:17 AM

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