#eye gaze

[s0lidblack]

[big-boah]

🎉 October is AAC Awareness month! 🧑🏻‍💻

The point of this post is to remind everyone how important it is to be aware of AAC (Alternative Augmentative Communication), the ways people use them, how to interact with someone that uses them, and how to access one in case you or a loved one need it.

Luckily there's several apps out there. Coughdrop.com is my favorite for Android, it has eye gaze tech and I have a recent post about it. There are ones for iPad like Prologuo2go and free apps you can use on your phone/tablet/computer.

For interacting with those of us who use AAC, all we require is clear communication and patience. PATIENCE is huge. Absolutely changes my day when someone is patient with me, my disabilities are obvious and things are challenging all the time.

All we ask is that you give us, any disabled person, or any other human being, patience and time. I'm also comfortable with questions as long as someone is patient with me.

Someone can use AAC on their phone, a tablet, or s separate device. Some people use eye tracking technology to choose the words and symbols, some use touch screen or cursors or switches. Some people need assistance operating the device while they use it.

It's good to know that AAC devices/situations can look different, and have different software for different needs. So if someone is using that to communicate with you, just listen and give that person time.

A fact of life is that you can become disabled at any time. You could fall in the shower one day like I did (my support needs increased significantly after that. I hadn't considered AAC before the TBI, now I like using it along with typing and ASL.)

You could get injured, have issues recovering from an illness, deal with a mental health disorder, develop a language disorder, or have an aneurysm/stroke and lose your ability to communicate. No matter how healthy you are, these things just happen. Not to be morbid, but accessibility and understanding/awareness are so important because of this.

Communication affects everyone.

AAC tools allow people to communicate in a much more expressive, efficient, and convenient way. I hope this month inspires you guys look into it and learn more! My asks are always open, too.

(I think I'm gonna to use my AAC to post this on TikTok at some point in the near future 😁)

[my-autistic-things]

New Study Looking for Participants

Hello! My name is Max I am now collecting data for a new study looking at eye gaze cue perception in people with autism. As of today, April 25th 2021, anyone who is 18 years old or older can participate in this study. If you are not a legal adult (18+), your data cannot be used. This study will be open through May and into June, 2021. 

I am recruiting people with and without autism. If you choose to participate, you will be asked if you have autism as well as complete the AQ10 (a 10-item autism assessment). You are more than welcome to DM me, @my-autistic-things or email me, [email protected] if you have any questions or concerns.

This experiment is intended to be completed on a computer (laptop or desktop), as you need to respond with your keyboard. All data recordings will be completely anonymous and your IP address (or other computer-related identifying information) will not be collected.

If you are able, it would be wonderful if you could share/reblog this post to spread the word! You may also repost my flyer below on other social media platforms. 

Here is the direct clickable link to participate: https://www.labvanced.com/player.html?id=22762

[teacher-wangji]

I have a student who can only move her eyes, but my god, the amount of SASS this child can give me through eye gaze alone is just phenomenal. I’m really proud of this kid’s ability to backtalk. 

[littlepawz]

gaze of a woman ;)

[askanautistic]

i completely avoid looking at someones body if i dont knwo them well, in a similar way to avoiding contact. it ends up with me looking on the floor a lot, and accompanied with my awkward movements and lack of social skills, i know i loom suspicious. is this normal for auiostic people? it my instinct to look away and it makes me anxious to look at people. i cant find any way to fix it and i just feel a bit outcasted.

Yes it is, and it’s also common for allistic people with anxiety to avoid looking at people altogether.If you’d like to be able to look at people/not being able to is causing you embarrassment or distress or you think it’s negatively impacting on your ability to mix with other people, then you could talk to your doctor about therapy to help you find it easier to look at people (not necessarily to look them in the eye, even, but just to find some tricks to make it look like you’re looking at people, or to make you feel more comfortable looking at someone even if you don’t look at their face or eyes).You could also try medication for anxiety as that might help you feel less anxious when looking at people.It might also help a bit to have some idea of who you are with. If you know you are going to meet a new person, you might be able to find pictures of them online, for example, and at least being somewhat familiar with how they look might help alleviate some of the anxiety or discomfort you feel around them. You could ask someone you’re comfortable with to help you practise finding areas you can look at that mean you can avoid looking at someone whilst still looking towards them.I tend to avoid looking at people, but I apparently do also side-view people rather than looking at them directly. Maybe you could choose a fixed spot to help you to look at someone using your peripheral vision until you feel comfortable enough to look at them directly.It’s okay to feel uncomfortable around strangers, it’s okay to need some time to get used to someone. It’s okay for autistic people to avoid looking at people if that’s what comes naturally to us and is more comfortable. For many of us looking away helps us to concentrate on listening to someone or our own thoughts when trying to communicate, and that’s more important than nonsensical displays of ‘respect’ such as eye contact/looking at someone.If you are open about being autistic, explaining can sometimes help, or having a friend or family member explain, or just having someone help to include you in conversations (where other people might not think to include you or might view your behaviour to mean that you aren’t interested in interacting) and also to basically model how people should treat you if you find that people don’t know how to talk to you. If you do explain or if someone else does, it doesn’t have to be a big deal, just a casual, “I’m/They’re autistic.  I/they might not look at you until I/they feel more comfortable with you/get to know you, but I am/they are listening and I’m/they’re not being rude.” If you don’t want to tell someone you’re autistic you can still script some explanations such as, “I’m not being rude by the way, I just find it easier to listen/concentrate if I don’t look at people.”There are also plenty of ways you can be involved with other people without it being apparent that you’re not looking at them. Places like museums or zoos where you would understandably be looking at other things even if someone is talking to you, for example. Or doing activities that require concentration and looking at what you’re doing, or even something as simple as walking a dog (people understandably watch their dogs interact or watch what their dog is doing rather than focusing on the other people who are around).You could also think about whether you’d like to do something like learn sign language, as it does require looking at the other person/people, but I find that much easier when I’m watching people sign as your focus is on the signing (which is somehow very different to looking at someone who is just speaking). It might improve your confidence when engaging with other people if you find you are better able to focus on someone signing than looking at someone otherwise.

[nonspeakerlibrary]

Non-verbal teenager who wrote a book with his eyes says he's 'voice of the voiceless'

Jonathan Bryan, 19, is now a published author and is studying creative writing at the Bath Spa University. He said he has become a "voice of

[anautistic]

I would love eye gaze access for my computer. Trying to figure out if there are affordable DIY solutions using devices intended for gaming but it's confusing. I can't wait until the technology is even more affordable so medical grade or equivalent devices are easier to get for anybody who needs them even if their insurance won't cover it.