ICA 2027 Glasgow, 3-7 June CFP: Artificial Intelligence and Disabled Childhoods (Deadline 30 September 2026) Seeking Contributions for Proposed Panel for ICA Children, Adolescents, and Media Division; Organized by Chelsea Temple Jones (Brock U) and Meryl Alper (Northeastern U)

Fun to be quoted as an "elder Millennial" and talking about my past life as a Disney Channel employee post-college for this Boston Globe piece on local graduation speakers! www.bostonglobe.com/2026/04/14/m...

Conan O’Brien at Harvard is pretty on brand, but what does Hilary Duff signal about Northeastern? - The Boston Globe

Several celebrity speakers are coming to a campus near you.

bostonglobe.com

Looking forward to talking about my new project, "Technology and the Neurodivergent Family," @ucirvine.bsky.social and the Dept. of Informatics Speaker Series next Friday, April 17, 1-2 pm PST (in person and via Zoom) ics.uci.edu/event/techno...

Looking forward to talking about my new project, "Technology and the Neurodivergent Family," @ucirvine.bsky.social and the Dept. of Informatics Speaker Series next Friday, April 17, 1-2 pm PST (in person and via Zoom) ics.uci.edu/event/techno...

This is a truly bonkers AI overview from Google. No, "YouTube data" is not a measure of autism rates in children. The hyperlink leads to a NBC News story on YouTube, reporting on CDC data. This kind of convoluted AI interpretation renders the actual science of data collection invisible.

This interview with the BBC — on how AI is impacting body image among blind individuals — was one of the most interesting and engaging that I’ve ever done. www.bbc.com/future/artic...

'AI mirrors' are changing the way blind people see themselves

Artificial intelligence is helping blind people access visual feedback about their bodies, sometimes for the first time. The consequences are only just emerging.

bbc.com

This interview with the BBC — on how AI is impacting body image among blind individuals — was one of the most interesting and engaging that I’ve ever done. www.bbc.com/future/artic...

'AI mirrors' are changing the way blind people see themselves

Artificial intelligence is helping blind people access visual feedback about their bodies, sometimes for the first time. The consequences are only just emerging.

bbc.com

Does anyone know of research out there on immigrant use of ChatGPT to navigate culture/social norms and practical daily life in new country (maybe replacing some of the cultural brokering that children of immigrants sometimes do)? TIA!

Does anyone know of any support groups for Neurodivergent people with cancer undergoing treatment and/ or any support groups for carers? Please feel free to drop signposting below or direct message me, thank you.

I interviewed @angelafrederick.bsky.social about her book Disabled Power, which details the extreme challenges disabled people faced when part of the Texas power grid failed during Winter Storm Uri in 2021, at @motherjones.com. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

What a crumbling power grid means for disabled Americans

Angela Frederick's new book calls to put disability at the center of disaster planning.

motherjones.com

Bondi lifeguard/photographer Anthony Glick took this incredibly powerful photo of Bondi Beach shortly after 10/7. My heart is with the entire Jewish community of Australia. May the memories of the victims of this horrific antisemitic terror attack be for a blessing. www.instagram.com/p/DSPdI2tif6...

📣 RECRUITMENT FOR NEW STUDY! Are you a parent of a child ages 9-17 with a formal diagnosis of autism and/or ADHD, living in the U.S.? And do you also have a formal diagnosis of autism and/or ADHD, or strongly believe that you would qualify for one? (🧵 1/3)

📣 RECRUITMENT FOR NEW STUDY! Are you a parent of a child ages 9-17 with a formal diagnosis of autism and/or ADHD, living in the U.S.? And do you also have a formal diagnosis of autism and/or ADHD, or strongly believe that you would qualify for one? (🧵 1/3)

+/ For all the talk about peace, these algorithms are not promoting peace or mutual understand or a position of constructive dialogue - they’re promoting THEM VS US, which is an absolute disaster for peace activists Makes me realise how much true peace builders have the odds stacked against them

Today my @nytimes.com colleagues and I are launching a new series called Lost Science. We interview US scientists who can no longer discover something new about our world, thanks to this year‘s cuts. Here is my first interview with a scientist who studied bees and fires. Gift link: nyti.ms/3IWXbiE

I wonder if this person knows their mean email started a chain reaction that led to me writing a book

Rua M. Williams@fractalecho.bsky.social · 3y ago

This is not an email exchange I ever expected to have. (I'm the second one.)

Trump and RFK Jr. have scared the families of #ActuallyAutistic children so much that they are afraid of getting their children diagnosed. But that carries tons of risk and preventing autistic kids getting the services they need. www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...

I was diagnosed with autism before RFK Jr.’s claims ... and I’m grateful for that

The Independent’s Capitol Hill reporter Eric Garcia talks to families who fear getting their children screened for autism because of Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s fear-mongering

independent.co.uk

It's wild for disability to be such a mainstream topic in the news just week. I just hate that it's because of dehumanizing of autistic people.

“It’s really important not to over-romanticize interest-driven learning, because now, with those interests – anything you have an interest in algorithmically – there’s a profit-driven goal in cultivating them." - @merylalper.bsky.social ✨ New CLA Blog:

CLS2025 Keynote Speaker Meryl Alper On Why We Need Connected Learning Now More Than Ever - Connected Learning Alliance

“The value of CLS is that its foundation is so strong that a community can build itself upon it…The principles of connected learning, and all the research that’s gone into it, it’s so rock solid that…

connectedlearning.news

Especially when Apple has dodged responsibility for serving as “durable medical equipment” in the US (and for US insurance companies.)

Tama Leaver@tamaleaver.bsky.social · last yr.

Watching the promotional material for Apple's new AirPods, it's notable just how much #accessibility is being positioned as the terrain big tech wants to colonise, and in the long-run, personalise, locking users into their ecosystem.

Rosa Roisinblit, Who Championed the Missing in Argentina, Dies at 106. She helped create the activist group Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo, which sought to find relatives who had been killed or “disappeared” by the 1976-83 military dictatorship. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/10/o...

Rosa Roisinblit, Who Championed the Missing in Argentina, Dies at 106

nytimes.com

✨ We need #ConnectedLearning now more than ever. ✨ New CLA Blog features our #ConnectedLearning2025 Keynote Speaker @merylalper.bsky.social, Professor at Northeastern University and author of Kids Across the Spectrums: Growing up Autistic in a Digital Age. connectedlearning.news/cla090925

CLS2025 Keynote Speaker Meryl Alper On Why We Need Connected Learning Now More Than Ever - Connected Learning Alliance

“The value of CLS is that its foundation is so strong that a community can build itself upon it…The principles of connected learning, and all the research that’s gone into it, it’s so rock solid that ...

connectedlearning.news

🎉 #ConnectedLearning2025 𝗞𝗲𝘆𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗸𝘀 & 𝗣𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗣𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗔𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱! 🎉 🎙 𝗞𝗲𝘆𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀 • Meryl Alper (MIT/Online) (@merylalper.bsky.social) • Vanessa Angélica Villarreal (Stanford/Online) (@elnorterecuerda.bsky.social) • Danaé Metaxa (UC Irvine/Online)

A Common Sense Media study found that prominent teacher assistants that use AI generated recommendations that appeared to be rooted in racial stereotypes based on students’ names. About a third of teachers report using AI weekly, according to a recent survey.

Annie and Lakeesha struggle in school. AI teacher assistants treated them very differently.

A Common Sense Media study found that prominent teacher assistants that use AI generated recommendations that appeared to be rooted in racial stereotypes based on students’ names. About a third of teachers report using AI weekly, according to a recent survey.

bit.ly

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting existed for Viewers Like You. I am so proud of the work that I’ve done to support the youngest of those viewers, and still in disbelief over the dismantling of CPB when America’s children need it the most.

Kai Ryssdal@kairyssdal.bsky.social · last yr.

"WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 1, 2025) – The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) announced today that it will begin an orderly wind-down of its operations" cpb.org/pressroom/Co...

Roblox is becoming more like Discord and leveraging the kind of "age recognition" technology that's likely to be all over the internet soon. The latest details on the new safety features that Roblox is pitching: www.crossplay.news/p/new-roblox...

Everything to Know About Roblox's New Safety Features (Especially If You Have a Teen!)

Roblox is becoming more like Discord and leveraging the kind of "age recognition" technology that's likely to be all over the internet soon.

crossplay.news

📣 NEW ARTICLE ALERT 📣: Proud to share our open access article in New Media & Society, titled “‘Actually an ED and not just a quirky aspect of autism’: TikTok as a forum and mediator of autistic food issues and eating disorders.” journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Researchers from Cornell, Columbia, UC Berkeley, and the New York State Psychiatric Institute found children with highly addictive use of phones, video games or social media were two to three times as likely to have thoughts of suicide or to harm themselves. Read more below. #icsfeed

Real Risk to Youth Mental Health Is ‘Addictive Use,’ Not Screen Time Alone, Study Finds

nytimes.com

Some parents are getting old-school phones for their kids—and discovering surprising benefits. Rheana Murray reports on the landline pod:

The Dumbest Phone Is Parenting Genius

Landlines encourage connection—without the downsides of smartphones.

bit.ly