Reverse Fraud on Facebook Marketplace

Selling items on Facebook Marketplace? Watch out for this scam

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Montreal sellers on Facebook Marketplace say they’re facing a new type of scam. Deceptive buyers are trying to gain access to sellers’ banking information by sending a fake e-transfer link. 

Video link: https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/9.6833746

FASD Language Guides and New Autism-Related Studies - Roundup for July 16, 2025

(USA) FASD anti-stigma and preferred language guide free pdf download.

CANFASD language guide. 2024 version.

New study: Massively parallel reporter assay investigates shared genetic variants of eight psychiatric disorders.

"The World Health Organization estimates that 1 in 8 people (970 million) suffer from a psychiatric disorder of some kind.1 Because of the high comorbidity between different psychiatric disorders, common genetic etiology has been suggested.2 A study comparing genetic correlations across 25 different brain disorders suggested shared genetic risk factors (pleiotropy) across psychiatric disorders.3

To investigate this further, the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC)4 conducted a meta-genome-wide association study (GWAS) of eight psychiatric disorders, including autism spectrum disorder (AUT), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADD), schizophrenia (SCZ), bipolar disorder (BIP), major depressive disorder (MDD), Tourette syndrome (TS), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and anorexia nervosa (ANO), to identify pleiotropic genetic variants.5 Among the 136 genome-wide significant (GWS) loci (hereafter referred to as “cross-disorder loci”), 109 loci were associated with more than one disorder, underscoring widespread pleiotropy in psychiatric genetics. Pleiotropy may account for the extensive phenotypic comorbidity observed across different psychiatric disorders."

2018 Study: Social Support, Well-being, and Quality of Life Among Individuals on the Autism Spectrum 

"...effective social support and subjective well-being mediate whether autistic people achieve a high quality of life."

New Study: Major autism study uncovers biologically distinct subtypes, paving the way for precision diagnosis and care

"Researchers at Princeton University and the Simons Foundation have identified four clinically and biologically distinct subtypes of autism, marking a transformative step in understanding the condition’s genetic underpinnings and potential for personalized care."

A German Experiment Placed (Disabled) Foster Children with Pedophiles

Since we cannot share news articles on Facebook here in Canada, I can use my blog space as a portal to share links to articles that I think should be shared. 

There's a NewYorker article with a similar title, however I can't access it, so sharing what I have found on my own: 

DW News
https://www.dw.com/en/berlin-authorities-placed-children-with-pedophiles-for-30-years/a-53814208

Not only were the boys wards of the state, they were deemed "moronic" and "underdeveloped." 

Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helmut_Kentler

What does it mean to Parent Like an Autistic?

 I wrote the book and titled it, How to Parent Like an Autistic, but what does that mean? And why would anyone want to?

I wrote it simply with the premise that autistic people know what is best for us the vast majority of the time, if not all the time.  

With so many forums like, "Ask an Autistic" we know neurotypical (NT) parents want to understand what is going on in their child's minds. It's best to ask people with firsthand experience, aka Autistic Adults. Autistic adults know what works best for us and what worked best for us as children. We also remember what harmed us. 

This is my biggest piece of advocacy to date because not only is it empowering NT parents by giving them insights into the autistic mind and what to do, but by extension, will hopefully bring greater understanding to child development and lead to happier, better adjusted autistic adults. I want to see the next generation of autistic people with improved mental health, not suffering from PTSD, and not committing suicide at such high rates. We deserve better. I hope this book brings people on the path to make things better. 

I truly believe autistic children thrive when they are unconditionally accepted for who they are. I believe they need autistic mentors and friendships. I also believe autistic parents are the best at supporting autistic children and we share many common beliefs and practices about parenting. It was with this idea that I started surveying autistic parents for my book. 

Parents need support as well, and this book can either serve to guide them along the right path to make sure they are doing the best for their autistic child, or affirm that they are doing it exactly as an autistic would. 

I feel autistic parents will also enjoy seeing their parenting philosophy reflected in the pages, if nothing else than to feel validated and not alone in our unique style. 

How to Parent Like an Autistic

 

My new book, How to Parent Like an Autistic, is live! 

It's available on Amazon in both print and eBook version in 14 countries. 

You'll find some links in the link above. It's also on Rakuten Kobo in eBook format, where it is currently #1 in the Nonfiction - Parenting - Child Development category. 

Hoping to get it up on AppleBooks soon as well. And perhaps as an audio book. 

Thank you for all your support!

Ask Before Dumping Your Baggage

There's this video I see that gets shared every so often on Facebook or LinkedIn, with a Black taxi driver getting yelled at, and he explains calmly how everyone is like a garbage truck, walking around with a whole lot of garbage and needing somewhere to dump it. Sometimes that means you get dumped on, but it's nothing personal.

OK. Nice concept, but isn't that what therapy is for? Rather than dumping your shit on innocent random people or the people you love the most, maybe you should see a therapist.

Realistically speaking, not everyone goes for therapy, and it's also valid to have a trusted venting buddy for the more daily issues that pop up. All that said, no matter how good friends you are, you should still ask before venting/dumping.

Why?

Because emotional labour comes at a cost. You're basically dropping off a whole lot of heavy baggage at their front door and making them carry it around for you, or find a spot for it in their home. And those of us in the giving/caring professions, or those with families, or those with disabilities, or those who are minorities....for a whole bunch of different reasons, we often aren't as strong or able-bodied to take on extra loads than what we're already carrying, or our homes are already so packed with our own baggage and clutter, that we truly cannot find a spot for yours. We're bursting at the seams.

Even worse, many of us who are highly sensitive or empathetic are this way because we come from trauma. So we want to give and please. We want to listen. We want to be available the way no one ever was for us. We want to minimize harm, but I've come to realize, my fear of disappointing you comes at a great cost to me, as I am the one now stuck with your baggage.

People have always come to me with intensely emotional and personal things. And that has only intensified as I am more in the public eye. I also believe my writing makes people feel a connection with me, even though they don't know me personally, they think they do. So they also feel it is OK to message or email me personally. They come, dump, and disappear. Or they come, dump, and appear periodically, whenever they need to dump another load.

What they don't realize is, they are not alone. On any given day, I may receive three or four such dumps, out of the blue, never asking me if I am busy, or even interested. I am expected to drop everything to attend to this rant/complaint/confession/personal issue and then once they are done, they fly off again, much lighter.

I am not telling people never to vent, but I am asking you to ask if it is safe to do so, or if it is the right time, place and person to do it with.

You can say, "I have something sort of heavy..." or "something really frustrated me and I need to vent, is now a good time?" or "are you available?"

Again, a person with PTSD or bad previous experiences might still oblige even if they really shouldn't, but you at least have a chance of getting an honest person who will set boundaries.

Good examples of what to say to people demanding of your time and energy are:

"I'm out of bandwidth."
"I can't right now, but can I check in with you later?"
"This is not a good time."
"I am not the best person to ask."
"I have exactly 5 mins and then I have to go."

Notice how I didn't put any softeners or apologies? Don't apologize for setting boundaries and guarding your time and own mental health.

No one is owed anything. You do not owe anyone your time or mental/emotional energy or labour. Be conscious of the person you are demanding labour from and if granted, please express some gratitude.

I'm Not Baking Up Woke Cookies and Handing Them Out

Some time ago, I bought my sister and I matching t-shirts that said, "I am not your magical Negro. Knowing me does not make you cool."

It is worn out - it was not good quality - and I should probably get a new one. I still need to wear it, just in a bit of a different way.

It is hard, as a Person of Colour, to share stuff specifically for or about my community on Facebook, without white people occasionally popping by to dump some white guilt on it, or shed their fragile white tears all over the place. I think about it every time I post, because depending on the topic, their silence will also speak volumes and I have to decide if I am ready for that today. Basically, I think about race every day. I live my race every day. And I have to consider my actions and speech concerning race every single day, every single post, every single blog article, every single interaction.

I recently had a white friend ask me if I considered race after I posted a video of a Philippino dancing for a Black American woman on a cruise. Yes. Yes, I indeed had. I considered both the class and racial issues. The power imbalance. The All The Things. Like I do every minute of every goddamn day, thanks for asking. 

I could be wrong, but I think white people only think about race when they sorta have to. And maybe it crosses their mind now and again and they have this wonderful woke revelation. Which is cool - I'm like, so proud of you, but please stop asking POC to pat you on the head each time you figure this shit out. Because for us, it's old news. It's very similar to a child declaring, "that's a circle!" and the first time your kid does this, you are super amazed. The next 20 times your kid says this, you're like, "ok, nice Jimmy." White people run to message or tell POC, "racism exists! Holy crap, I just saw it now!" and POC are trying to be as polite as possible like, "gooooood job!" and not sound too condescending.

But I am not going to hold people's hands through this anymore. I am done drying up white tears. And I am sooooo done with white people commenting with their performative wokeness, asking me for cookies for it. The same way I am not your magical Negro, I am not the giver of the woke cookies. Stop asking me for them. I don't even have a recipe for them. Not even sure what they would be made of. Raisins and mayonnaise?

Most of all, stop asking POC to praise and validate you. I'm glad when people come to important realizations. I'm even more happy when people take action and call out/in other white people. But stop trying to win points with us. Just dance like nobody is watching, or off the beat, or whatever you need to do.