#during key developmental years

[lesbian-thespian-paladin]

Whoopsie a member of congress used the word butch as an insult and now my feelings are hurt

[olderthannetfic]

Ok, LONG story and a rant. ESL

I have a "friend" who recently got on the topic of disabled children, including severely disabled, mentally and physically children, and how people having an abortion just because of it are bad people. She's not pro-life, but her opinion is if you want a child you need to "accept what you get." She has even spoken about how she'd never even consider an abortion if she had a disabled child, and that she'd be a great mom. Blah blah blah.

Starting off, we went to school in the same class until high school. Her entire life she was terrified of people with disabilities, especially developmental. One time in 8-9th grade she started scream crying because our teacher's son with down syndrome had to join class for 2 hours because of the teacher's schedule. In 3rd grade she thought needing glasses was infectious and always ran away from the two kids in class with glasses.She's had some of the weirdest reactions to people with autism, ADHD, and similar diagnosis.

Yet she's here proclaiming how good of a mother she'd be to a disabled child, as a key argument why people screening for disabilities are bad.

Here's my position, as someone who started studying in a field focusing on working with disabled people in all stages of ability and disability, her sentiment is incredibly stupid to me. If you know the fetus will become an incredibly disabled child, it's not a kindness to have it, you're not mother Mary for giving birth to a child that'll never be able to live independently in this world. I've experienced some of the most unpleasant sides of this, and I don't mean helping clean people after the toilet, or showering. I've been inappropriately groped, touched, and kissed by more people than I can count. Some of them understand it's wrong when I tell them a firm no, some get huffy and angry, some get violent. That's just the surface problems I've dealth with. It's difficult, and painful, and to me it's just a job I can step away from at the end of the day, especially since I'll be able to find work in other medical fields when I've completed my studies.

Yes these are people who deserve all the kindness in the world. But I won't lie, the quality of life for someone who's only way of communicating is crying and hitting people is not a kind life. They don't get to live lives where they can just go on vacation, and see new places on their own. They can't start a normal job. They can't start a family. Half the people I work with haven't seen their relatives in years, or are only visited for an hour or two every week. They see people having relationships and having relations in movies, and with their caretakers of family, but they can never have that. Most of the ones who've tried to touch me, or claimed I'm their wife, or girlfriend did it because that's what they see but don't understand what it actually means. I've dealt with disabled people who were victims of extreme abuse not just from family and strangers, but also people in my work field, who're traumatized but don't have the ability to work through properly because it's already difficult for them to just getting through their days. They have their happy moments, but most of all of this happens in an incredibly small social circle, with strict routines, where only other disabled people exist, and they don't even get the chance to be part of "normal" society. We workers are literally trained to "deal" with these people, sure we're also there for socializing, but most of us are also literally just a resource, we're not a friend, or a family member, we're workers.

Some of the places I've been at are more like a 24/7 kindergarten, with a huge lack of funding and manpower. You won't believe how many times we've struggles trying to help people during extreme and violent meltdowns, all because we're understaffed. The job also lacks male workers, which means it's harder to help with any male patients who voice feeling uncomfortable being helped by women. Do you know how incredibly painful it is to see the shame on someone's face who's more abled to voice this discomfort, but still not able to care for himself and needs help with, to us, basic things such as putting on clothes, or taking showers?

People like this "friend" annoy me, because they idealize the idea of having a heavily developmentally disabled child. They see people with more "mild" cases, or self-sufficient disabled people, but ignore everyone living in cramped disabled "communes" or under poverty and high levels of abuse.

--

Children, animals, causes: a lot of people romanticize the idea of taking on more than you can handle. It's not romantic. It's just irresponsible.

[msfantasy-comics]

The Perfect Match

Roy Harper x Reader

Summary: A head cannon in which you are Roy’s perfect match.

Masterlist - Tip Jar

Independence

Throughout Roy’s developmental years, he was always treated with excessive handholding, rules and over exertion of authority.

This has led Roy to feel resentful of constraints.

In his former years, Roy relished the freedom and exercising autonomy through the Outlaws.

Roy really appreciates the sense of freedom you give in your relationship.

Roy: “Would you be upset if I cancel our date tonight? Jason’s back in town.”

You were fully dressed up, ready for your hot date.

Y/n: “Nope.”

And you really meant it.

You took advantage of your hot fit and took yourself on a date.

The flexibility you give him is one of the key factors to your loving relationship.

Adventurous Spirit

Given Roy has spent most of his free time training and practicing the art of archery, Roy needs a romantic partner who shares the passion of adventure.

Roy: “Wow… I never seen anyone shoot the ground when the target is only 5 meters away.

Y/n: “I was just testing the bow resistance…”

Roy: “Uh-huh…”

Whilst you may not be the most talented archer or most fit individual. You are always keen to try and participate.

Your enthusiasm to do better is infectious and Roy just loves and appreciates your willingness to try and do better, especially when it comes to his interests.

Y/n: “Roy did you see, did you see?! I hit the outer ring!”

Supportive and Empathetic

Roy has had to endure many hardships throughout his developmental years which has plagued him every so often during his adult hood such as;

Addiction issues - not only does Roy have past entanglements with addictions which leads him to live a clean life. He had developed a critical eye for intentions, as a trusted friend was the cause to his addiction. Now, Roy analyses everything for deeper motivations. That’s just the result of the trauma and it’s a the reality in which you had accept. Whilst it can be insulting and exhausting to be under the microscope, you always speak your mind freely and bluntly.

Relationship dynamic of being in a team - it’s a struggle for Roy to build trust in others due to his past experiences. He has trouble letting people in, but once your in, you most certainly not getting out. You appreciate the value in which Roy holds you and makes you feel extra safe and comfortable knowing that Roy, no matter what, will always be there for you.

Responsibility as a hero - Roy has had to endure the heavy burden of protecting society as nothing more than a well trained human. Society is never short of criticism and Roy is hard on himself enough as it is. This can lead to feeling emotionally and physically strained. Roy cannot handle the criticism of his short comings when it comes to his romantic entanglements too.

Roy: “Y/n, baby, I’m so sorry I missed your birthday party, it’s just, this woman, and her child-“

Y/n: “Roy! I had the best birthday ever! I took lots of photos, so you could see it all when you finished your patrol. But we can do that later, do you want me to draw you a bath? Have you eaten yet?”

Roy: *pant* “aren’t you-“ *pant* “upset with me?”

Y/n: “Don’t be a silly goose, I know you wouldn’t miss anything intentionally, must’ve been really important. We’ve been together for years, think I don’t know you by now?”

Sense of Humor

Even in the hardest of times, it’s at times easier to just have a laugh.

Roy appreciates that you don’t take difficult situations to seriously and just have a laugh with him.

Roy thinks your extra-adorable since you kept notes on his funniest one-liners.

"Some days, I wish I was a firefighter. All you have to worry about is fire."

"We're supposed to be professionals, yet here we are, running around in spandex, talking to ourselves."

"All these costume changes, and I'm still trying to figure out my life."

In a crowd full of hero’s your laughter amongst the dead silence is always appreciated.

[thebirdsareafterme]

People need to be so fucking for real right now. Please think critically about the whole situation and use your brain for once. Why would VCARB replace Daniel before the season ends with Liam? What value would Liam bring to the team that Daniel cannot? If it’s points, then let’s look at the facts. Daniel has finished ahead of Yuki at the last 4 races. His race pace and tire management is consistently equal to or better than Yuki. With only 6 races left on the calendar, would it make sense to replace him if there’s no large disparity in performance? It would be understandable if Yuki had been beating Daniel at every race and qualifying, but that is not the case. There is no guarantee that Liam would perform better in that car, and VCARB would be taking a big risk in public image by doing a driver swap so late in the season.

Furthermore, COTA would certainly not be the place to do it. Can one of you Liam glazers tell me who his personal sponsors are? No? Well, a team that has Visa (a US based company) as a title sponsors would certainly not oust their driver who has Visa a personal sponsor right before one of the most marketable races of the year, and if they do, it would cost them a lot of money.

The idiots who are saying premature and unnecessary goodbyes to Daniel, even after all the people who are primary sources have confirmed that he will finish the season have spoken, are just asking for attention or are genuinely lacking media comprehension. Please stop posting nonsense when the decision has clearly not been made yet. Do you really think that a single qualifying position in Singapore will determine the outcome of the team’s decision? Obviously there are greater influences at play that the teams need to consider when making a switch during a season. If you think it’s as simple as looking at race results and qualifying results, then you are wrong on so many levels. Yes, performance is key in the sport, but so is money, sponsorships, marketing, publicity, developmental feedback and so much more. Nothing’s been confirmed yet, so stop acting like it has been. Yeah, keep listening to the pundits and commentators who are literally paid to stir shit up, instead of the people who run the teams and have the power to make those decisions. You look real stupid right now.

[shsl-fujoshi]

In literacy in the USA news!

The summary is that parents are suing the people who sold reading curriculum to the Massachusetts school system. These curriculum allegedly ignored decades of science on the efficacy of phonics teaching in reading and literacy, and focused instead on "picture power". The parents allege that they had to pay for private tutors to help their children learn to read proficiently.

Archive link to full article.

Full text of article below the cut:

From Globe.com

By Mandy McLaren

In what appears to be a first-of-its-kind consumer protection lawsuit, two Massachusetts families are suing famed literacy specialists Lucy Calkins, Irene Fountas, and Gay Su Pinnell, their companies, and their publishers, alleging the former teachers used “deceptive and fraudulent” marketing practices to sell curriculums that ignored the scientific consensus about the importance of phonics to early reading.

The lawsuit, expected to be filed Wednesday in Suffolk Superior Court, alleges three minors, identified in the complaint by their initials, suffered developmental and emotional injuries, while their parents, identified as Karrie Conley of Boxborough and Michelle Hudak of Ashland, suffered financial losses, having paid for tutoring and private school tuition to compensate for the flawed reading curriculums used by their children’s public schools.

“I trusted that when I was sending my children off to school, they were getting instruction that had been tested and proven effective,” Konley said during a virtual press conference Wednesday morning. “... This isn’t some luxury we’re asking for. This is reading.”

The lawsuit, shared with the Globe in advance, alleges the defendants ignored a plethora of research demonstrating the importance of phonics, or the relationship between letters and sounds, in creating, marketing, and selling their early literacy products and services. The omission of phonics from their curriculums was intentional, despite widely known evidence of its importance, the complaint alleges.

“Defendants denigrated phonics at worst and paid mere lip service to phonics at best,” the lawsuit reads.

A lawsuit represents only one side of a complaint. Representatives for the defendants did not return an immediate request for comment, though Calkins, Fountas, and Pinnell have in the past denied any wrongdoing.

The Massachusetts lawsuit represents a new step in the early literacy advocacy movement and could spur new complaints like it nationwide. It follows several years of heightened debate surrounding the “science of reading,” a broad body of research demonstrating how the brain learns to read and which shows a firm grasp on phonics to be key to early reading success.

At issue in the complaint is whether the literacy authors knowingly ignored scientific research and purposely sold “defective and deficient” curriculums to school districts across Massachusetts. The lawsuit argues the authors and their publishers did and in doing so broke a state consumer protection law.

“Defendants knew or should have known they were committing unfair and deceptive acts,” the complaint reads.

Rather than emphasizing phonics, or the sounding out of words, Fountas and Pinnell, longtime publishing partners, and Calkins have come under increasing scrutiny for their curriculums’ cueing directions, which instruct children to, for example, look at a picture for context in helping determine an unknown word. In Calkins’s curriculum, Units of Study, this skill has been called “picture power.”

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, which considers the defendants’ curriculums to be low quality, has doled out millions of dollars in grant money to help local school districts purchase new materials grounded in reading science. A 2023 Globe investigation found nearly half of all school districts in the state were using a low-quality curriculum in their elementary schools, and, of those, nearly 3 in 4 were using either Calkins’s or Fountas and Pinnell’s materials.

[mariacallous]

Building on the evidence from the first paper in this Series highlighting the fundamental importance of healthy and nurturing environments for children's growth and development in the next 1000 days (ages 2–5 years), this paper summarises the benefits and costs of key strategies to support children's development in this age range. The next 1000 days build on the family-based and health-sector based interventions provided in the first 1000 days and require broader multisectoral programming. Interventions that have been shown to be particularly effective in this age range are the provision of early childhood care and education (ECCE), parenting interventions, and cash transfers. We show that a minimum package of 1 year of ECCE for all children would cost on average less than 0·15% of low-income and middle-income countries' current gross domestic product. The societal cost of not implementing this package at a national and global level (ie, the cost of inaction) is large, with an estimated forgone benefit of 8–19 times the cost of investing in ECCE. We discuss implications of the overall evidence presented in this Series for policy and practice, highlighting the potential of ECCE programming in the next 1000 days as an intervention itself, as well as a platform to deliver developmental screening, growth monitoring, and additional locally required interventions. Providing nurturing care during this period is crucial for maintaining and further boosting children's progress in the first 1000 days, and to allow children to reach optimal developmental trajectories from a socioecological life-course perspective.

[waltwhitmansbeard]

I would love to read something about Fiachra from "I'm Sending a Raven" if you have the chance!

so i don't think i really want to write an actual fic set in isar, so i hope you'll be happy with this list of ideas i’ve had about him:

fiachra was delayed when it came to speech. there was no perceived medical reason why; he just...didn't talk. keyleth and korrin came up with a kind of sign language pidgin that worked until he was ready to start talking shortly before he turned four, at which point he was speaking at what would be considered developmentally appropriate for his age.

keyleth had a very hard time leaving him for long stretches of time when he was a baby, esp when she had to leave zephrah, so alma helped her rig up a backpack for him, and he joined her for all kinds of meetings and diplomatic missions.

fiachra and vesper were basically raised as siblings. keyleth brought him to whitestone as often as she could, and the cousins would have sleepovers in one place or the other more weekends than not. he has his own rooms in castle whitestone, but vesper liked coming to zephrah more bc the druids would grow them an elaborate treehouse of vines to play in.

the ravens of zephrah were fiachra’s unofficial babysitting squad. he never went anywhere alone, and they helped him get inti all sorts of mischief—tho they also snitched on him if things got too dangerous, flying off and screeching to alert others if he needed help.

he absolutely inherited his dad’s sneaky nature and his love of pranks. keyleth’s nerves were perpetually fried during his preteen years, bc he was always popping out at her or rigging things up to spook her.

mom’s height and eyes + dad’s cheekbones and shit-eating grin = absolute heartbreaker (also bisexual disaster)

fiachra took pretty quickly to druidic magic, particularly loving tending to and working with plants. growing up, he’d always admired the tempest blades, and he worried that if he didn’t practice more martial abilities, he wouldn’t be able to join, until his grandpa reminded him that his mom was one of the most powerful fighters alive, and then he decided to devote himself to his druidic crafts while focusing on his martial capabilities while using them.

derrig became something of a father figure to fiachra, bc that man collected stray sons like pokémon. will was also like an older brother to him, and fiachra grew up thinking he was so cool and wanting to be just like him.

in this timeline, otohan’s attack on zephrah was actually targeted at him. keyleth was supposed to be away, but due to a last-minute scheduling change, she was in zephrah, so she was able to save her son from being slaughtered, so vax didn’t have to come. keyleth was beyond livid when her son nearly died, so she was extra incensed when she came to crash the malleus key.

fiachra was not allowed to go to the first incursion at the malleus key, and he was pissed. when his mom came back inches from death, he wanted to take off and kill ludinus all by himself. he needed to be physically restrained in order to keep him from doing something insanely stupid.

[phoenixyfriend]

top 10 ahsoka headcanons?

Give me a character and I’ll give you 10+ headcannons

I'm on team "markings marbling is a sign of stress during key developmental years; facial is childhood, and lekku is adolescence."

Capable of chirruping as a happy noise.

Very low alcohol tolerance (alas, togruta).

Hid out with Bo during the Purge, and then funneled Force-Sensitive kids through a refugee network managed by Korkie in the years after.

Early and mid-adolescence involves so much calorie burning that not only is she eating all the time, but she's actually got a higher temperature than usual; this is why she dresses 'normally' before and after, but shows the most skin in her tween years.

She gets a different set of rations than everyone else (because all the rest are for humans).

Absolutely had a... I don't want to say hate crush, but maybe a rivalry crush? They weren't fully friends yet and were adversarial interpersonally even when they were cooperating professionally, but yeah, there was a whole thing about Bo-Katan for a few months.

That something came back around a few years post-Purge when they were drinking and commiserating and ended up having maudlin drunk sex that they both promised not to talk about ever again.

Except it happened again and again and again and eventually they just had to admit that an 'I'm lonely and need to not think too hard about the dead' booty call was probably a good idea.

Regularly hit by the instinctive urge to bite down on a shiny's shoulder because until they get their paint, that piece of armor looks like an egg. She's not going to do it, but you know how the tide pod thing started because they kind of look like jelly candy and your monkey brain goes FRUIT! BERRY! EAT! Yeah so if Ahsoka turns too quickly and only catches it out the corner of her eye, a clone pauldron 100% looks like an egg that togruta can and will eat raw, and sometimes she has to double-take.

[everrainrp]

'Paws Cant' and 'Pawspeak'

In an environment and world that is as wrought with hazards as it is, looking out for one another is key and vital among the Clans of the temperate rainforest. This includes looking out for everyone within your Clan.

As such, two different forms of communication have been formed and grown over time among the five Clans, one being 'Paws Cant', a carved / written language, and 'Pawspeak', a visible communication using body language and motions.

Both forms of communication were originally developed and brought to the forest by the groups that would form Mistshroud and Thornrush, as both were originally created to plot and plan rebellions or escapes from their original wartorn home.

'Pawspeak' has spread very quickly among the Clans, not only for usage in situations where one might have to remain silent, but even more importantly it has developed to be used by those who are born deaf or develop deafness in their lifetime and those who surround them. This is, for all intents and purposes, a stand in for cat sign language.

'Paws Cant', on the other hand, is a written language composed of symbols, similar to thieves cant. These symbols are carved into bark or stone to signify what's nearby, if it's a safe spot, whether there's a tunnel, if prey is commonly found here, if there's danger around or ahead, and so on. Thornrush practices this very heavily and incorporates it into their day to day life with marking where tunnel and path entrances might be with these symbols. All of the Clans practice it though, each taking on a slightly different dialect and variation due to their unique environments.

Paws Cant is also used in particular by Torrentfall and Skyreach, as the sound of the rapids may drown out vocal speech or in Skyreach, used to symbolize safe trails and paths throughout their territory or to mark something that may appear safe but is unstable.

Both of these languages are taught to kits and apprentices at a young age during their developmental years, and it is used throughout their entire lives one way or another.

Examples will be posted with art and IDs as they are developed!

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

NASA sees progress on Starlab commercial space station development

A NASA-funded commercial space station, Starlab, recently completed four key developmental milestones, marking substantial progress in the station's design and operational readiness.

The four milestones are part of a NASA Space Act Agreement awarded in 2021 and focused on reviews of the habitat structural test article preliminary design, systems integration, integrated operations, and a habitat structural test plan.

"These milestone achievements are great indicators to reflect Starlab's commitment to the continued efforts and advancements of their commercial destination," said Angela Hart, program manager for NASA's Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development Program. "As we look forward to the future of low Earth orbit, every successful milestone is one step closer to creating a dynamic and robust commercialized low Earth orbit."

The commercial space station is designed to launch on a single flight and includes a large habitation and laboratory module with a smaller service module for power and propulsion.

Earlier this year, Starlab Space completed a structural test article preliminary design review, supported by NASA. The structural test article is an engineering development unit of the station's habitation module, which is where astronauts will spend most of their time living and working aboard the future commercial destination. An engineering development unit is a physical model that is used to test and verify the design of a project, such as a space station.

Starlab also recently shared a test plan for the structural test article, which included defining qualification tests of the development unit from welding verifications to proof pressure and static load testing, among others. During proof pressure tests, a spacecraft component or system is pressurized to a significantly higher than normal operating pressure to verify its structural integrity, and a static load test measures the response of a component or system under an applied load.

In addition, Starlab completed integration operations and systems integration reviews. These reviews included updates on system and station architecture, segment interfaces, and program goals, as well as a comprehensive look into the program's requirements.

Starlab also is set to complete a preliminary design review and phase 1 safety review by the end of the year. This review is meant to demonstrate that the station's design meets system requirements, including human spaceflight verification, with acceptable risk. The safety review will summarize the current design and general safety approach for the destination.

NASA is supporting the design and development of multiple commercial space stations, including Starlab, through funded and unfunded agreements. The current design and development phase will be followed by the procurement of services from one or more companies, where NASA aims to be one of many customers for low Earth orbit destinations.

NASA's low Earth orbit microgravity strategy builds on the agency's extensive human spaceflight experience to advance future scientific and exploration goals. As the International Space Station nears the end of operations, NASA plans to transition to a new low Earth orbit model to continue leveraging microgravity benefits. Through commercial partnerships, NASA aims to maintain its leadership in microgravity research and ensure continued benefits for humanity.

TOP IMAGE: A digital rendering of the Starlab, which includes a large habitation and laboratory module with a smaller service module for power and propulsion. Credit: Starlab

LOWER IMAGE: A digital rendering of the Starlab free-flying commercial destination, which continues to be developed as part of a Space Act Agreement with NASA Credit: Starlab

[wrestlinghistorywithkay]

This Is Her House : Celebrating Saraya

Hello Everyone! Yes , you did read the title of this article right! I wanted to write about a wrestler who has made history and has a movie about her life. The wrestler I’m talking about is Saraya, formerly known as Paige. Today is her birthday and I wanted to celebrate her!

Saraya Jade Bevis was born on August 17,1992 in Norwich , England . Her mother and her father are both professional wrestlers, which means she is a second generation wrestler. Her mother is known as Sweet Saraya and her father is known as Ricky Knight. Her brother, Zak Zodiac , is also a professional wrestler as well as her half-brother , Roy Knight. Saraya’s nephew , Ricky Knight Jr., has also joined the family business by becoming a professional wrestler.

Bevis entered the professional wrestling business at the age of 13 when she made her debut in World Association of Wrestling ( WAW ) . This was her family ’s wrestling promotion, thus , she debuted under the name of Britani Knight. She toured the European Independent Wrestling scene and won several championships. Nevertheless in 2011, she would soon get her big break when Vince McMahon signed her to WWE after her second tryout for the company . She was sent to their developmental brand , Florida Championship Wrestling ( FCW ) , and soon made her debut there under her real name at one of their house shows before changing her name to Paige and debuting on their TV program in 2012. She chose this name as a tribute to one of the characters on the TV show , ‘ Charmed ’. Thus, FCW was rebranded into what is now known as NXT. The Anti-Diva would make her NXT debut the same year.

On the May 29, 2013 episode of NXT, Stephanie McMahon , the daughter of Vince McMahon and Co-Chief Executive Officer of WWE at the time , would make an appearance on NXT. She announced that there would be a tournament to crown the inaugural NXT Women’s Champion. Paige soon found herself entering the tournament. She would go on to defeat wrestlers such as Alicia Fox to go to the finals. Therefore , she would make history in WWE.

In the finals of the tournament, Paige would face Emma ( Tenille Dashwood ). She would go on to defeat Emma and become the youngest NXT Women’s Champion, at 20 years old . She would successfully retain her championship against opponents such as Natalya , Summer Rae , Emma , and Sasha Banks ( aka Mercedes Monè ) . Nevertheless, she would have to vacate the championship in April of 2014 after making history once again.

On the April 7 , 2014 episode of Monday Night RAW , in which this episode was the show after Wrestlemania XXX ( 30 ). The current WWE Divas Champion , AJ Lee, was standing in the ring cutting a promo. During Lee’s promo , Paige’s music would hit and she would interrupt the champion . She congratulated Lee on retaining her championship before being challenged to a match for the championship after AJ slapped her . Nevertheless, the match started and Lee would soon find herself in Paige’s signature move , The Paige Turner , to quickly end the match. Therefore , Paige won the match and made history again. She became the youngest Divas Champion at the age of 21. She also made history by becoming the only woman in the WWE to be NXT Women’s Champion and the WWE Divas Champion by having both championships at the same time . She would also be a key figure in the Women’s Evolution in the company as well as a cast member on the reality show , ‘ Total Divas ’. In 2018 after having to retire due to a neck injury , she would become the general manager of Smackdown. It was rumored that she was assigned the job to help promote the movie about her life , ‘ Fighting With My Family ’ , which starred Florence Pugh as Paige . In 2019 , she would become the manager of the Kabuki Warriors , Asuka and Kairi Sane .

Paige would leave WWE in June of 2022. In September of the same year, she would make an appearance for Tony Khan’s All Elite Wrestling ( AEW ) , at their Grand Slam show . Khan would announce her signing to the company after she did this . She would be wrestling under her real name , Saraya. Her first feud in AEW would be with Dr.Britt Baker , DMD. On the November 9,2022 episode of Dynamite, she would announce that she was fully cleared to return to in ring action . Saraya’s first match in five years would be at the Full Gear Pay-Per-View against Britt Baker where she would win. She would also form a Heel stable called , ‘ The Outcasts ’ , along with former WWE talent, Ruby Soho , and Toni Storm. They would attack the original AEW Women’s talent. Thus , in 2023, Saraya would challenge for the AEW Women’s Championship in a fatal four way match against Britt Baker , Toni Storm , and champion Hikaru Shida. The match would take place at the All In Pay-Per-View in London, England .

‘ All In ’ would take place at the legendary Wembley Stadium. Saraya would have her family escort her to the ring before the match to Queen’s ‘ We Will Rock You ’. She would find herself successful by defeating Baker , Shida, and Storm by becoming the new AEW Women’s World Champion in front of her home crowd. She would celebrate with her family after the match. The AEW Women’s World Championship would be her first championship in almost nine years. Her title reign would last over a month before being defeated by Hikaru Shida on ‘ AEW Dynamite: Title Tuesday ’ , which took place on October 10, 2023.

Saraya would soon reform The Outcasts with Ruby Soho. They would replace Toni Storm with Harley Cameron. Saraya and Cameron would soon turn on Soho after it was revealed that Saraya put Cameron up to kissing Soho’s boyfriend, Angelo Parker , to try and break them up. This would lead to Soho and Saraya having a feud . Therefore , their feud would quickly after Soho announced her pregnancy. Saraya and Cameron are still tag team partners.

Saraya is also an advocate for addiction and mental health.

My Final Thoughts:

It’s amazing how Saraya accomplished all of this in her career. I also love how she was able to face all of the obstacles in her life and how she overcame them. Fighting With My Family is also a great movie . Happy birthday, Saraya!

Love You All,

- Kay

[lesb0]

Would you trust/like someone who was born male and lived exactly as a man, had a male sexual development in puberty, and was still biologically female (a uterus, xx chromosomes, ovaries)? And she began living as female after learning this info?

What kind of question is this lol. yes I would, women are women. but she would have some crazy gross concepts of the patriarchy, by being an oppressor/privileged participant during those key developmental years. The patriarchy is a deeply effective total brainwashing and you don't just get to claim that it didn't effect you to magically win trust

[anarcho-bard]

you know what fucks me up? the lingering internal effects of the kalvin garrah/transmed era. the amount of internalised hatred I have whenever I dont present as exclusively masculine, as a fucking nonbinary person, because it means im 'faking it' and 'not trans enough'. the gut reaction i have when I see other transmasculine people present gender non-conformingly. Transmedicalism was at its peak during such a developmental time of my indentity, and while I disagreed with it at the time, there's so much bullshit I internalised from it. it's a key reason why it took me another 5 years to come out as trans. It did so much damage to the trans community, especially the transmasculine and nonbinary communities, and im just fucking angry about it.

[autism-unfiltered]

The Power of Early Intervention in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Research indicates that early diagnosis and intervention for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can have significant long-term positive effects on symptoms and later skills. Here are some key points to consider:

Early Diagnosis: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can sometimes be diagnosed in children before they are 2 years of age. Some children with ASD, whose development seems typical up to that point, begin to regress just before or sometime during age 2 years.

Early Intervention: Early interventions often include family training, speech therapy, hearing impairment services, physical therapy, and nutrition services. These interventions occur at or before preschool age, as early as 2 or 3 years of age. At this age, a young child's brain is still forming, meaning it is more plastic or changeable than at older ages. Because of this plasticity, treatments have a better chance of being effective in the longer term.

The Impact of Early Intervention: Early interventions not only give children the best start possible but also the best chance of developing to their full potential. The sooner a child gets help, the greater the chance for learning and progress. In fact, recent guidelines suggest starting an integrated developmental and behavioral intervention as soon as ASD is diagnosed or seriously suspected.

The Power of Progress: With early intervention, some children with autism make so much progress that they are no longer on the autism spectrum when they are older. Many of the children who later go off the spectrum have some things in common: diagnosis and treatment at younger ages, a higher intelligence quotient (IQ) than average for a child with autism, and better language and motor skills.

Remember, early intervention is key to helping children with ASD reach their full potential.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: SEGM

Published: Mar 15, 2024

The @NHSEngland landmark decision to stop using puberty blockers for gender dysphoric youth raises a key question: what do we know about the effects of puberty blockers on adolescent development?

Prof. Sallie Baxendale explored this question at @segm_ebm 2023 conference.

"Extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence" wrote Prof. Baxendale in a piece describing her research. "The only extraordinary evidence here is the gaping chasm of knowledge, or even apparent curiosity, of the clinicians who continue to chant 'safe and completely reversible' as they prescribe these medications to the children in their care."

Following the preview of her research at @segm_ebm conference, Prof. Baxendale published her findings about the known effects of puberty blockers on neuropsychological function in a peer-reviewed journal.

Prof. Baxendale later shared that in her 3 decades of academic publishing, the submission of the paper was truly a unique experience. She was not concerned that the paper had been rejected 3 times prior to being accepted. Rather, it was the nature of the rejections, which appeared to be ideologically driven.

Dr. Baxendale's full presentation at @segm_ebm NYC 2023 conference is available below. We will also highlight some key moments in the rest of this thread.

[ Note: video above ]

Dr. Baxendale explores what happens when critical windows of brain development are missed, starting with her "surprise" at the assertion made by proponents of youth transitions that puberty blockers are "completely reversible."

Prof. Baxendale challenges the claim that puberty can be paused & resumed: “If you deprive the brain of any input during the critical windows of opportunity, the brain will move on and whatever it was that was supposed to be developing, doesn't develop properly.”

The process of pruning in the brain, which occurs during adolescence, is critical. It strengthens the executive function & social cognition. This process is hormonally driven: it depends on the pubertal stage, not on age. When puberty is stopped, brain development is affected.

Prof. Baxendale's research was motivated by her surprise at the assertions by gender clinicians that "one can just pause puberty and then pick up 2-3 years later and nothing would happen," as this contradicted "everything we know about other windows of opportunity."

Dr. Baxendale found a paucity of studies on the effects of puberty blockers on human brains, so she turned to animal studies. What she found was that puberty blockers have “a detrimental impact on learning and the development of social behaviors and responses to stress."

Turning her attention to human studies, Prof. Baxendale found very few. Two studies were for the use of puberty blockers for early-onset puberty, and 3 were about stopping normally-timed puberty for gender-dysphoric youth. Several (low quality) studies signaled a drop in IQ.

Dr. Baxendale found no evidence that “you can pause a developmental stage and then restart it and everything will be okay.” Given all that is known about adolescent brain development, Dr. Baxendale asked a key question:

“How has this been allowed to develop as a treatment?”

The @NHSEngland's decision to restrict the use of puberty blockers to clinical research, finalized this month, vindicates Prof. Baxendale, Dr. Biggs, and other researchers in the UK and worldwide who have been sounding the alarm about the proliferation of puberty blockers in general medical settings without an adequate evidence base.

The full lecture by Prof. Baxendale at SEGM's NYC 2023 conference is profiled on our website and our YouTube channel. See links below.

[ Note: video above ]

--

Abstract

Aim: Concerns have been raised regarding the impact of medications that interrupt puberty, given the magnitude and complexity of changes that occur in brain function and structure during this sensitive window of neurodevelopment. This review examines the literature on the impact of pubertal suppression on cognitive and behavioural function in animals and humans.

Methods: All studies reporting cognitive impacts of treatment with GnRH agonists/antagonists for pubertal suppression in animals or humans were sought via a systematic search strategy across the PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and PsycINFO databases.

Results: Sixteen studies were identified. In mammals, the neuropsychological impacts of puberty blockers are complex and often sex specific (n = 11 studies). There is no evidence that cognitive effects are fully reversible following discontinuation of treatment. No human studies have systematically explored the impact of these treatments on neuropsychological function with an adequate baseline and follow-up. There is some evidence of a detrimental impact of pubertal suppression on IQ in children.

Conclusion: Critical questions remain unanswered regarding the nature, extent and permanence of any arrested development of cognitive function associated with puberty blockers. The impact of puberal suppression on measures of neuropsychological function is an urgent research priority.

[mariacallous]

Both parties have spoken about the need to focus on children and families during this year’s election cycle. In fact, it has been a talking point for decades in both Democratic and Republican party platforms. Support for children and families is key to the future health of a nation.

Despite this professed commitment, however, approximately 23.6 million young children (0-5 years) in America are at risk of not meeting their developmental potential, draining the country of much-needed human capital. Analyses of the U.S. federal budget indicate very limited investment in children. Overall, data from 2018 to 2024 shows that the share of federal spending on children ranged from 9.71% in fiscal year (FY) 2018 to 12.16% in 2024, with a dip to 7.48% in 2020. Focusing on children under age three, however, indicates a 1.52% federal budget spending in FY 2024. This represented a sliver of the total budget and a decline from an allotment of 1.66% in FY 2023. While the increase in overall spending on children in fiscal year 2024 is welcome news, it falls woefully short of meeting the needs of America’s children and families and is concerning when compared with funding in peer nations around the world.

The result of this checkered pattern of investment is that America ranks last among OECD countries in providing family care and leave, has one of the lowest pre-K enrollment rates with no current universal system in place, last in family-friendly policies, and ranks near the bottom of 41 advanced countries on a series of child wellness markers.

To be fair, the U.S. has taken small steps forward for young children through the Child Tax Credit (CTC), a minor increase in access to licensed childcare centers, an increase in some states for pre-K and family leave. However, these policies offer a piecemeal approach to supporting young children from birth to five years and families and do not offer countrywide, comprehensive coverage. Implementation of many of these initiatives is left to states with uneven consequences. The ultimate result? Child poverty in the U.S. is among the worst in the industrialized nations, and many children in families with fewer resources—who are disproportionately Black and Brown —trail behind their peers from more affluent environments in mental and physical health, education outcomes, and more.

Our wavering commitment to children and families in terms of actionable, comprehensive policies that support children from birth to five years and their families leaves some wondering whether America really cares about its children despite the rhetoric.

This policy brief points to six key areas of investment in which bipartisan action can bring America in line with other nations and make a marked difference in the lives of millions of young children 0-5 years and their families.

We propose bipartisan investment to 1) increase high quality childcare options; 2) increase the availability of quality pre-K; 3) increase programs to mitigate poverty; 4) establish a federal paid family leave policy; 5) increase support for infant and child mental health; and 6) establish a permanent national level body to coordinate multi-sectoral supports for children.