Birds also need clean water – if you live where it freezes in the winter, a heated bird bath will attract so, so many birds. In summer, put a fountain splasher in and you can attract hummingbirds as well. I wash the bath every day (just soap and water).

But the most comprehensive answer to support birds is to get rid of lawns and plant native plants and trees! When I owned a house, I worked to replace much of my lawn with native plants and smaller shrubs that supported birds (cover, places to perch, berries and seeds) and also supported bugs, etc that birds eat.

Within a year or two of planting lots of native plants, we were getting so many different varieties of bugs and birds (and other wildlife - toads, skinks, etc). Added bonus is selecting plants for your soil and light conditions so the plants I selected needed basically no attention once established: no watering in summer, no fertilizer, obviously no pesticides and just scattered straw in fall.

Your point is precisely why I voted against this law. Tried to argue it with some of my local friends but don’t think I changed any minds (unfortunately).

I appreciate your take on this and I wish we were talking more explicitly about this in LGBTQIA+ spaces. The theory of how bpd develops is complex and probably includes biological factors (think, brain differences leading to sensory issues, memory issues, etc which then lead to certain experiences being more challenging to recover from) but you are correct that the experience of trauma and invalidation in childhood are central to the development of bpd. If we have a society that uniquely traumatizes trans folks, it makes sense that more trans folks than cis folks would have bpd as a result.

One of the more disturbing facets of some of the new anti-trans legislation in US states has been language that seeks to make it impossible for someone autistic or someone who has a personality disorder to access gender affirming care.

This ableist language is clearly the next line of attack and serves to dehumanize not just trans folks but also folks with personality disorders and neurodivergences. Anyone who thinks that these governments intend to stop at murdering trans folks is a damn fool - these laws make it clear there are other groups they intend to target.

Covering sucks. Nursing is hot before you have to put a sweaty blanket on, babies want to make eye contact while they’re nursing because it’s about connection and not just nourishment and in my experience, once they’re old enough to grab the cover, they’ll just throw it off their face and expose your titty anyway.

As it turns out, having my tits out publicly didn’t lead to complete societal collapse, no matter how much I hoped it would.

I’m so sorry. You deserve to be able to life your life without fearing for your safety. Being followed around publicly is menacing enough, even without firearms in the equation.

Did the same thing. Fled a red state a couple years ago. I get that it’s a massive privilege but I spent years agitating and the writing was on the wall. Within 18 months of fleeing, they moved to outlaw affirming care for trans kids and adults. I miss owning a home, miss my garden, miss so many things about where I lived (and hoo boy the higher cost of living is a drain). But at least I know that my partner and I can access necessary health care and if my kid should ever need to, they will be able to, too.

Bonus, not paying taxes anymore to a state that would kill me sooner than grant me basic human dignity and bodily autonomy.

That’s a great point wrt: diagnosis as an adult. Many folks with ASD have learned how to mask effectively enough that they are then dismissed by psychiatrists later in life because they’re not exhibiting specific symptom.

Beautiful! Love the bit of sparkle in the top!

Thanks for the youtube recommendation.

I personally think it’s valuable to have a non-parent perspective. There are too many parents who don’t make an effort to seek out the viewpoints of ND folks. I could go on about how they’re probably the same parents who expect kids to be a certain way and live up to their own expectations rather than be individual people but that’s a rant for another day.

My lo has ADHD and likely ASD (physician doesn’t think it is worth pursuing diagnosis at this time for a variety of reasons).

I was actually in the process of pursuing an ADHD diagnosis for years before my child was diagnosed - I ran into a lot of hesitation until I moved to a less conservative area (not sure why). I finally found a physician who listened to me but I think having my child diagnosed helped the doctor take me more seriously.

We’ve got an ND family counselor and they have been valuable for helping us advocate for our child at school, providing specific resources for specific challenges but mostly for continuously championing the ways our child is successful and unique. When you’re in the trenches about day to day life things, it’s nice to have a reminder to focus on the many ways your kid is amazing.

I wish there were more resources out there specifically for ND parents with ND children. While I share and can relate to a lot of the same challenges, there are definitely things that are harder for my child than for me and I wish I had better tools to help them.

Cute! I love the neon colors in your top! Hope you have a great pride!

I do!

I still get teased as an adult (30s) because I can’t remember phone numbers, addresses or passcodes people tell me, have a lot of trouble reading analog clocks, and constantly mix up left and right.

In school, it was frustrating because I would understand concepts much of the time but actually doing figures for math/ science problems I would switch numbers around and end up with the wrong answers. It was discouraging.

As an adult, I’ve found tricks that help me and I’ve successfully done plenty of jobs that revolved around numbers and counting. I just wish there had been more support around it when I was younger.