Dr. Alyssa (they/them)
@yesthattoo.bsky.social
3.3K followers 4K following 5.4K posts
Autistic researcher with too many interests and no real intention of narrowing it down. Mostly AAC research at the moment. Sometimes a math teacher. Not speaking on behalf of any companies/organizations here.
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
Pinned
yesthattoo.bsky.social
I will be presenting on neurodiversity-affirming AAC, gestalt language processing, and AAC use by speaking autistic folks on September 28, 2025. A recording will be available until November 12, 2025.

Register at: bit.ly/nwacs2025

#ActuallyAutistic #AAC #AutRes #AugComm
Flier for the Northwest Augmentative Communication Society 2025 Virtual Conference, with featured presenter Dr. Alyssa Hillary Zisk, who is the original poster. It includes the date of the conference, September 28, 2025, the registration link bit/ly/nwacs2025, the promotional code NWACScode2025_AHZ for 15% off registration, and a picture of Dr. Zisk lying down on the floor.
Reposted by Dr. Alyssa (they/them)
naomialderman.bsky.social
I didn't know until we buried my mother, so probably most people here don't know: Jewish cemeteries strongly recommend that you get insurance for the headstone.

Because the cemeteries are so often desecrated, the gravestones smashed.
Reposted by Dr. Alyssa (they/them)
sailorrooscout.bsky.social
Their efficacy was confirmed against LIVE viruses including Ebola, Marburg, Nipah, Hendra, SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), AND Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).

The study has been published in Science Advances. YES, it is PEER-REVIEWED.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

🧪🧵⬇️
ABSTRACT
Viral pandemics continue to threaten global health and economic stability. Despite medical advances, the absence of broad-spectrum antivirals (BSAs) prevents rapid responses to emerging viral threats. This is largely due to the lack of universal drug targets across diverse viral families and high variability among viral proteins.
In this study, we evaluated 57 synthetic carbohydrate receptors (SCRs) for antiviral activity in cellulo using pseudotyped virus particles (PVPs) from six high-risk viruses across three families: Paramyxoviridae, Filoviridae, and Coronaviridae.
Four SCRs inhibited all tested PVPs, and their efficacy was confirmed against live viruses including SARS-CoV-2, MERS-COV, EBOV, MARV, NiV, and HeV.
Notably, SCR005 and SCR007, which exhibited minimal toxicity, significantly reduced SARS-CoV-2 infection in a severe animal model with a single dose.
Mechanistic studies suggested that SCRs bind viral envelope N-glycans, blocking viral attachment and/or fusion.
These results identify conserved viral N-glycans as promising BSA targets and establish SCRs as candidate prophylactic agents against enveloped viruses with pandemic potential.
Reposted by Dr. Alyssa (they/them)
katie.bzky.team
the point of having a comms team, just so everyone is clear, is not only to write better statements than you (which everyone arrogantly thinks they don't need) but also to give others the power to take your phone away when needed, because this is patently embarrassing at this point.
jay.bsky.team
You could try a poster’s strike. I hear that works
Reposted by Dr. Alyssa (they/them)
joelhs.bsky.social
Jews, you do not need to read these replies on Yom Kippur. But leftist Gentiles who still insist there is not a problem with antisemitism on the left, you really do need to read these replies.
ocasio-cortez.house.gov
I am sickened by today’s attack in Manchester. Antisemitism is on the rise around the world, and we must do all we can to stomp it out. I am grateful to first responders and congregants who showed incredible bravery, and I am praying for those who were killed.
Reposted by Dr. Alyssa (they/them)
caudlewag.bsky.social
If anyone has the energy to continue this legacy I think it's Mychal

HATS OFF, we need that specific energy now more than ever. Pick up a book if you haven't, don't be afraid to read YA, visit your local library, even if its just to hang out.

Value literature and third spaces. Love reading!
mychal3ts.bsky.social
There have been two hosts in the history of Reading Rainbow. The Legend of Literacy, LeVar Burton! And... me, Mychal Threets, a librarian 🥹🤯

I am a reader, a librarian because LeVar Burton and Reading Rainbow made us believe and see we belong in books, we belong everywhere ✨

youtu.be/e7es7qdWVnU
Smiling Mychal with hands raised wears an outer space shirt in a library. It is a still from an episode of Reading Rainbow. LeVar Burton smiles with hands behind his head as he lies down on a colorful pile of books. ENEMY PIE book rests on his chest.
Reposted by Dr. Alyssa (they/them)
untidymusic.com
Still time before Bandcamp friday. Still time after Bandcamp friday.

Let’s hear what you’ve got.
untidyradio.bsky.social
Submit your lovely music to:

forms.gle/ANThEuCvupmH...

Please tag your MP3s - it helps the playlist goblins sort your music.

All music accepted. All Genre. All Styles.

No gatekeeping. You will be played.

#musicsky #diy #independent #bandcamp #ampwall
forms.gle
Reposted by Dr. Alyssa (they/them)
jadehawk.bsky.social
watching a video discussing a paper about whether/to which degree other primates have theory of mind, and i realized i don't really believe scientists can accurately study this given they completely fail at it with fellow modern humans if those himans are autistic.
Reposted by Dr. Alyssa (they/them)
emilymbender.bsky.social
When the second case of a lawyer getting caught using synthetic text extruding machines hit the news, I wondered: Don't these people gossip?? I would have thought the first case would be so embarrassing as to make things very clear.

www.404media.co/18-lawyers-c...

>>
18 Lawyers Caught Using AI Explain Why They Did It
Lawyers blame IT, family emergencies, their own poor judgment, their assistants, illness, and more.
www.404media.co
Reposted by Dr. Alyssa (they/them)
autismsupsoc.bsky.social
I am realizing that a lot of Potterheads are hoping, despite all presented evidence … that Rowling isn’t going to direct her estate to continue to harm trans people via Harry Potter for at least 70 years after her passing (that being the length of her copyrights)
Reposted by Dr. Alyssa (they/them)
ironspike.bsky.social
Says a lot about the state of popular science reporting that some techbro doofus can pretend he's going to be immortal and that will grab more headlines than "Hey we have a gene therapy that slows the advance of Huntington's by 75%," or "We gengineered a pothos into a living air purifier."
Reposted by Dr. Alyssa (they/them)
haileypiperfights.bsky.social
I try to focus this account so it's for my readers, but hey writers:

NEVER sign a contract where the publisher keeps your rights indefinitely. For short stories, there should be a point when you can sell reprints.

and NEVER sign your movie/TV/etc adaptation rights to a publisher. Those are yours.
Reposted by Dr. Alyssa (they/them)
leedsautism.bsky.social
Just over a week to go until #AutistiCon2025
We should have full details available later this week, but in the meantime here is the expected running order on the day 😄
Find out more>> bit.ly/4m7DBOY
AutistiCon 2025 order of events digital flyer. For full details visit the Leeds Autism Services event page (link in comments)
Reposted by Dr. Alyssa (they/them)
zazoopdi.bsky.social
10yo evergreen post by AutisticAbby on the tumblr
A text post from tumblr user AutisticAbby, reads "Sometimes people use “respect” to mean “treating someone like a person” and sometimes they use “respect” to mean “treating someone like an authority”

and sometimes people who are used to being treated like an authority say “if you won’t respect me I won’t respect you” and they mean “if you won’t treat me like an authority I won’t treat you like a person”

and they think they’re being fair but they aren’t, and it’s not okay"
yesthattoo.bsky.social
Autism women & nonbinary network
Autistic self-advocacy network

CommunicationFIRST isn't autism-specific but it is autistic-relevant, being about communication access.
Reposted by Dr. Alyssa (they/them)
clozilla.reprosky.xyz
“Why tylenol?” Because it’s the pain medication that pregnant people can take. That’s it. That’s why.
Reposted by Dr. Alyssa (they/them)
fergus.oolong.co.uk
When writing about autism for scholarly publications, it's a constant source of annoyance that so much autism research is just offensive in the way it frames things.

Like, I want to cite these researchers, but maybe not quite as much as I want them to fuck off.

Mostly I can work around it, but 😖.
Reposted by Dr. Alyssa (they/them)
carlbergstrom.com
I like this. Since under RFK Jr, Covid shots are now for people with underlying conditions that put them at risk, Michigan’s chief medical executive Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian states that not having the most recent Covid shot constitutes such an underlying condition.

www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/inside...
In her recommendation, Bagdasarian stated,
"Any person over the age of six months without contraindication who has not received a dose of a Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved or-authorized 2025-2026 COVID-19 vaccine may be considered to have an underlying condition that puts them at high risk for severe outcomes from COVID-19 and is thus eligible to receive an age-appropriate dose."
yesthattoo.bsky.social
pretty far outside my area, but good luck
Reposted by Dr. Alyssa (they/them)
profchrisharrod.bsky.social
Does anyone know of an expert in #Austism studying adolescents that reject family moves to a new country? We are looking for advice and help. Please resend etc.
Reposted by Dr. Alyssa (they/them)
redactedquirk.bsky.social
Any time I'm reading autism research articles and Simon Baron-Cohen's name pops up in a citation I silently shake my fist at my computer