The Cool School

08/24/2026

https://youtu.be/SEu0tx1_Zwk?is=-bs8W7QWpysNADRQ

Your brain does not read paper and screens the same way. Even when ...

08/24/2026

“At least they’re high functioning.”

“At least they have the easy kind of autism”

What is this “easy” that you speak of?

Because I do not know of an easy autism.

I know of having invisible struggles and people just expecting you to be better.

I know of awkwardness and anxiety…missing social cues and fear of not saying or doing the appropriate thing in front of a peer.

I know of masking ones unique self to fit in and avoid being made fun of.

I know of being overly social and lacking the awareness of personal space and boundaries.

I know of watching your peers pass you in age related interests and getting made fun of for not enjoying the same things.

I know the pressure of feeling like you have to grow up faster than you are ready for.

I know of hiding needed self stimulatory behaviors all day long so that your disability isn’t obvious to others.

I know of meltdowns and exhaustion from holding it all in everyday.

I know of being ostracized and bullied for being different.

I know of being bullied by people who are supposed to be your friend and you think they are because you can’t see the subtle ways they do and say mean things in front of you.

I know of the awareness once you begin to notice you’re different from your peers and the isolation when they start to notice too.

I know of invisible executive functioning deficits that make you feel lazy, stupid and like you’ll never be good enough.

I know of school struggles that you’re embarrassed to ask help for and the accommodations you have to fight for.

I know of social anxiety where it’s difficult to leave the house, order a meal or even talk to a friend.

I know of not knowing how to identify your own emotions and being able to express or communicate how you’re feeling.

I know not having the “street smarts” and awareness to keep yourself safe and the higher probability that you will be taken advantage of, abused or assaulted.

I know of overstimulation and what it’s like to sleep for days, avoid everyone because your social battery is drained.

I know of mutism, disassociation and burnout when you’ve done too much people pleasing.

I know of apologizing over and over for the tone of your voice that you don’t seem to hear yourself, or for being brutally honest and direct with people and being accused of being rude or mean.

I know being able to do grade level academics but having test anxiety and not being able to do well.

I know of reverting conversations back to a familiar topic because it’s the only way you feel comfortable in knowing what to say.

I know of not being able to talk about anything but your special interest and struggling to have a back and forth conversation.

I know of not getting invited to birthday parties or not having one because there is no one to invite.

I know of being asked a question and not being able to answer because your brain processes information slower.

I know of not being able to join mainstream activities and sports but you don’t feel like you fit in with the ones for special needs either because you don’t feel disabled enough to belong.

I know of trying to show that you relate to someone else’s story by sharing your own similar one and getting accused of being selfish and self-centered.

I know struggles with transitions and change and people assuming you are overreacting when you get upset.

I know not being able to see other point of views and having rigid thinking.

I know talking too long and not recognizing the social cues of knowing when it’s time to stop, let someone else have a turn or it’s time to leave.

I know losing friends over being brutally honest and having no filter.

I know not understanding jokes, sarcasm and taking everything literally.

I know struggling with self care and hygiene due to sensory differences.

I know not being able to retain new information and having horrible working memory.

I know of falling through the cracks in school because the level of autism you were diagnosed with doesn’t match the level of support you need in that environment.

I know of avoiding any social interaction because you never know what to say and everyone makes you feel like you did it wrong when you try.

I know of the struggle to get employed once you mention the word autism or accommodations.

I know of everyone thinking you’re a savant, have a special skill or that you’re like “Rainman”.

I know of wondering if you’ll ever have a friend, be in a relationship or find love.

I know of the fight for diagnosis, for help, for anyone to believe you.

I know of the people who go undiagnosed their entire lives without help and don’t know why they struggle.

I know of the professionals, schools and parents that miss it entirely.

I know of “well they talk, want to socialize and give eye contact so they can’t be autistic.”

I know of late diagnosis and the emotions that come with not knowing your entire life why you felt that way and wishing you had known.

I know of the alarming rate of su***de thoughts, attempts and deaths by an autistic individual and an undiagnosed one.

I know of individuals who needed to go to hospitals and needed residential care.

I know of individuals who still need guardianship and who have to live with their parents.

I know of living like you don’t fit in anywhere and everyone wanting to put you in a box you don’t belong in.

I know of struggles mixed with splinter skills.

I know of feeling discriminated against and being isolated.

I know of a vast, misunderstood spectrum with each individual being unique and no two people that can fall on any place on any line.

I know of the phrase “you’re not autistic enough” for any of it to matter to anyone.

Sounds easy doesn’t it?

🐦🐦🐦

I also know the isolation parents like me feel because our kids don’t fit in even within our own community because you’re always kinda living somewhere in between two worlds.

Your kids are never severe enough or “normal” enough.

08/06/2026

08/03/2026

I had an argument with my roommate…and then a few hours later…I wrote this because I didn’t know what else to do with the emotion. Maybe you can relate?

“The scream I scrumpt made my throat sting.
Now each swallow reminds me, I should never have allowed its escape in the first place.

Words, screams, and other things, headed north and undigested, really ought to be intercepted.

For your words, a pen.
For your screams, a pillow.
You’ll certainly become a spectacle if you don’t use the receptacle.”

It’s about the shame that can come after an autistic meltdown.

When I say, “use a pen for the words and pillow for the screams”… I’m saying I wish I put the feeling somewhere acceptable. Somewhere out of sight.

As an autistic adult, I’ve learned the hard way that if you do not put your distress in the “right” place, you become the spectacle.

I don’t have the perfect solution for such problems, but I do know there is comfort in being reminded that you are not alone ❤️‍🩹

07/23/2026

We have received many calls and emails regarding the Seattle raccoon, Jimothy. As a wildlife rehabilitation facility, we care for orphaned and injured wildlife, admitting more than 3,300 patients each year. Because of the international attention that Jimothy has received, we have had requests from people as far away as Australia interested in attaching our name to their artwork or merchandise.

These individuals, or entities, want to share a portion of their proceeds with us, but honestly this feels exploitive. We understand that some artists have donated 100% of their profits to worthy causes, that is not what we are addressing here.

Our work is made possible through the generosity of our community, and we are deeply grateful for every person who supports wildlife. We feel that using Jimothy as a marketing tool is not ethical. We feature our patients in our own publications and share their stories to promote our work, but selling his likeness for profit turns wildlife into a commercial product and sends the wrong conservation message.

We are genuinely delighted to see so many people excited about the wildlife that shares our neighborhoods. It is refreshing to witness so much affection for raccoons, especially because it is often the opposite of what we experience with some raccoon callers.

Not all Washington state rehabilitators take in raccoons. They require specific care, caging, isolation for disease concerns, and other factors that are necessary for the state permits to treat them. We love raccoons! We have cared for raccoons for over 45 years and a group of orphaned raccoons were some of the first animals ever admitted to Sarvey Wildlife.

Over the past winter, we remodeled and rebuilt all our raccoon habitats. We doubled our capacity to care for raccoons, and we take in raccoons from all over Washington state. If you are interested in helping our raccoon population, please donate directly to a wildlife rehabilitation facility near you that rehabilitates raccoons.

We hope you can understand why we are not partnering with anyone to sell Jimothy merchandise. We also know that there are many scammers on the internet, and we hope that you will be cautious about any online purchases/donations.

Jimothy serves as an important reminder that the kindest way to appreciate wildlife is from a respectful distance. Please do not approach, interact with, or feed wild animals. Feeding wildlife can change natural behaviors, increase conflict with people, spread disease, and ultimately put both the animal and the public at risk.

It is our hope that all wildlife can live a truly wild life. Wildlife belongs in the wild and it is our goal to release animals in our care back to their habitats for us all to enjoy at a distance.

Loving wildlife means allowing it to remain wild.
~ Sarvey Wildlife

07/22/2026

https://youtu.be/QzPbY9ufnQY?is=qpum33B6Iri71ds_

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07/20/2026

A 10-year-old child's experiment proved that memories can be passed down through generations.

It all began when Jo Nagai, a second-grader from Kobe, Japan, noticed his hand-raised swallowtail butterflies seemed to recognize him, while wild ones flew away.

Determined to find a scientific answer, he reached out to Georgetown University entomologist Dr. Martha Weiss, who had famously demonstrated that moths can retain memories through the chaotic cellular breakdown of metamorphosis.

Inspired by her work, Jo proposed replicating her study on butterflies, leading to an extraordinary cross-continental collaboration. Using a home-designed setup, Jo trained caterpillars to associate a mild vibration with the scent of lavender.

Astoundingly, after their brains were completely rebuilt in their chrysalis, 70 percent of the adult butterflies still avoided the lavender scent—proving their memories survived the transformation.

But the most shocking discovery occurred when Jo bred these trained insects.

Without ever experiencing the vibration themselves, both the offspring and the grandchildren of the trained butterflies inherited an instinctual aversion to the lavender scent. At just ten years old, Jo documented these revolutionary findings in a 33-page paper and presented them alongside Dr. Weiss at the International Congress of Entomology in Kobe. This extraordinary discovery of transgenerational memory not only challenges traditional understandings of genetics and inheritance but also highlights how the curiosity of a child can disrupt the boundaries of modern science.

source: Upworthy. (2026). Ten-year-old butterfly researcher discovers that memories can be passed down through generations.

07/20/2026

Wolves💕

07/19/2026

Jimothy is the disability icon we need and deserve this year. 😆

Jimothy is a raccoon in Seattle who recently became internet famous for his disability. Jimothy likely has a congenital spinal formation that shortened his neck and body. He is a round little raccoon with long legs living the best trash panda life, and in this dumpster of a year we think he is an icon.

(This post is for a little levity and joy. Disability is natural even among our animal kin!)

ID: a photo of Jimothy the raccoon next to a tree on a background of the disability pride flag. Text around the photo reads disability icon of the year.

07/18/2026

Love the Cryptid vibe!