“[So-called] Mild autism doesn’t mean one experiences autism mildly. It means you experience their autism mildly. You may not know how hard they’ve had to work to get to the level they are.” – Adam Walton
Sometimes it doesn’t even mean that – it just means that the symptom set they ended up with is less inconvienent to other people, or that their difficulties are being attributed to laziness or “being difficult” rather than autism.
Shab-e Yalda (Night of Yalda) is an Iranian festival held on the winter solstice, the longest and darkest night of the year. As the solstice marks the turning point when days become longer and nights shorter, for ancient Iranians this symbolised the victory of light over darkness and life over death.
Friends and family gather together to eat, drink, and read poetry (especially from Hafez) until well after midnight. Red fruits and nuts are typically eaten with pomegranates and watermelons being especially significant. The red symbolises the crimson hues of dawn and the glow of life.
In the Zoroastrian tradition the longest and darkest night of the year was a particularly inauspicious day and the practices of what is now known as Shab-e Yalda were originally customs intended to protect people from evil during that long night. People were advised to stay awake most of the night, lest misfortune should befell them, and people would gather in the safety of groups of family and friends, share the last remaining fruits from the summer, and find ways to pass the long night together in good company.
During their presentation to researchers, the youth made their point in a unique way: for the first five minutes, they spoke entirely in Inuktitut.
“People in the audience, at first, they look interested, and then they sort of look scared, and then they look confused,” said Elverum. “And I wait for a few minutes and say, ‘Oh, by the way, didn’t I tell you the workshop is going to be all in Inuktitut?’”
“And then they start squirming and get uncomfortable. And then I say, ‘Well, I’m just joking. But I want you to remember this moment. What it feels like to not understand what somebody is talking about.’”
The presentations are an opportunity for Elverum and her group to show the inverse of what often happens when southern researchers come to northern communities. Often, their presentations are entirely in English, causing issues for the community’s unililngual Inuktitut speakers.
Elverum says the experience was eye-opening for many attendees, especially younger researchers.
“Their eyes just get really wide, and it finally hits them … what it’s like when somebody doesn’t understand,” she said.
Urocyon's Jaunts 2.0 
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