Plovm Weekly: Rethinking "Individual Attention" & Global Shifts
This week: challenging the "individual attention fallacy" in schools, Turner's neurodiversity explored, global aviation disruption, and why accessibility cuts harm everyone.
Hello Plovm Community,
This week we examine how rigid systems create the very problems they blame on individuals, explore historic perspectives on neurodivergence, and track major disruptions affecting access and mobility worldwide.
A Note on Universal Design
Universal design isn't about making separate versions for different people. It's about creating systems flexible enough to work for everyone from the start. When we build tools that adapt to how each person thinks and interacts, we're not adding accessibility as an afterthought. We're designing inclusion into the foundation.
The pattern extends across classrooms and workplaces. Teachers spend enormous energy enforcing arbitrary rules about silence, stillness, and conformity rather than focusing on actual learning. Many neurodivergent children wouldn't need special attention if institutions questioned their inherited norms. A child using a comfort item isn't draining resources; a rule against comfort items is.
The fallacy also ignores creative solutions. Attention isn't zero-sum. Programs can hire more staff and expand resources rather than shrinking who they serve. But chronic underfunding driven by political decisions creates artificial scarcity, then shifts blame downward to the most vulnerable rather than upward to those withholding resources.
The exploration offers a window into how neurodivergent perspectives have shaped art and culture throughout history, even when unrecognized or unnamed. Understanding historic figures through this lens helps challenge assumptions about what neurodivergent contributions look like and reveals how different ways of perceiving have always enriched human creativity.
The timing is critical. Zelensky had recently appointed Yermak to head negotiations as US President Donald Trump leads a new drive to end the war. The corruption scandal has weakened Zelensky's position and risks jeopardizing Ukraine's negotiating stance as US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll arrives in Kyiv and officials prepare for Moscow talks next week.
In a stark address, Zelensky called for unity, warning that internal conflict threatens everything Ukraine has fought for. Recent polling suggested 70 percent of the public wanted Yermak to resign, reflecting widespread concern over alleged embezzlement in the energy sector affecting vital infrastructure during winter attacks.
Airbus identified that intense solar radiation may corrupt data critical to flight control functioning. The issue affects some 6,000 aircraft, though the company says 85 percent require only a quick software fix. Airlines across Europe including Lufthansa, Swiss, and Austrian Airlines announced impacts.
The grounding demonstrates how complex systems can fail in unexpected ways, affecting mobility and access on a massive scale. While most planes should return quickly, the incident highlights infrastructure vulnerabilities that disproportionately impact travelers with disabilities who face additional barriers during disruptions.
The scheme was portrayed as providing "free" cars, though it's funded by benefits and users' own contributions. This framing obscured that Motability vehicles represent essential mobility tools, not luxury handouts. The campaign's success in changing political rhetoric shows how accessibility gets targeted when portrayed as unearned privilege rather than necessary infrastructure.
The cuts threaten independence for thousands who rely on adapted vehicles to work, access healthcare, and participate in community life. When mobility becomes a political bargaining chip rather than a recognized need, the people most affected are those already facing the greatest barriers.
The Kickstarter campaign barely mentioned magnets, with promotional images showing domed switches underneath buttons and text doing little to suggest otherwise. A brief video narration mentioned magnetometers, but many backers appear to have missed this detail. The question becomes whether backers funded a specific product or a team to figure out the approach.
The creator says if magnets don't work, they'll fall back to wired buttons. The situation raises questions about transparency in crowdfunding and what backers deserve to know before committing money, particularly when marketing materials suggest one implementation while planning another.
