Plovm Weekly: Parenting, Policy & Peace
This week we explore the invisible weight of neurodivergent parenting, examine new research on engineering education, and celebrate a historic Nobel Peace Prize win
Hello Plovm Community,
This week we explore the invisible weight of neurodivergent parenting, examine groundbreaking research on engineering education, and celebrate a historic Nobel Peace Prize win. Plus, discover how Plovm's tools can help you build routines that stick and find moments of calm.
🌟 From the Plovm Team
Build Routines That Actually Work: Struggling to maintain consistency? Our Routine Tracker in Routine Rockstar (found in QuestVille) helps you create and monitor daily habits with calendar integration and progress tracking. Set up your morning routine, work schedule, or self-care practices—and watch them become automatic.
Need a Moment of Calm? Visit the Meditation Guru in Sensation Seeker House for customizable meditation experiences. Choose between male or female voices, adjust ambient sounds (ocean waves, forest, Tibetan bowls), enable subtitles, and select from 5 to 15-minute sessions. Whether you need guided breath focus, body scans, affirmations, or imaginative journeys—find what works for your mind today.
Neurodiversity & Parenting
The Invisible Marathon: When Neurodiversity Meets Motherhood
Startups Magazine | October 11, 2025
Writer Gee Eltringham opens up about the relentless reality of parenting a neurodivergent child while running a startup. Research shows parents of children with ADHD are twice as likely to experience relationship breakdowns by age eight, not from lack of love but from exhaustion and isolation. The article challenges the notion that self-care and balance are solutions when 41% of parents with SEND children must leave their jobs to support their child or advocate for them. "This is not just parenting—this is parenting on steroids," Eltringham writes, calling for system-level changes rather than individual coping strategies. Parents become "auxiliary aids" like glasses for vision, but that role is full-time and heavy.
Read Full Article
Education & Research
Universal Design Shows Different Results for ADHD vs. Depression in Engineering Students
Frontiers in Education | October 8, 2025
New research from the University of Connecticut examined 563 undergraduate engineering students in Universal Design for Learning (UDL) courses, revealing surprising findings. Students with higher depression characteristics showed moderate to large increases in learning motivation, self-efficacy, and academic engagement by the end of their UDL-based courses. However, students with higher ADHD characteristics experienced a small decrease in self-efficacy over the same period. The study suggests that UDL-based interventions may differentially benefit students depending on neurodivergent characteristics, pointing to a need for more tailored support within inclusive frameworks rather than one-size-fits-all approaches.
Read Full Article
Health & Science
Just 4% of Americans Believe Trump's Tylenol-Autism Claim
Forbes | October 9, 2025
Despite President Trump and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. warning that taking Tylenol during pregnancy increases autism risk, only 4% of Americans definitely believe this claim, according to a new KFF poll. The European Medicines Agency and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have affirmed acetaminophen's safety, warning that "the conditions people use acetaminophen to treat during pregnancy are far more dangerous than any theoretical risks." However, the claims have caused confusion, with 30% saying the claim is "probably true" and 30% saying "probably false." About 35% say the claim is definitely false.
Read Full Article
World News
Venezuela's Opposition Leader Wins Nobel Peace Prize
BBC News | October 11, 2025
Venezuela's opposition leader María Corina Machado has been awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize. The Nobel Committee hailed the 58-year-old as "one of the most extraordinary examples of civilian courage in Latin America in recent times" for her campaign against President Nicolás Maduro's regime. Despite being barred from running in last year's elections and forced to live in hiding, she united the divided opposition and inspired millions. "Despite serious threats against her life, she has remained in the country, a choice that has inspired millions," the Nobel chairman said. President Trump, who had hoped to receive the award, called to congratulate Machado.
Read Full Article
EU's New Border System Launches Amid Chaos Concerns
POLITICO Europe | October 10, 2025
The EU's Entry/Exit System launched this week, requiring non-EU nationals to provide fingerprints and photos at all Schengen border crossings. The system is being rolled out gradually over six months, but concerns about long wait times are mounting. Only Estonia, Luxembourg, and the Czech Republic implemented EES for all arrivals on launch day. France, the world's leading tourist destination with over 100 million visitors in 2024, is bracing for significant delays. "If tomorrow we had to pass all the passengers of a long-haul flight from China through EES, you'd triple the waiting time at the border," said a French interior ministry official. The system can be temporarily suspended if wait times become excessive.
Read Full Article
Technology
OpenAI Allegedly Sends Police to AI Regulation Advocate's Home
The Verge | October 10, 2025
Nathan Calvin, a lawyer at Encode AI who advocates for AI regulation, claims OpenAI sent a sheriff's deputy to his home to serve a subpoena demanding private messages with California legislators, college students, and former OpenAI employees. The subpoena was issued as part of OpenAI's countersuit against Elon Musk, allegedly to determine if Encode AI is funded by Musk. Encode recently supported landmark AI safety legislation in California and pushed OpenAI on its corporate restructuring plans. "This is not normal. OpenAI used an unrelated lawsuit to intimidate advocates of a bill trying to regulate them while the bill was still being debated," Calvin said. Even OpenAI's head of mission alignment responded: "We can't be doing things that make us into a frightening power instead of a virtuous one."
Read Full Article
World's cartoonists on this week's events
POLITICO | Oct 11, 2025
First published on PoliticalCartoons.com, Oct. 9, 2025 | By Marco De Angelis
First published on Caglecartoons.com, Oct. 6, 2025, Latvia | By Gatis Sluka
First published on Caglecartoons.com, Oct. 6, 2025, Bulgaria | By Christo Komarnitski
First published on PoliticalCartoons.com, Oct. 6, 2025 | By Arend van Dam
First published on Caglecartoons.com, Oct. 6, 2025 | By Becs