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beingallelite · 5 years

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Hoffman Estates, Illinois — All Elite Wrestling returned to familiar ground in the suburbs of Chicago on Saturday, trying to recreate the magic that launched the brand's leading stars into the wrestling stratosphere at last year's All In.

Mission accomplished.

All Out was a five-hour extravaganza, mixing diverse wrestling styles to create a show unlike anything fans had ever seen from a mainstream promotion. From the old-school southern shenanigans of Cody Rhodes and Shawn Spears to the state-of-the-art stunt spectacular performed by the Young Bucks and Lucha Brothers, it was a wrestling show that had something remarkable for every fan in the building.

The energy was electric—and contagious. The live crowd couldn't get enough, and the building was full to bursting with fans who felt invested, not just in individual wrestlers or storylines, but in the entire enterprise.

Something special is brewing in the wrestling industry, and AEW is at the heart of it.

Last week, Off the Top Rope's Jonathan Snowden talked to one of the event's architects, All Elite Wrestling executive Brandi Rhodes, about the launch of a new wrestling promotion, her savvy use of social media and her role in building a women's division from the ground up.

This week, we continue that conversation with a discussion of one of the most multifaceted talent rosters in professional wrestling history.

Jonathan Snowden: I'm assuming you're often the only woman in the room when a lot of important decisions are being made. Is it kind of your duty to keep an eye out for the other women on the roster and help make sure they aren't pushed in directions creatively that a man might not realize could make them uncomfortable?

Brandi Rhodes: That's the goal. I haven't had any situations like that yet, but we're about to start weekly TV. So we'll see some of the ideas. But there have been for myself at times in wrestling, times when I had to say, 'Hey, wait a minute, I'm not really comfortable with that' or, 'That doesn't work for me.'

It's interesting to see how a lot of people don't see the other side of the coin. Since they haven't been there. Someone might suggest your character say something that they'd never say. It doesn't occur to them that there are people who think differently about something, from another perspective.

I think it probably will be helpful to have me there. I'm also someone who is always looking at things from different angles. There's always two answers. Cody and I run a lot of things by each other. We're able to help each other see things differently than we would singularly.

JS: What's an example of a time you remember when you were asked to do something you didn't feel right about doing? Is there a moment that stands out?

Rhodes: Ideas that made it seem like I wasn't particularly faithful to my husband. That's an area I don't like to go. It's just not for me.

And the fans, they know us. They know Cody and I, and they like our relationship. So, I would never want to kind of scoff in their faces and make it seem like it's something that it's not.

JS: You guys have a slogan, "AEW is for everyone." I know just how real that is, and I wanted to personally thank you for your commitment to sensory inclusion. We have two kids on the autism spectrum, and going to an event like yours can be kind of terrifying. But we came out to Double or Nothing, and the sensory room you put together with KultureCity made a huge difference. Why was this so important to you? Because I was told you championed the cause.

Rhodes: Thank you for sharing that with me. I love hearing from people who had wonderful experiences with the sensory room. It really makes me so happy.

KultureCity actually reached out to me. I didn't know anything about them or their mission, because it was really vague to me what they represented. I met with [CEO] Julian Maha, and he told me that when we said "AEW is for everyone," it might not be true. He said: 'You're missing a big part of the market. You're missing people with invisible illnesses.' I said, 'Wow." Because we 100 percent were, and we hadn't thought about it.

It's just one of those things people don't think about unless it personally affects them. It can easily slip your mind unless you're confronted with it. But I've been to countless wrestling shows over the last seven or eight years. I've been a part of many meet-and-greets where someone had a need like this and no one knew what to do. Personally, it was embarrassing when we didn't know how to help people and they would just have to leave.

So, when Julian brought this up, I was all for it. If I can keep those moments from happening for any family, I'm all for whatever it takes to make that happen. We are fully in with KultureCity and doing everything we can to get them to as many events as possible.

JS: Inclusion seems to be important generally to this company. From Nyla Rose to Sonny Kiss to the Chinese superstars from OWE, you've been finding talent where most mainstream wrestling companies don't even think to look for it. Are there barriers you're intentionally breaking down, or is it just a matter of being open to talented performers, whatever their background might be?

Rhodes: It's not something we set out to do. We never said, 'We need to check these boxes.' That's not a good way to find the best talent, in my opinion. As long as you keep in mind that what you're looking for is the best person, regardless of anything else, you're going to find the best of the best. And I think that's what we've got here.

In our case, we were very, very lucky. A lot of talent just kind of fell in our lap, which is wonderful when you don't have to search very hard for such talented people.

Our agenda was always to have an open mind about everything. When you have someone like Sonny Kiss, who is very much on the surface who he is, there is no way we're going to say, 'Maybe he should be different, do different moves or act a different way.' He is who he is, and who he is is perfect. He's very talented, and we absolutely love having Sonny as part of the roster.

JS: You guys have made great use of social media. Before I was familiar with the wrestling work of many of your young performers, I met them on your YouTube shows Being The Elite and The Road to All Out series. Both those shows are great at making you really care about the people who make up this company.

But is that possible with some of the foreign talents? I think Riho and [Hikaru] Shida had a really compelling match at All Out—how do you present them on a YouTube show the same way with the language and cultural barriers that might be there?

Rhodes: That's always a challenge, as many people have seen in wrestling over the years with characters when English isn't their first language. However, there have also been plenty of examples where it hasn't been a factor at all because they've been able to express themselves in other ways.

There are things we have in mind to let people know more about some of these wrestlers and how they came to be, what their background is and who they are in the ring. It's something you'll have to see as we roll it out, but there are definitely plans.

JS: AEW launches on TNT on Oct. 2, just a few weeks after WWE takes their NXT brand into the mainstream on the USA Network. Old-school wrestling fans have seen a version of this before, but for new fans, this may be the first time they've been asked to make a choice. So, with WWE just a click away, why should fans choose to take a leap of faith with AEW?

Rhodes: We've been at the cusp of something amazing in wrestling, something we're calling a revolution. This is the first time in almost 20 years that there has been another brand that is this strong and on prime time.

The fanbase has expressed that they've wanted this and needed this for so long. It's been proven with the sellouts we've been having at multiple arenas throughout the country that people really, really do want this alternative.

We vow to bring that alternative in many, many ways. We've talked about it across many mediums, and we'll stay true to our belief that bell-to-bell wrestling is the most important thing.

Our roster is so diverse, and I think our show will be different than anything people have seen. We just hope to continue this movement, and fans will come with us and tune in every week so we can keep doing what we're doing. That's what makes this possible: the fans. As long as the fans keep rallying behind us and stick with us, we're going to do really, really well.

Brandi Rhodes is the chief brand officer for All Elite Wrestling and a standout performer. You can follow her on Twitter and YouTube for further glimpses into a life well-lived.

Match of the Week

Young Bucks vs. Lucha Brothers (AEW All Out, Aug. 31): These teams have been squaring off for months, to the point where their combined excellence has become almost routine. A ladder match successfully upped the ante, ramping up the danger, level of difficulty and excitement in ways that would have been unimaginable just two decades ago when Edge, Christian and the Hardy Boyz set the standard for all to follow.

With all due respect to WWE's legends of the form, this match surpassed even their best efforts. It was consistently innovative, daring and almost too much for several people in my section at Sears Centre, who hid their faces in their hands and literally begged for someone to stop the match before someone died in the ring.

No one did, but only because the performers executed some of the most bonkers highspots imaginable and almost never missed a beat.

'Hard Times' Promo of the Week

Chris Jericho was on top of the world as he cruised Tallahassee, Florida, in a limousine on his way to a local LongHorn Steakhouse. Jericho was the new AEW world champion, and to the victor go the spoils.

Afterward, however, there was a bit of a problem: he couldn't find the belt. As the internet mocked him savagely, Jericho leaned into the storm and made the moment his own.

Here's a taste of his genius, delivered in a hot tub with a scarf on, because it's Chris Jericho and he can:

"Now, as I sit here in my palatial estate, in my beautiful mansion, getting ready to have a little bit of the bubbly, I'm just imagining what I would do to that son of a b---h if he was here right now.

"And as a result, I am launching a worldwide investigation, using the top private investigators in the world today, to find out who committed this crime. And trust me, as the AEW champion ... I promise to regain and restore and find—and reclaim!—the AEW championship and once again give you another reason to finally give me the 'thank you' that I deserve.

"You're welcome."

Update: He got it back!

#all elite wrestling #aew #all out #brandi rhodes #the young bucks #chris jericho #matt jackson #nick jackson #lucha brothers #pentagon jr #fenix #article #posted on: 9.5.19 #bleacher report

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shapingautismresearchuk · 7 years

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Autistic wellbeing

Thanks to everyone who was involved in our recent seminar on Autistic Wellbeing, the fifth seminar in our ESRC Shaping Autism Research series. This particular seminar focused on working towards a shared definition of autistic wellbeing (which, as some attendees quickly pointed out, might have been overly ambitious!) and determining how best to measure autistic wellbeing in our research and embed this understanding in our practice.

Susy Ridout and Damian Milton have put together an excellent summary of the two days below.

Following on from the success of the previous seminar, seminar five was attended by around 50 individuals, and over the two days, there was a collection of presentations and workshops by autistic, neurodivergent and non-autistic speakers.

Day One: Towards a shared understanding of autistic wellbeing

The first day began with an orientation by Liz Pellicano to identify the goals of the seminar, namely:

1. to identify collectively a shared definition of autistic wellbeing; and

2. to determine how autistic wellbeing could best be measured in our research and to embed this understanding in our practice.

The two days would then lead into a set of outputs accompanied by examples of good practice.

As with previous seminars, the theme originated from key findings and recommendations emerging from A Future Made Together. These emphasised the importance of autistic involvement at all stages of the research process in order to address relevant priority areas.

The scene was then set by Damian Milton (member of the scientific and advisory committee for Research Autism, research at London Southbank University and Head of Autism Knowledge and Expertise (Adults and Community) at the NAS), with an overview of how notions of wellbeing are constructed in the accounts of autistic people. Damian referred us to his research with narratives from Asperger United, pointing to similarities and differences regarding wellbeing and life experiences. Damian highlighted issues such as social isolation and underemployment, yet also suggested how positive social relationships could aid feelings of social belonging and wellbeing.

Andy McDonnell (Clinical Psychologist and Director of Studio 3 in Warwickshire), Robert Chapman (PhD research student at University of Essex and also teaching Philosophy at Kings College London), Steven Kapp (Research Fellow in Sociology at the University of Exeter), and Sarah Cassidy (the Atypical Development research Team lead in the Centre for Research in Psychology Behaviour and Achievement at the University of Coventry) then each gave a talk leading into a panel discussion around “Quality of life and wellbeing – what do we know about autistic wellbeing?” Coming from a background looking at ‘challenging behaviour’, crisis behaviour and anger management, Andy’s work currently utilises the PERMA model of wellbeing (Seligman, 2011). This provides a focus on Positive emotions, Engagement (flow), Relationships/social connections, Meaning and purpose and Accomplishment. This shifts the focus from what is problematic to what is going well or what works and emphasises emotions, their interpretation and the contextualisation of these. In addition, Andy discussed how a perception of control or self-control leads to increased wellbeing and is a human rights issue. Robert Chapman provided a different perspective, introducing the idea of ethics and flourishing from the inside. Talking of norms and social structures he questioned the spectrum as acknowledgment of functioning or barriers and linked this to debate around intersectionality. Intersectionality relates to our different identities, particularly, though not exclusively, to those relating to matters such as gender, sexual orientation, disability, age and faith group. Steven Kapp then looked at neurodiversity and quality of life experienced by autistics in relation to a range of support, such as social support and subjective wellbeing; parental support in relation to language acquisition and autism acceptance; school support and educational and social (peer) inclusion; and finally systemic support in adulthood. Finally, Sarah Cassidy gave a thought-provoking presentation on the figures in relation to depression and suicide risk among autistics in the UK. She then highlighted a Swedish study into deaths caused by suicide and noted, in particular, the findings showing no gender difference. In addition, studies tend to be more quantitative. There is, however, a high incidence, as well as a gender difference in non-suicidal self-injury with an even greater prevalence among women. In addition, many autistics report the feeling of being a burden and there is a need for more research overall in this area as mental health and suicidality among autistics is poorly understood.

Session three was kicked off by Mark Neary (father of a young autistic adult son, advocate, counsellor and blogger) and Sara Ryan (senior researcher at Nuffield Department of Primary Care and Social Science at the University of Oxford and blogger around the death of her son, Connor Sparrowhawk, in a residential care unit). These inspirational speakers led a fascinating panel discussion speaking on their experiences of the care system and “Social support (or lack thereof) for families and autistic adults”. Mark’s never-ending struggles as a carer fighting the bureaucracy to obtain and sustain a personal budget, on one hand, found him losing out on the other. As a result, he is unwittingly forced to take on the role of administrator to process the tax returns of those that look after his son and provide him with the independent lifestyle that is his right. Consequently, he has discovered the diversity of Council policies regarding personal budgets, with threats if he fails to provide even one small receipt. The paradox is that the autistic individual receives a good service, but the parent does not. Sarah’s experience was entirely different as she talked us through her painful journey where the residential unit that was meant to care for and keep her son safe, failed to do so; leaving him to drown in a bath following a seizure. Sarah views this as her son being “treated as and killed as a disposable human being” and there is a lack of interaction between the carer and the autistic individual that society chooses not to notice. Her son’s death highlights a glaring need for training among staff and the requirement to use more respectful language in commissioning reports. Furthermore, many parents like Sarah experience being demonised due to cultural differences or the fact that they challenge poor services. As a result, Sarah recommends continued challenges to demystify language and processes.

This discussion led to a workshop activity facilitated by Susy Ridout (mentor and academic support worker with autistic students in HE) and Alice Blakeley (children’s nurse currently working on a cardiac unit). The session explored “Barriers and processes impacting wellbeing”, and as a method previously introduced at Seminar 4 by Susy, was interesting in that it brought some of the same and some different people together again to explore ideas using a method that may or may not have been accessible for them. As such it was an excellent demonstration as to why communication preferences require attention when addressing wellbeing. Each group fed back about their work, explaining how the themes were linked as this was very much a work in progress. The artwork and themes raised can be seen here.

Finally, Day One ended with a keynote talk by Roy Richard Grinker. The presentation began by highlighting that in the DSM-5 distress or illness takes the form of some abnormality as reflected by the deficit model. However, autism is rarely talked about in the context of wider categories such as the DSM, and Grinker considers that understanding processes through which autism has emerged and changed over time can be argued to be fetishising. Initially, autism was presented in relation to psychiatry, and then increasingly as regards first-person accounts. He noted, however, that there were no cluster groupings in the past, such as in Ancient Greece. In addition, PTSD only occurs in relation to accounts of war, notably Vietnam and the Persian Gulf War of 1990. Autism has trodden a similar path to that of homosexuality in relation to its presence in the DSM, and Grinker talked about the latter’s recognition as a social construct. Those who identified as autistic/homosexual prior to official recognition were presumably not initially deemed to be a problem before Westernised social constructions were imposed. Grinker then led listeners down a trail where we were introduced to his research with Mandell on the puzzle piece and the notion that a narrative is only useful if it is presented with someone’s experience. As an anthropologist, Grinker questions the use of the DSM.

Day Two: Embedding autistic wellbeing into our research and practice

Damian Milton began the day with a brief summary of Day One and aims for Day Two.

In session 5, Martijn Dekker (autistic father, serving on the board of Autscape and initiator of an international support network for autistics) gave a presentation on Neurodiversity. Martijn pointed to the need for researchers and society more widely to consider the role of politics and belief regarding the facts. Using examples of his own experiences of catatonia and inertia, which result in him being able often only to work productively at the last minute, Martijn then drew us through his travels initiating and leading an autistic online community network (InLv) that was created in the 1990s; this latter provided mutual emotional and practical support to autistics. Martijn highlighted how models are used to simplify reality, for example, the social model of disability to explain catatonia. Finally, there is a need to work towards acceptance and accommodation, which vary according to our individual requirements.

A panel discussion on “How we should measure autistic wellbeing” was then led by presentations from: Helen McConachie (researcher on interventions and currently focusing on therapy approaches helping parents with young autistic children with social communication and also those experiencing high anxiety); Hilde Geurts (researcher on cognition and ADHD and autism across the lifespan, and with a special interest in autism and aging works at the Department of Psychology at the University of Amsterdam and the Dr Leo Kannerhuis clinic); and Alastair Clarkson (Researcher in Residence at Scottish Autism and a PhD candidate in education at the University of Aberdeen). Helen raised the issue as to why we should measure ‘Quality of Life’, and linked this to the development of public policy and public services. As a definition, the WHOQoL (1998) covers the areas of physical, psychological, social and environmental wellbeing. In her study around wellbeing using the Warwick Edinburgh Wellbeing Scale, Helen’s findings showed that 5% lacked the capacity to respond, and so required someone else to do so. In addition, 14% had assistance to respond. The domains covered related to and inclusion autonomy, discrimination. Hilde’s work related to subjective wellbeing; how we study it; and its relation to aging. This type of wellbeing can be both a positive and a negative aspect of life according to our interaction with the internal and external environment. In the 19-83 age range, autistics have a lower QoL than non-autistics due to a number of factors including lack of employment and social isolation. Interestingly, there was no direct link found in her work between QoL and the treatments and interventions that a person had received. Finally, in this panel, Alastair discussed the Support Experience Survey and the need to develop a meaningful survey process for autistics. In his survey, he was looking for feedback for service provision and had seven practice principles. In addition, the survey was both standardised and individualised according to communication preferences, leading to two versions of the survey where some chose to respond using pictures or visual boards to facilitate survey dialogues.

Ben Connors then gave a stimulating talk about his unexpected work as a personal assistant to an autistic young man (Gabriel). Through the building up of a relationship with him, Ben developed comics as a tool for communication and enjoyment. Ben then led a group activity in which attendees were asked to draw comic strips to illustrate what autistic wellbeing means to them and some of the barriers that autistic people face with regard to their wellbeing. Attendees were given guidance in the form of a storyboard pig, A Piggie Plot Planner. The pig had a beginning section, a middle section and an end, just as any narrative. The storyboards were then discussed and shared with the whole group. You can see the wonderful outputs here.

“How can we prioritise autistic wellbeing in our research, service delivery and policy discussions?” was the title for the final panel discussion with presentations by: Monique Craine (advocate, blogger and campaigner on Neurodivergent issues and the inspiration behind the Labour Party Autism/Neurodiversity manifesto); Ginny Russell (Senior Research Fellow at the University of Exeter Medical School); Ian Dale (NAS Head of Monitoring, Research and Evaluation); and Bob Lowndes (Director of the Autism Education Trust). Monique’s avid blogging has resulted in her working with John McDonnell MP and neurodivergent individuals to provide a working definition of autism without using medical terms, and her presentation highlighted this impact through the development of a ‘Neurodiversity Manifesto’. Ginny talked about diagnosis in the context of autism and neurodiversity. As someone working with Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) and grant opportunities, she raised the critical question as to whether ‘patients’ should assess researchers’ funding applications and examined this issue specifically within the context of the European project, EU Aims. Following this, Ian Dale challenged the nature of the Personal Independent Payment (PIP) forms, stating that we need to think beyond the individual. He argues that that the person-centered approach is a formula ‘made-up on the spot’ and that researchers need to be focusing on the potential of wellbeing as a diagnostic tool. Ian argues for change within the delivery of services and policy discussions. Bob Lowndes rounded up this session up stating that researchers need to embed autistic wellbeing into our research and practice, especially that impacting on education and social care. Raising the issue of QoL, Bob spoke of eight domains, namely emotional, interpersonal, material, personal, physical, self-determination, social inclusion and rights and where the routes to these outcomes are distinct. Ultimately, Bob suggested we should be talking about ‘support’ as opposed to ‘help’.

The final activity of the day was a whole group discussion focusing on “What have we learnt and how can we apply it to our own research and practice?” in which people emphasised strongly the importance of autistic involvement in the design and delivery of research and practice – and indeed the leading of seminars just like this one.

Overall, the talks and discussions were incredibly thought-provoking. Although we did not identify a shared definition of autistic wellbeing (which might have been too ambitious an aim!), we did … explore a wide array of topics arising under this theme, which was facilitated by the combination of visual workshops, presentations, and discussions presented by autistic, neurodivergent and non-autistic individuals. As the final part of this ESRC seminar series, the successes pointed towards a more positive future for working together to reshape autism research.

Susy Ridout and Damian Milton

#autism #autistic #wellbeing #autisticwellbeing #london #seminar #seminar5 #shapeARUK #shapingautismresearch

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