At School
Push Them To Breaking…
(All I’m doing in this post is describing adult/child interactions that I observed, but I want to give you a heads up that it’s kind of infuriating. I think that’s important to share and to […]
Autism
At School
First, Then
Imagine that you sit down to watch a movie. You pop yourself a bowl of popcorn to go with it…maybe your favorite toppings, whether salt and butter or marshmallow or Parmesan cheese or something else…you […]
At Home
My Brain Won’t Stop
One thing went wrong. And it led to another. And it was too many things. And he was MAD. I carried him into his room so that we would have a safe space to melt […]
At Home
A Walk Through Dysregulation, Together
My son was feeling a little bit “out of whack” (that’s usually the least-jargony way I can describe the word “dysregulated”). He was picking at everyone in the family, emotionally, verbally. He pushed his sister, […]
At Home
You Don’t Have Any Blocks
“I want you to build a tower,” I say. You agree, and you stand up to go get the bucket of blocks off the shelf. I shake my head sternly. “No. Did I tell you […]
Autism
New Space in Your Brain
I want you to imagine for a moment that…everything is really good right now. Imagine that all the things on your to-do list that feel like “have to”s (instead of “get to”s) are taken care […]
Autism
In Pursuit of Diagnosis
If you are pursuing diagnosis for your neurodivergent child, it’s okay to take your neuro-affirming lens back “off” in order to talk to the doctor about your child. What I mean is that you are […]
Activities
Six Ways to Play with Vacuums
At my lecture last Friday, during the Q&A session, somebody asked me if I had any ideas for connecting meaningfully and playfully in therapy with a child whose special interest was vacuums, and who spent […]
Autism
Autism Acceptance Month 2023
I don’t think I could say it better or simpler than the I CAN Network said it here. That’s why I’ve posted all month about Autism Acceptance instead of just awareness. That’s what the difference […]
Autism
Self-Diagnosis (AA23)
I mentioned in an earlier post this month how a lot of adults will get diagnosed with autism later in life, especially if they have a child who is diagnosed as a child. They’ll recognize […]