Everyday Kids 4 Autism: Strive 2 Thrive

09/02/2022

When your child is attempting to do something and you want to jump in and help, wait. Allow them the possibility of their own victory. 💙

09/02/2022

The ability to communicate is a human right,
But to find our voice, we’ve had to fight.
Stuck in silence, unable to make ourselves heard,
We can’t get our message out in the spoken word.
But we won’t keep quiet, we won’t hide away,
We won’t be forgotten, we will have our say.
Because even though our voice is not very clear,
Our message is one that you all need to hear.
Verbal dyspraxia, the condition with which we live,
Take the time to listen as we have so much to give.
We won’t be silent, we deserve our voice to be heard,
Even though we struggle with the spoken word.

09/02/2022

THIS!!! 🎯💯

💙

05/19/2022

The longer I do AAC, the more I understand the concept of autonomous communication. When I was first introduced to the concept, I took its meaning at face value. Yes, of course everyone should be able to say whatever they want to say... But it's deeper than that.⁣
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It's choosing your own words and choosing when you will use them (or not!).⁣
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It's about choosing how you will communicate and to whom.⁣
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It means being able to build relationships where your voice is equally valued.⁣
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It's about expressing your unique personality.⁣
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It's about the opportunity to feel truly seen and heard.⁣
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As stakeholders, the decisions we make impact the likelihood that our learners will experience autonomous communication. The goal of communication autonomy should be our guide. As you weigh options along your AAC journey consider how choices and decisions will impact communication autonomy long term. ⁣
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How do you plan for communication autonomy?⁣

Image description: Bitmoji pointing up at quote. Text reads: The goal of AAC, autonomous communication. Quote being able to say what I want to say, to whoever I want to say it to, whenever I want to say it, however I choose to say it. unquote. Gayle Porter, speech-language pathologist, developer of PODD.

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05/04/2022

Slowly, VERY slowly, the world is waking up. Thank you Dr. Henny K for your pivotal contributions to

My landmark study was cited by 3 researchers at Western Michigan University last month.

If your OT does not know about , show them this article. Authored by Aaron R. Dallman, PhD, OTR/L; Kathryn L. Williams, PhD, OTR/L; Lauren Villa, BA

Direct quote: "As we hope to move forward in ethical practice, it is important to take stock of past and current occupational therapy treatment approaches for neurodiverse populations and consider if they are in accordance with these mandates, particularly those that aim to “normalize” behavior and regulate participation. Moreover, it is imperative that occupational therapists consider the indirect effects of our therapies. It has been suggested that there has not been enough attention paid to the long-term consequences of autism treatments (Dawson & Fletcher-Watson, 2021) or the impact of behavioral techniques, in particular, on increased rates of stress disorders and compromised mental health of autistic
people (Kupferstein, 2018)." [link to full PDF of study https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1937&context=ojot]

WHY DOES THIS MATTER ?

Occupational Therapy is an appropriate intervention for movement disorders. However, if the OT you work with is not informed by the neurodiversity movement, then they will absolutely utilize the that is now taught in masters programs.

02/07/2021

["Just a little note about PRESUMING COMPETENCE. I have a client - a 12 y/o. Has been in ABA FOREVER. Came to me about 5ish months ago (first speech therapy experience). Had no functional communication system and is non-speaking.

ABA had been working on PECS® with him since age 3.

And the School AAC team said, "Cognitively he is not ready for a device."

I ordered him a device during his FIRST session with me. We got it about a month ago (funding hoops) and after our initial session with the device, the client immediately starts programming his own pages!

Anyway, fast forward... Today, I receive an email from the ABA Therapist. She's mad because he's programmed "F you!" and "Leave me alone!"

She insists I need to remove the options.

My response??? "I will absolutely NOT remove communication messages that were independently programmed by my client.

I am proud of his ability to fully communicate his thoughts and feelings to others." Byeeeeee " ]

08/13/2020

ABA for autistics is based on Skinner’s operant conditioning for dogs. In this video, you can see the lone dog waiting for permission to have fun. Watching this clip, I can almost hear the AB…

08/10/2020

There's NO LOVE in ABA. Period.

Therapist Neurodiversity Collective does not use ABA in our therapy practices to address aggressive behaviors, destructive behaviors, self-injurious behaviors or melt-downs. Here are just a few of the resources we recommend. The list is in no way comprehensive, and we add to it when we find resources:

Treating self-injurious behaviors in autism spectrum disorder
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23311908.2019.1682766?fbclid=IwAR2YGh584H_aYsijklem5J0M7GTlsRPa4Tse1vELYE7IE7rlkSB4RIunvN8&

The problem with behaviorism – There are better ways to work with behaviorally challenging children
https://endseclusion.org/research/the-problem-with-behaviorism/?fbclid=IwAR1D4bpqZc_jpEPlgsXOJ3maYY99eigtcnH-yUQs2PFWJhe5GOi8tUr7yhA

How Teachers Can Take A More Compassionate Approach to Behaviors
https://monadelahooke.com/how-teachers-can-take-a-more-compassionate-approach-to-behaviors/?fbclid=IwAR2UM4vtAWYfumK8PIe2xEDByZskagM63SJsjkS7P3v4CmX-EjEgpeijYNA

Autism and Behaviorism -New Research Adds to an Already Compelling Case Against ABA
https://www.alfiekohn.org/blogs/autism/?fbclid=IwAR0zK_z3vw0MxYA88IhLROOL2Ovp2k5TV9S6Bq05nznJ1yZ6QUaTbEWuMeA

Autistic Insights on Meltdowns, Aggression, and Self-Injury
http://www.thinkingautismguide.com/2016/11/autistic-insights-on-meltdowns.html

Understanding Autism, Aggression, and Self-Injury: Medical Approaches and Best Support Practices
http://www.thinkingautismguide.com/2016/08/when-autistic-children-are-aggressive.html

A checklist for identifying sources of aggression
http://wearelikeyourchild.blogspot.com/2014/05/a-checklist-for-identifying-sources-of.html

“Self-Injurious Behaviors” ~ Let’s Discuss
https://emmashopebook.com/2013/02/05/self-injurious-behaviors-lets-discuss/

If Not ABA, Then What?
http://www.thinkingautismguide.com/2017/04/if-not-aba-then-what.html

Presuming competence: the only prerequisite to AAC
https://www.assistiveware.com/blog/presuming-competence-only-prerequisite-aac

First-Hand Perspectives on Behavioral Interventions for Autistic People and People with other Developmental Disabilities
https://autisticadvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Behavioral-Interventions-Report-Final.pdf

THE MISBEHAVIOUR OF BEHAVIOURISTS Ethical Challenges to the Autism-ABA Industry
http://www.sentex.net/~nexus23/naa_aba.html

Quiet Hands – Julia Bascom
https://juststimming.wordpress.com/2011/10/05/quiet-hands/

Tackling That Troublesome Issue of ABA and Ethics
https://emmashopebook.com/2012/10/10/tackling-that-troublesome-issue-of-aba-and-ethics/

You Asked: Supporting children with self-injurious stims
http://respectfullyconnected.com/2015/10/you-asked-supporting-children-with-self/

Ethical Concerns with Applied Behavior Analysis for Autism Spectrum "Disorder"

Ethical Concerns with Applied Behavior Analysis for Autism Spectrum "Disorder"

https://therapistndc.org/therapy/

08/03/2020

The objective of this study was to explore why autistic people and their caregivers chose interventions other than Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), and how their decision impacts them over their li…

07/30/2020

Text: "As parents of Disabled children... I see our main job is to protect our kids from low expectations that society will place upon them. They even need to be protected from your own low standards."

07/30/2020

Why presume competence??? If you can't understand why, you're the incompetent one. Just sayin'.

Everyday I see people assuming because disabled people move or act differently or don't physically present to the world a certain way, that person's inner world isn't as complex as their own. This baffles me and can only be the privilege someone must feel not being constantly misunderstood. I can't even imagine what that's like. When misunderstandings or making sure they don't occur are a part of daily life, it becomes clear that there's a hidden world around everything. Nothing is as it appears. .

I believe that's why I tend to study things deeper or like repetition, beside liking the predictability, I can always find something new to learn upon its review. I know there's always something hidden, everything has levels to it and I always want to seek a deeper level of understanding something.
So, it is angering when people assume because a person can't physically speak or show in other ways that they understand, that person doesn't have anything else to offer or have as complex thinking as others. I get very mad when people won't even entertain the thought that it's possible, but it's regular occurence. It seems like most of society needs therapy for their lack of imagination and repetitive, black and white thinking.
Image text: "I can't even fathom the sheer amount of righteous arrogance and assumption of one's own superiority needed to assume the depth of someone else's inner world solely based on what you can interpret on that person's outer world, and know for a fact you are right"