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 […]
disability
Activities
Finding Treasure
A few years ago, I was working as an occupational therapist for a group institution/foster home for older children with disabilities. I could basically come once a week and do a group activity that anyone […]
Autism
Fluctuating Skills (AA23)
Many neurodivergent people (not just Autistic people, but including Autistic people) have skills that fluctuate from day to day. This comes up so often in IEP meetings that I’m sitting in. People will say of […]
Autism
Social Construct (AA23)
I remember when I first started being exposed to the idea that disability could be largely, if not entirely, a social construct. I thought of it as kind of a nice, “politically correct” idea, and […]
Autism
Explaining Neurodivergence with Phones
One way that I sometimes explain the concept of neurodivergence — that autism, or ADHD* are different wirings of the brain, without being something “wrong” with the brain — to children (or sometimes to their […]
Autism
Autism & Disability
Let’s talk about euphemisms. When non-disabled people dodge around the word “disabled” because they think it’s an uncomfortable word, that’s a euphemism. When they say someone has “special needs” or is “differently-abled” or is “challenged”, […]
Personal
Driving & Disability
A small thought (from my time in studying for my UK driver’s license)… I got this practice question on a practice test and it made me pause. Can you read it and think of why? […]