There's pushing kids to try a little harder, to go a little further, than would on their own. Then there's pushing them past their tolerance limit, pushing them into pain or panic. One is a healthy part of raising or teaching a child. The other is child abuse... I know that much of the damage done by therapists is done without malice. Most of it is done with good intentions, even. I don't bring these things up to make anyone feel bad about what they are doing or have done. I do it to help you learn, as I learned, for the sake of the kids we're all trying to help.
Tag: autism
Practice, Perspective, and Progress: a vignette
Sometimes I feel like the majority of my doing my job correctly consists of simply figuring out when I'm in the wrong. It's so easy for us humans (neurotypical or not) to project, to assume, and to get stuck in our own perspectives. And then we get annoyed when someone else responds badly because we… Continue reading Practice, Perspective, and Progress: a vignette
Yet Another Volley in the Battle over ABA, part 1
The report is well worth listening to, because there are some very good quotes, a wide range of opinions from an interesting variety of sources, and a more nuanced conversation than we usually hear about how ABA should change if it's going to continue to exist. I also found it frustrating to listen to, because it begins and ends with pro-ABA statements from a particularly problematic source.... How is there such a vast chasm between what autistic people keep writing and what so many non-autistic people believe about autism? It's almost as though we are using the same words but speaking different languages. I think this is because the two sides start the conversation from such different perspectives that they can't even understand each other's arguments.
Autism in easy English: Stimming
This post is about stimming. It is part of a series talking about autism in simple language. The goal is to help explain autism for ESL/English Language Learners.
Autism in Easy English: Introduction
A series of posts about autism, in simple English language. My goal is to help explain autism and answer questions especially for English Language Learners/ESL.
What’s Wrong With “Better” ABA?
This is a preliminary post. There are a bunch of references I need to add, and plenty of examples and stories I could share. But I want to get the basics down now, while they're on my mind. There are a gazillion critiques of ABA out there, largely from adult autistic people, and some from… Continue reading What’s Wrong With “Better” ABA?
More Challenged Than Challenging, part 1
We can't make aggression disappear completely, but we can make it less likely, less frequent, and less intense. Over the years, we've done a lot to make my client's life more orderly and predictable. As a result, he's generally a happier and calmer person, and slower to anger than he used to be. He is still someone with limitations that frustrate him unbearably at times, and he doesn't have as much emotional maturity as most people his age. But he is also much less prone to violence than he used to be. I think that's definitely worth the effort!
In Which I Use My Imagination
I want to help you imagine it, too. Perhaps it will help you, as it helped me, to be more patient with the profoundly autistic people in your life, and more openminded about what thoughts may lie behind their actions.
Words, words, words
Musings first, then the part about words. ******* In my typical way, I have suddenly gotten back into heavily using this blog after months of barely remembering that it exists. It always takes me a while just to remember how to post stuff and where my profile is and what various icons mean and things… Continue reading Words, words, words
A photo story
(Note: This is a post I started months ago and never finished. This is how my brain works. No posts for half a year and then multiple ones the same day. Frustrating!) Trying something new here -- an Insta post turned blog post. My 8-year-old client is making wonderful progress. When we reconnected a few… Continue reading A photo story