Video

This was so informative!

It's not so much that girls don't exhibit the typical "male" symptoms of autism, it's that they're more easily shamed out of them.

Best wishes for a great retirement to Drs Kitty, Jan and Ginger. Miss your support and insights. See you around town and the inter webs.

Not much here about autism in adults, even seniors.

Please DO NOT say "tantrum" when you mean meltdown. That kind of mistake puts us, (Autistic people) in danger. For example if i, as a black Autistic adult, have a sensory meltdown in a store, which has happened to me, if people think i am having a "tantrum," i can easily be arrested and because i look normal, no one believes i am Autistic. I have actually been threatened with arrest more rhan once for Autistic catatonia and Autistic neurological issues because people are misinformed and not using these words correctly. This is trauma that I will never recover from. Autistic people have also been killed because of these errors. If people understand that this "behavior" is a neurological collapse, we will be more likely to get help and support, rather than arrest and trespassing. Be careful because the words you use can really make a difference in how we are treated

This mom is so sweet. I would go to my room to self-soothe because no one was there to understand me. And the psychologist goes over everything so thoroughly. A+

Vocal fry is so annoying.

ABA? NOOOOOOOOOO!!! I can’t take a medical professional as being neurodivergent-affirming if they support ABA, because that’s abusive and destructive to autistics to make them mask, which is what ABA is hugely about. I say this as a 52 year-old autistic individual that’s dealt with autistic burnout.

The pathology paradigm gaslights us about our natural nervous system responses. Our sensitivity and other unique traits are labeled as dysfunctional. Even in trauma-informed clinics, our evolutionarily adaptive responses to stressors are sometimes labeled “faulty neuroception.” Suppression of neurodivergent traits is marketed as regulation strategies. Common interventions promise to limit how much our stress responses impact others rather than support any actual healing. Shame from therapists and doctors fuels anxiety and shutdown. I already spoke about the shame that often accompanies stigmatizing diagnosis, but there are many other topics on which neurodivergent people encounter shaming approaches from professionals, particularly - disability, support needs, finances, sexuality, spirituality, relationship styles, learning styles, and communication styles. Professionals (whether they are neurotypical or highly masking neurodivergents) frequently do not realize when they are enforcing a normative cultural ideal. Another way mistreatment happens is through the way medications are prescribed. I am all for psych medications as disability support. The problem is how meds are given. Trial and error testing of psych meds is disruptive and sometimes dangerous for sensitive neurodivergents. Fortunately they are shifting to more targeted approaches informed by genetic testing, but it should still be understood that trying a new medicine is a big deal to a neurodivergent nervous system. Neurodivergent people are more sensitive to side effects and to shifts in neurochemisty in general, but our reports about how our meds are affecting us are too often invalidated by our prescribing doctors. Retraumatization with professionals happens in many ways. A common one that can happen for anyone of any neurotype is when a therapist pushes someone to confront traumatic memories before they are ready to. For neurodivergent people, there is also a kind of re-traumatization that can happen that is a recreation or reenactment of core wounding. The power dynamic with a therapist can replicate the power dynamic we experience with neurotypical culture. If our therapist pushes us towards the neurotypical cultural ideal, we experience rejection of our true selves and suppression of authentic expression. This reinforces our external locus of control. We may respond to that relational harm with survival-motivated performativity, codependent patterns, and fawning or appeasement. The most extreme way neurodivergent people are harmed by the mental health system is through forcible medication and restraint or imprisonment for displaying distress symptoms. For expressing our distress in ways that are authentic to our divergent selves, we are punished with the complete removal of our autonomy. I have heard countless stories now from neurodivergent people who have been harmed by the system in this way. Their consent was violated, their human rights were revoked, and their dignity was cast aside by medical professionals, all in the name of helping them, while no thought was given to what caused their distress to begin with. www.traumageek.com/blog/social-language-theory-part-2

♥️ ♥️ thats my dad!!! We are so very grateful for the support he had throughout his journey! He loves the staff like family, and we love them too! ♥️ ♥️

Love you, Louraine🫶🏼

❤ So thankful for you, Louraine.

Thank you for this fantastic program. I really appreciate that you offered these topics, & all of the valuable insights shared by Chaplain Emily.

P0IS0N

Awesome

Nice

Nothing for Bedford 😢

Excellent job disseminating needed information, Kayia and Dr. MacCallum! Kayia we continue to pray for complete healing for you! (Jefferson Villas Bible Study)

We love seeing the Johnson family featured! It's a great commercial!

For more information, please visit the CDC website at www.cdc.gov/rsv/index.html

Very informative and great advice

I see me!