Not a Baby
by A Diary of a Mom
"...I was at once thrilled that she has obviously taken in and processed the information we give her time and time again when she yelps in terror in response to a crying baby and we explain that since babies don’t have words, they cry to tell us what they need, yet terribly discomfited by the idea that she might, on any level, be taking in the societal idea that those who don’t talk are, other than not talking, “like babies.”
And so I danced along the tight rope’s edge, explaining that while that was a really great connection to have made, it’s really, really important that we remember that people are the age that they are. In words that I hoped she would understand, I explained that Rhema is ten. That whether or not she has words, she’s still ten, with all of the experience and accumulated life of any other ten-year old, even if that experience is different from most others." READ MORE
by A Diary of a Mom
"...I was at once thrilled that she has obviously taken in and processed the information we give her time and time again when she yelps in terror in response to a crying baby and we explain that since babies don’t have words, they cry to tell us what they need, yet terribly discomfited by the idea that she might, on any level, be taking in the societal idea that those who don’t talk are, other than not talking, “like babies.”
And so I danced along the tight rope’s edge, explaining that while that was a really great connection to have made, it’s really, really important that we remember that people are the age that they are. In words that I hoped she would understand, I explained that Rhema is ten. That whether or not she has words, she’s still ten, with all of the experience and accumulated life of any other ten-year old, even if that experience is different from most others." READ MORE
Emma’s Presentation at The ICare4Autism Conference, Emma's Hope Book
Emma came up with the title of yesterday’s presentation – My Body Does Not Obey My Mind. In preparation for our talk, Emma wrote, “how about discussing gleeful shouts and irreverent clapping as expressions of joy, but that many will see as indications of simple mindedness?” I told her I thought this was a great idea.
During our presentation Emma found a number of people in the audience who happily engaged in making faces with her. One of her favorite faces is one she refers to as “fish lips”. She proceeded to demonstrate “fish lips” and then, after successfully encouraging others to participate, she typed, “Doing fish lips to the audience is an expression of funny playfulness, but can be misinterpreted as simple mindedness. Silliness is acceptable in those who are believed smart, but for those like me, it indicates stupidity.” It was a powerful demonstration of yet another way in which someone like Emma is often misunderstood. READ MORE
Emma came up with the title of yesterday’s presentation – My Body Does Not Obey My Mind. In preparation for our talk, Emma wrote, “how about discussing gleeful shouts and irreverent clapping as expressions of joy, but that many will see as indications of simple mindedness?” I told her I thought this was a great idea.
During our presentation Emma found a number of people in the audience who happily engaged in making faces with her. One of her favorite faces is one she refers to as “fish lips”. She proceeded to demonstrate “fish lips” and then, after successfully encouraging others to participate, she typed, “Doing fish lips to the audience is an expression of funny playfulness, but can be misinterpreted as simple mindedness. Silliness is acceptable in those who are believed smart, but for those like me, it indicates stupidity.” It was a powerful demonstration of yet another way in which someone like Emma is often misunderstood. READ MORE
Autism From The Outside: Experts To Avoid
by Mama Be Good
After I finished the three interviews for Autism From The Outside, I wondered, where do we go from here? How do we look at Landon's, Susun's, and Doug's perspectives about outsiders and apply them?
Thinking back to Karla Fisher's experience at the autism lecture, I'm reminded that she dealt with an autism expert who used the worst kind of differences - stereotypical differences - to teach his audience about autism. After she objected, he used autism again to dismiss her. And this is the point of the series: there are autism experts who hurt rather than help. READ MORE
by Mama Be Good
After I finished the three interviews for Autism From The Outside, I wondered, where do we go from here? How do we look at Landon's, Susun's, and Doug's perspectives about outsiders and apply them?
Thinking back to Karla Fisher's experience at the autism lecture, I'm reminded that she dealt with an autism expert who used the worst kind of differences - stereotypical differences - to teach his audience about autism. After she objected, he used autism again to dismiss her. And this is the point of the series: there are autism experts who hurt rather than help. READ MORE
Extinction Burst by Diary of a Mom
"...As for the process of reinforcing the behavior – I think we need to be very, very clear about the difference between behavior and inner experience.The behavior here is “asking for reassurance” and the worry itself is the inner experience. Extinguishing the behavior (the asking for reassurance) does nothing to extinguish the underlying fear that caused it.
This is precisely my issue with this particular kind of behavioral approach (and I don’t mean ABA as a whole, I mean ABA practiced this way). Often (not always, but often) it veers into this territory – where the behavior (outer expression) is all that matters and we think that once the behavior is gone, the reason / motivation for it must have magically disappeared with it." READ MORE
"...As for the process of reinforcing the behavior – I think we need to be very, very clear about the difference between behavior and inner experience.The behavior here is “asking for reassurance” and the worry itself is the inner experience. Extinguishing the behavior (the asking for reassurance) does nothing to extinguish the underlying fear that caused it.
This is precisely my issue with this particular kind of behavioral approach (and I don’t mean ABA as a whole, I mean ABA practiced this way). Often (not always, but often) it veers into this territory – where the behavior (outer expression) is all that matters and we think that once the behavior is gone, the reason / motivation for it must have magically disappeared with it." READ MORE
