There isn’t a good or bad way to communicate, but it can be helpful to notice how you typically communicate and how the other people around you communicate. And you might notice there are different scenarios where one communication style works better than the other. Here are some examples of the thought process that might …
Author Archives: Nicola Schaan
Evidence-Based Motor Skills Interventions for Autistic Youth
This info was based off of a quick literature search and is not likely fully complete. Regardless, some good data to inform practice. Type of study: Systematic review Many different types of motor interventions improved the motor abilities of children with ASD: What skills were developed was based on the type of activity. E.g. body …
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Body Doubling
Body doubling is a strategy where you work along side someone as a source of motivation (and indirect source of accountability). Check out this video by Jessica McCabe at “HowTo ADHD” to learn more In person or virtual Synchronous or asynchronous (at the same time or not) Who is the body double? Example In person …
Speech to Text
Other options: https://storybird.com – allows you to create your own stories such as a picture book, long form story, comic, and poetry. It guides you through each panel, and you can choose images from artists, and even print your own story book. The basic version is free, and then they have paid subscriptions for more features. …
Breaking down social situations
When it comes to understanding a challenging social situation it can be helpful to slow down and break down what happened. I sometimes use this visual to help facilitate debriefing those moments. When I’m using this tool I often ask people to come up with one challenging situation and one situation that they handled well …
Managing meltdowns for siblings
Autistic meltdowns can be hard for siblings. Here are some resources and suggestions. These suggestions are intended for school aged children. Understanding autism for siblings: Check out this resource from OAR that has a general ‘Autism, my sibling, and me‘ workbook for children 5-10 years old. It’s a free resource (for your first download). **First …
Problematic Internet Use
Problematic Internet Use in Adolescents and Its Connection to ADHD and Autism **before getting into this I want to acknowledge that article outlines problematic internet use and does not consider the positives** Problematic internet use (PIU) in adolescents refers to the uncontrolled use of interactive screen media, resulting in negative consequences that affect an individual’s …
ADHD and Academic Motivation
This was an informal lit review completed through searching google scholar using key words such as “ADHD”, “academics”, “students”, and “motivation. Summary: Sources:
Autistic shutdown with catatonia like features
Two articles are summarized with key points displayed Article: What I Wish You Knew: Insights on Burnout, Inertia, Meltdown, and Shutdown From Autistic Youth.Front Psychol. 2021 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8595127 FYI this was written in part by one of Canada’s lead researchers in autism – Melanie Penner, who did a presentation last month to Children’s Healthcare Canada on best …
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Autistic code-switching
Some consider autistic code-switching to be synonymous with autistic masking (Roberts, 2023) Others, such as Connor McClure, feel the terms are different. He has a great article outlining autistic making and autistic code-switching My understanding, at this time, is both autistic masking and autistic code-switching have the potential to be adaptive, but code-switching is more …