Born to Be Free: Supporting Neurodivergent Clients to Learn, Play, & Thrive

Kids who are very intellectually bright and also Autistic have a unique set of struggles, one that is often missed, silenced, or poorly supported. They may struggle with shame, perfectionism, self-advocacy, boredom, dysregulation, being misidentified, and being misunderstood. Today's episode with school psychologist and parent coach Dr. Danika Maddocks covers the ways 2E kids are struggling that are so often missed, and how we can show up to support them.

This conversation with Autistic OT Sorcha Rice covers regulation for Autistic PDAers from absolutely every angle. The theme Sorcha kept bringing us back to is how we can provide more autonomy for our clients in how they identify their regulation needs and how they access their regulation tools. Sorcha walks us through a case study detailing how she supported a client who was deeply in burnout to help them access regulation, communication, connection, and safety. And at the end of the conversation, Sorcha shares five deeply transformative and practical things that you can try tomorrow in your work to help Autistic PDAers feel safer. Sorcha Rice is an Autistic PDA occupational therapist in Ireland. This is the second episode of our new twice monthly Patreon series where we showcase the people putting neurodiversity-affirming practice into action in their work. We'll explore their guiding principles and their practical strategies through conversation and case studies so that you can translate your values into your own work. Patreon subscribers also get access to recorded Q&A sessions with some of our most impactful podcast guests, and a Discourse forum to connect with other podcast listeners. Visit patreon.com/learnplaythrive to keep learning and support our podcast.

This isn't one of our normal podcast release days, and it isn't one of our typical topics, but this conversation is just too good not to share. This bonus episode is all about Autistic representation in media. In this episode, you’ll learn what comic books, TV shows, and more you should be recommending to your Autistic clients of all ages. Our guest Britton Payne is an entertainment attorney, recently of Warner Brothers Animation and Nickelodeon. On the side, Britton runs The Autism Scene, a non-profit advocating for the inclusion of explicitly, authentically Autistic characters in pop culture. This winter, The Autism Scene is running The AuSPEC AWARDS, which is a script competition…that maybe YOU will win! This episode is incredibly fun and impactful. Want MORE EPISODES of Two Sides of the Spectrum, recorded Q&As with our guests, and a listener chat forum? We just launched our Patreon and we need at least 100 people to join to keep the podcast running! Patreon.com/learnplaythrive

SLP Christina Schmidt strives to work in a way that centers a client's regulation, their identity, and their dignity. If that resonates with you, you won’t want to miss this conversation. Christina shares in detail how we can best support our clients with communication needs, our AAC users, non-speakers, kids who communicate through delayed echolalia in ways that are both neuro-affirming and culturally responsive. And she shares a model for supporting clients who don’t share our identities, applying it to a real life example of a client she supported who was deeply in burnout from being subjected to compliance-based practices. Christina Schmidt is a Black, African-American Australian, multicultural, and multi-dialectal AuDHD woman who proudly embraces her identity across all facets of her work and advocacy. She's the founder of Free to Be Me Speech Therapy where she provides neuro-affirming support to both kids and adults in a way that honors each person's unique communication needs, strengths, and ways of being. Her work is rooted in justice, joy, and the ongoing commitment to amplifying diverse voices and stories, always with the belief that we deserve to be seen, heard, and free to be. Want MORE EPISODES of Two Sides of the Spectrum, recorded Q&As with our guests, and a listener chat forum? We just launched our Patreon and we need at least 100 people to join to keep the podcast running! Patreon.com/learnplaythrive

Episode 67 was one of our most impactful episodes ever, and today we invite you to re-listen. Often as OTs and SLPs we skip right to teaching our Autistic clients new skills. But what about their feelings of felt safety while they are with us? What work do we need to do so that we can show up calm and connected and ready to support our Autistic kids to feel truly safe before they are ready to learn? Psychologist and school psychologist Dr. Gillian Boudreau talks us through this essential and often overlooked first step to supporting our Autistic clients. This is a re-airing of episode 67 in preparation for our next episode, which will be a new conversation with Dr. Gillian Boudreau that builds on this incredibly impactful episode.

This bonus episode is just for the parents you support, and it is all about meltdowns. A meltdown is a full body response to feeling overwhelmed. In a meltdown, our kids' nervous systems are in survival mode. They are going to fight for their lives or flee for safety. One way or another, they are physically releasing the energy of their intense emotions. When this happens, what is in our control, and how can we respond to signal safety to their nervous system? How can we turn down the temperature and bring the child back to safety? In this bonus episode, you’ll Amanda Diekman teaches parents a mindset shift and safety planning strategies to help you manage aggressive meltdowns in a way that helps bring your kid back to safety, without overextending your own nervous system. Join our caregiver community and access Amanda’s full on demand course, Supporting Autistic Kids in Distress, by visiting parents.learnplaythrive.com/community