218 | the brain-body disconnect: what Spelling to Communicate taught me about autism and communication

About this episode

Dr. Tay discusses the brain-body disconnect in autistic individuals and insights gained from Spelling to Communicate sessions.

about this episode (+ scroll for resources) 👇 communication is not only about spoken words. and for many autistic individuals, especially non-speaking or minimally speaking individuals, the challenge is not a lack of thoughts, understanding, or desire to communicate. it may be that their body does not reliably do what their brain wants it to do. in this episode, dr. tay shares reflections after observing several Spelling to Communicate (S2C) sessions, including sessions with open spellers who were able to describe their own experiences of motor planning, communication, and brain-body disconnect. this conversation is about more than one communication modality. it is an invitation to think differently about communication, apraxia, motor planning, autonomy, consent, and what it means to presume competence. even if your child uses complex spoken language, this episode offers powerful insight into why communication can still break down, why behavior may not always mean what we think it means, and why giving time, space, and access matters. a special shoutout to Olivia of Brain2Body Therapy (Instagram: @brain2bodytherapy ) and the families who allowed me to observe sessions - I am SO…

People in this episode

Host: Dr. Tay

Topics covered

• communication
• autism
• motor planning
• apraxia
• brain-body disconnect
• presuming competence
• non-speaking individuals

Keywords

• autism
• communication
• motor planning
• apraxia
• brain-body disconnect
• Spelling to Communicate
• non-speaking
• behavior
• presume competence

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Brain2Body Therapy

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