DEEP DIVE: Dr. Lynn Koegel on the Hidden Brilliance of Autism

DEEP DIVE: Dr. Lynn Koegel on the Hidden Brilliance of Autism

From What Fresh Hell: Laughing in the Face of Motherhood | Parenting Tips From Funny Moms by Margaret Ables and Amy Wilson

April 27, 2026 · 36 min

About this episode

Dr. Lynn Koegel discusses the strengths of children with autism and the importance of shifting focus from deficits to abilities.

This Deep Dive series revisits some of our past episodes about the joys and the challenges that come with raising kids with differences and disabilities. What if we're looking at autism in the wrong way? Dr. Lynn Koegel, co-author of ⁠Hidden Brilliance: Unlocking the Intelligence of Autism⁠, explains how to engage with the strengths in kids with autism rather than focusing on what they're lacking. ⁠Dr. Lynn Koegel⁠ is a clinical professor at the Stanford School of Medicine. She and her husband developed Pivotal Response Treatment which focuses on motivation. She has been supporting autistic individuals for more than 40 years. Dr. Koegel and Margaret discuss: Why we're focusing on the wrong things when we assess kids with autism The power of peer support Connecting authentically with kids with autism Dr. Koegel explains that professionals are often trained to look at what's "wrong" with children with autism rather than what's right. It helps to look at the differences in children with autism, as Margaret likes to say, as morally neutral. Here's where you can find Lynn: ⁠autismPRThelp.com⁠ ⁠@lynn.koegel on Facebook⁠ ⁠hidden-brilliance.org⁠ What Fresh Hell is co-hosted by Amy Wilson…

People in this episode

Hosts: Margaret Ables, Amy Wilson

Guest: Dr. Lynn Koegel

Topics covered

  • autism
  • parenting
  • strengths in disabilities
  • peer support
  • engagement with children

Keywords

  • autism
  • parenting
  • strengths
  • peer support
  • Pivotal Response Treatment
  • clinical professor
  • engagement

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Stanford School of Medicine, autismPRThelp.com, hidden-brilliance.org

Books & works: Hidden Brilliance: Unlocking the Intelligence of Autism

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