Have you heard the term “emotional labor”? (This was a new one for me.) Emotional labor is the “mental and emotional work we do to maintain relationships with other people, whether that relationship is an intimate one, or simply coexisting with strangers in a public place” (Ada Hoffman). Emotional labor can include initiating interactions…
Neurodiversity is definitely the new buzz word. This could be a good thing because it shows more people are becoming educated/accepting of differences. But it could also be a bad thing as more and more people use the word without actually changing their behaviors. Being a neurodiverse affirming therapist means that I am getting out…
When you wanted to get married, what did you have to do? Did you take a test? Did someone observe your cooking or budgeting skills? Were you quizzed on your emotional IQ? I am guessing you said “no”. Did you know that this is not the case for individuals with disabilities? Marissa Debellis talks about…
If you have ever made a mistake, raise your hand (Hint: All hands should be raised). If you learned from your mistake, raise your hand (Hint: All hands should be raised). If your mistakes have helped shape you as a person, raise your hand (Hint: All hands should be raised). Unfortunately, neurodiverse individuals are rarely…
Question: How do you define “normal” behavior versus “creepy” behavior? Answer: It is all about intention The other day I was trying to create a visual for a client that explained the difference between behavior that is “normal”, behavior that could come off as “creepy” and behavior that was “harassment”. I usually start by just…
Last week I brought up one reason some neurodiverse individuals may not ask for help- they aren’t aware that they need help. Another reason why they may not ask for help is because of a fear of rejection. In my work with neurodiverse clients I usually start by asking them what they think about asking…
Using “Just Dance” to increase Executive Functioning Awareness In the previous post I talked about helping increase executive functioning awareness by using a technique called “Therapeutic Failure”. Essentially, this is where you letting a child fail in a safe environment. I know it sounds negative to just let someone fail, so I wanted to share…
You can’t ask for help if you don’t know you need help One common concern I hear from parents of neurodiverse individuals is that their child won’t ask for help. There are a couple reasons why neurodiverse individuals may not ask for help. The first one is that the individual may not even know that…
As I started teaching it I realized teaching the concept of public vs. private places was not as simple as I once thought. First, I will explain the basic concepts and then I will explain some of the more nuanced rules that will need to be taught as well. Basic Concept 1: “Public” is any place…