Affect Autism Blog Posts including Podcasts
Everything you need to know to implement and practice DIR/Floortime on your own
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Autistic Masking or Impression Management?
Bonus Insights This Week's Topic In this episode, we discuss Dr. Amy Pearson and Kieran Rose's newly published book entitled, Autistic Masking: Understanding Identity Management and the Role of...
Parent Perspectives: Retrospective Perspective
Parent PerspectivesOn this edition of Parent Perspectives from Affect Autism, we have another parent panel! Parent Perspectives is an addition to the usual podcasts.This Week's GuestsThis edition of Parent Perspectives features three mothers of autistic daughters,...
Visual Spatial Planning and Assessment (ViSPA)
This Week's GuestsDevelopmental, Individual differences, Relationship-based (DIR) Expert Training Leader and Occupational Therapist Toni Tortora is the Clinical Director at the Rebecca School and joins us from Manhattan. Occupational Therapist Colleen Gabbert is also...
Visualization leads to Imagination
Photo by Jessica Rockowitz on UnsplashThis Week's GuestOccupational Therapist Maude Le Roux is a DIR Expert and Training Leader and has a DIR/Floortime clinic, A Total Approach, in Glen Mills, PA, just outside Philadelphia and they are opening a satellite location in...
Parent Perspectives: Relationships, Play, and Growth
Parent PerspectivesOn this edition of Parent Perspectives from Affect Autism, we have another parent panel! Parent Perspectives is an addition to the usual podcasts.This Week's GuestsThis edition of Parent Perspectives features four mothers of autistic children,...
Parent Perspectives: Navigating our Health and Education Systems
A New Podcast!On this edition of Parent Perspectives from Affect Autism, we have our first parent panel! Parent Perspectives is an addition to the usual podcasts with DIR Experts and other guests. I hope you enjoy them!This Week's GuestsThis edition of Parent...
Harnessing the Power of Narratives to Impact Development
This Week’s TopicThis week, we're discussing personal narratives and harnessing their power to impact the Functional Emotional Developmental Capacities (FEDCs) including expanding emotional language, the concept of hindsight (e.g., should I have reacted that way),...
(Non)Compliance does not equal (Dys)Regulation
This Week's TopicCompliance is often mistaken for readiness to learn, but compliance does not equal regulation, and regulation is necessary for learning. On the flip side, dysregulation is often seen as noncompliance. In this podcast, we discuss the connection between...
A New Community-Created Resource: SLP MAPs
This Week's GuestThis week's guest is Amanda Binns, a clinician scientist who has her PhD and is also a Speech and Language Pathologist. She's currently the co-lead at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital of a student-led environment designed to support...
Parent Perspectives: How Do We Handle Fears and Anxiety?
A New Podcast!This marks the first edition of Parent Perspectives from Affect Autism! I thought it would be helpful for parents and practitioners to hear some of the things we discuss at ICDL's parent support meeting, which happens Mondays at 1pm Eastern time,...
Adapted Spiral Praxis and Movement for the Bodymind Process
This Week's GuestToday I am thrilled to interview Yuji Oka of the Spiral Movement Center in Toronto where my son went for their MOVEMENT program weekly for many years up until the Pandemic. Yuji is the founder and a practitioner of Adapted Spiral Praxis which is based...
All About Praxis: Part 2 of 2
Photo by Mika Baumeister on UnsplashThis Week's Guests and Part 1 ReviewOccupational Therapist, Joann Fleckenstein, and Licensed Professional Counselor, Mike Fields, both of Individual and Team Therapy Services in Atlanta and Expert Developmental, Individual...
All About Praxis: Part 1 of 2
Photo by Mika Baumeister on UnsplashThis Week's GuestOccupational Therapist, Joann Fleckenstein, and Licensed Professional Counselor, Mike Fields, both of Individual and Team Therapy Services in Atlanta and Expert Developmental, Individual differences,...
A Floortime Approach to Fears and Phobias
This Week's GuestDr. Karen Levine is a Developmental Psychologist and a Developmental, Individual differences, Relationship-based (DIR) Model Expert and Training Leader based in Maine. She has a private practice specializing in treating young children, both...
Floortime Coaching for Different Parenting Styles
Photo: Annie SprattThis Week's GuestThis week I welcome Gabriela Michaca who is a licensed school neuropsychologist and also just received her Masters in Occupational Therapy. Developmental, Individual differences, Relationship-based (DIR) Model Expert and Training...
The Somatosensory System and Tactile Perception
Photo: Annie SprattThis Week's GuestOccupational Therapist Maude Le Roux is back again this week to discuss the sense of touch, or tactile perception, part of the 'I', Individual differences. Maude is a Developmental, Individual differences, Relationship-based (DIR)...
Physical Therapy is Enhanced Using a Floortime Lens
This Week's GuestMary Beth Crawford is a licensed Physical therapist and Developmental, Individual differences, Relationship-based (DIR) Expert Training Leader who founded Baby Steps Therapy in 2008. Mary Beth regularly provides lectures and in-service training to...
Our Differences are Our Strengths
Bonus Insights FREE this week!This Week's GuestThis week I'm speaking with autistic self-advocate, Mickey Rowe, who has had a prolific and varied career as an actor, director, consultant, and public speaker. He is autistic and legally blind. He believes that our...
Autism and Medication: Part 2
Photo: Rhendi RukmanaThis Week's TopicWe're back this week with Dr. Joshua Feder, a child and family psychiatrist in Solana Beach, California. We did a podcast on autism and medication a few years back and this is part 2 because there is a new Child Medication Fact...
Emotional Playgrounds Foster Emotional Well-Being
This Week's TopicThis week I am over the moon excited to have Developmental Psychologist Gordon Neufeld as my guest to discuss emotional well-being (versus 'mental health') and rethinking 'play' in terms of emotional playgrounds--the heart of a culture of well-being.I...
Curiosity as a Driver of Connection and Interaction in Adolescence
This Week's TopicIn our last podcast together, back in 2019, Dave Nelson and I discussed puberty and how we can best support our kids in a respectful way using a developmental approach. Today we want to continue on that topic by touching on the developmental way to...
Empowering Ability
This Week's TopicThis week I welcome Eric Goll, the creator of Empowering Ability. I regularly watch Eric's weekly 5-minute video tips, attended his free life plan workshop and took his online course, realizing it was what I needed for where I was at with my son...
The Dynamic Process of ‘Transitions’
Photo Credit: Markus Spiske on UnsplashThis Week's TopicThis week I'm pleased to welcome new DIR Expert Training Leader, Helen Groth, as my guest to discuss the dynamic process of 'transitions' in autism. Helen gave a fabulous presentation on Transitions at the...
Giant Steps School in Montréal, Québec
This Week's TopicToday I'm speaking with Marla Cable, the Resource and Training Centre Coordinator at Giant Steps School. Giant Steps is a developmental approach, individualized private school in the public interest in Montréal, Québec with 93 students aged 4 to 21...
Part 2: Adult Diagnosis and What it Means
This Week's Topic This week, in Part 2, Kieran Rose and I will discuss late diagnosis and what it means. In Part 1 last week, we discussed a number of topics around neurodiversity including who to listen to as parents when our child is diagnosed with so many opinions...
Part 1: To Whom Should Parents Listen?
This Week's TopicThis week, in Part 1, Kieran Rose and I will discuss a number of topics around neurodiversity including who to listen to as parents when our child is diagnosed with so many opinions out there, and the balance between what we want as parents for our...
The Process of Parenting our Neurodivergent Children
This Week's TopicThis week we're discussing the parenting process, the intersection of the parenting experience and Nicole Mank's professional world, and how one shaped the other. Nicole discovered Engaging Autism when her son was seven which shaped how she parented...
Part 2: Bridging the Gap in Understanding
This Week's TopicThis week is Part 2 of our podcast with autistic self-advocate Khylil Robinson and his mother, Michele Abraham-Montgomery, also known as Chele, who specializes in Family Services, Autism Resources & Advocacy, Peer Family Coaching, Peer Best...
Part 1: Taking that Step on the Red Carpet
Image: shutterstock.comThis Week's TopicJoining us this week are guests Khylil Robinson who is an autistic self-advocate, and his mother, Michele Abraham-Montgomery, also known as Chele, who specializes in Family Services, Autism Resources & Advocacy, Peer Family...
The Complexity of Vision and Visual Processing
This Week's TopicOccupational Therapist Maude Le Roux is back this week to discuss the visual system, vision, and visual processing, following up from our podcast on the vestibular system from a few months ago. The 'I' in the Developmental, Individual differences,...
Kinder Growth DIR/Floortime Medicaid Services
This Week's GuestSari Levin is a Special Educator who has worked with families for a long time and is the Clinical Supervisor of Kinder Growth where they provide home-based DIR/Floortime services throughout New Jersey and are the first accredited DIR/Floortime...
Unpacking ‘Aggression’
This Week's GuestReturning guest, DIR Expert Training Leader and Licensed Professional Counsellor, Mike Fields, joins us this week to discuss aggression. We'll cover praxis, regulation and co-regulation, neuroception (i.e., the body scanning the environment for...
The Conversation
This Week's GuestReturning guests, Jackie Bartell, retired special educator, and Colette Ryan, Infant Mental Health Specialist discuss a video conversation presented at a past ICDL Conference where a mother and son have a discussion about the son's differences pre-...
The Impact of Vestibular Processing on Development
This Week's GuestA returning, frequent guest, Occupational Therapist Maude Le Roux joins us this week to discuss the impact of vestibular processing on the functional emotional developmental capacities (FEDCs), the 'developmental ladder' in the Developmental,...
Good Intentions Creating Unseen Stigma
This Week's GuestKieran Rose, an autistic self-advocate, published author, speaker, consultant, trainer, researcher, and neurodivergent educator joins us this week to discuss a number of topics around neurodiversity. He offers a regular online learning about...
Parents can Connect with their Children Through Musical Interactions
This Week's GuestCoaching parents how to do Floortime through musical interactions is today’s topic with returning guest, Music Therapist, Dr. John Carpente who is a DIR Expert and Training Leader, a Professor of Music Therapy at Molloy University, and founder and...
My Autism, My Story
This Week's GuestAutistic Self-Advocate, Turrell Burgess, joins the podcast this week to discuss his experience, his book, What's with the New Kid: My Autism My Story, what led him to the International Council on Development and Learning (ICDL)--the home of...
Your Growth is your Child’s Growth: Strength in Relationships
This Week's GuestJulia Swaigen is a registered social worker in Toronto, Ontario, Canada who founded and directs Attuned Families, a clinic to help families harness the power of relationships so that parents find peace and children thrive. They offer Family Therapy,...
The World’s First International Concert to Celebrate Neurodiversity
This Week's GuestAutistic Self-Advocate, Emile Gouws, returns this week to announce the world's first international concert to celebrate neurodiversity, Diversity is Phenomenal!, being held on May 14, 2022 online, and is sponsored by the International Council on...
Gauging our Developmental Capacities: Part 2
This Week's GuestDevelopmental, Individual differences, Relationship-based (DIR) Expert Training Leader, Colette Ryan, is an infant mental health specialist, a doctoral student in Fielding University’s Infant and Early Childhood Development program, and a parent coach...
Gauging our Developmental Capacities: Part 1
This Week's GuestDevelopmental, Individual differences, Relationship-based (DIR) Expert Training Leader, Colette Ryan, is an infant mental health specialist, a doctoral student in Fielding University’s Infant and Early Childhood Development program, and a parent coach...
DIR/Floortime and Physical Therapy
This Week's GuestMary Beth Crawford is a licensed Physical therapist and Developmental, Individual differences, Relationship-based (DIR) Expert Training Leader who founded Baby Steps Therapy in 2008. Mary Beth regularly provides lectures and in-service training to...
Creating Opportunities for Co-Regulatory Support
Sometimes the biggest challenge parents have with their autistic children who have meltdowns is meeting the child emotionally and connecting. Here, we need to find the affect they’re having in that moment in order to help them feel they’re being heard and understood....
Access and Choice in NY State for Autism Supports and Services
My guests today are Toni Tortora, an Occupational Therapist and the Clinical Director at the Rebecca School in Manhattan, Lori Ciesielski who is an Occupational Therapist for Liberty POST (Physical, Occupational, Speech Therapy) services in Buffalo, NY, and Galina...
A Developmental Approach to Toileting: Part 2
Alysha Paiaro, Developmental, Individual differences, Relationship-based (DIR) Occupational Therapist and the Assistant Director of Little Buddies Pediatric Therapy, Inc. DIR Occupational Therapy practice just outside Vancouver, British Columbia returns for Part 2 of...
A Developmental Approach to Toileting: Part 1
What parent doesn't ask about toileting issues when their child is on the spectrum? I don't think I've met a parent of an autistic child who hasn't struggled with toileting. But is it the child's issue or is it the parent's issue? Developmental, Individual...
Gross Motor versus Fine Motor Functions
Developmental, Individual differences, Relationship-based (DIR) Expert Training Leader and Occupational Therapist, Keith Landherr, is the founder and director of Little Buddies Pediatric Therapy, Inc. just outside of Vancouver, British Columbia. He is also a PhD...
The Impact of Cognitive Load on Relating, Communicating, and Thinking
Developmental, Individual differences, Relationship-based (DIR) Expert Training Leader, Colette Ryan, is an infant mental health specialist, a doctoral student in Fielding University’s Infant...
The Rubber Band Metaphor in Floortime
FREE Insights this week!FREE Key Takeaways this week as a New Year bonus! Enter your email above for access!Happy New Year! To start off 2022, retired special educator, DIR Expert Training...
Sensorimotor Profiles in Floortime
Gretchen Kamke is an Occupational Therapist and DIR Expert Training Leader with the International Council on Development and Learning (ICDL) and is a Floortime coach in the DIR Home Program....
Identity Exploration and Finding Your Voice
Photo by Photo: Ameen Fahmy on UnsplashThis week's guest is Maribel Serrano Holder. She is a Floortime Speech and Language Pathologist in San Francisco who founded Logopedia Speech and Language...
The New Co-Reg Community
A few years back, I spoke with Dr. Stuart Shanker about DIR/Floortime and Self-Reg. Self-reg is a process for enhancing self-regulation by understanding and dealing with stress. Self-regulation...
Going Slower to Move Faster
Occupational Therapist and DIR Expert Training Leader, Maude Le Roux, of A Total Approach in Glen Mills, PA returns this week to discuss moving slower to move faster. Maude says there's the...
Critical Core: A Tabletop Role-Playing Game
Photo credit: Game to GrowCritical Core is a tabletop role-playing game scaffolded around the DIR/Floortime model. Critical Core's Director Virginia Spielmann, Occupational Therapist,...