The Christina Crowe Podcast: Making the invisible VISIBLE

E93: Reimagining ABA: How One Centre is Leading a Neurodiversity-Affirming Revolution, with Kerry-Anne Robinson

Apr 21, 2025

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What if behaviour analysis didn’t have to be a source of trauma for Autistic people? In this episode, Christina Crowe and co-host Katie Richardson speak with Kerry-Anne Robinson, Executive Director of the Progressive Life Centre in Ajax, Ontario. Kerry-Anne shares her powerful journey from traditional behaviour therapy to building a groundbreaking neurodiversity-affirming centre designed to celebrate, not suppress, difference. With personal roots in neurodivergent family life and professional leadership in compassionate care, Kerry-Anne opens up about how therapeutic spaces — and the people who run them — can evolve.

Whether you're a clinician, caregiver, or someone with lived experience, this conversation is for anyone reckoning with the past and hopeful for a better future in autism support.

Highlights:

A Radical Redesign: Inside the Progressive Life Centre, a therapeutic space built for and with neurodivergent individuals.
Beyond Compliance: Why true neurodiversity-affirming care is a direction, not a destination.
Culture Shift in Behavioural Therapy: What it takes to retrain, reframe, and reimagine ABA through a trauma-informed lens.
Empowering Parents & Providers: How to ask the right questions, name your concerns, and centre informed consent and client autonomy.

Resources for After the Show:

The Progressive Life Centre in Ajax, Ontario, and their Program Guide | Progressive Steps
Neuroinclusive Design
Read: The Dig Deeper Blog, especially: Neurodivergent-Affirming Clinical Practices and Psychological Safety
The OG: The ADHD Resource Hub

About our Guest: Kerry-Anne Robinson is the Executive Director of Progressive Life Centre and Owner/Clinical Director of Progressive Steps Training and Consultation Inc. Kerry-Anne is leading a crucial paradigm shift in therapeutic support, mentoring therapists to move away from harmful traditional practices toward compassionate, accepting approaches. At Progressive Life Centre, she's created an environment where neurodivergent individuals aren't just supported

– they're celebrated. Her innovative approach combines evidence-based practices with deep respect for neurodivergent experiences, demonstrating how therapeutic spaces can evolve to truly honour and empower the community they serve. Find Kerry-Anne: Website | Instagram | Email Kerry-Anne

Find Katie (CRPO #11244): Website | Instagram

A gentle reminder that this is not therapy, and Christina nor Katie are your therapist. If you need more one on one support or treatment, please check out the links posted above or our Resources page on our website.