Two Sides of the Spectrum

In this episode, Autistic psychology practitioner Matt Lowry helps us dive into what a strengths-based diagnostics process looks like for autism, and the incredible difference this can make. We also explore what parents and other professionals should look for to find a neurodiversity-affirming evaluator when making a referral. And Matt reads us a story that he wrote called The Legend of Autistica, which is his poignant, hilarious, and insightful origin story of the Autistic people. View show notes and transcript at learnplaythrive.com/podcast

Lydia X. Z. Brown is an autistic attorney and disability justice advocate who specifically focuses on violence against multiply-marginalized disabled people. Join us as we explore how racism impacts the lives of Brown, Black and Indigenous Autistic people, and what steps therapists should take to move towards an anti-racist practice. This is a replay of episode 3 and we think you just can't hear it enough times. View show notes and transcript at learnplaythrive.com/podcast

This episode is the story of how an autistic physicist, an autistic occupational therapist, and a neurotypical speech language pathologist came together to try and break down the barriers to truly authentic inclusion for autistic kids in Durham, North Carolina. Our guests, Sam Brandsen, Janelle Fenwick, and Jenna Meehan are a neurodiverse group of therapists, researchers, and parents who set out to identify the barriers to inclusion for autistic kids and then to do the work to dismantle them. They share the resources they created and how we can do the same work in our own communities. View show notes and transcript at learnplaythrive.com/podcast

In this episode we explore how our ideas about disability – both as a society and as individual therapists - can deeply impact a parent’s relationship with their child and the child’s own view of themselves. Our guest, Chelsea Wallaert, is an occupational therapist and PhD student in disability studies who is deeply passionate about helping parents have more equitable and positive experiences with their disabled kids, especially during early childhood. Before we as therapists can show up fully for our clients, we must be able to identify ableism in our world and in ourselves and start the work to dismantle it. In this episode we talk about how to do just that.  View show notes and transcript at learnplaythrive.com/podcast

In this episode, we explore neurodiversity-affirming social-emotional learning through video games and stories. Our guest, Vanessa Castañeda Gill. Vanessa is autistic and the founder of Social Cipher. Our conversation goes into why game-based learning works, and how we can teach some of the most important social and emotional lessons in our work with autistic clients.You can check out Social Cipher at https://www.socialciphergame.com/ and if you decide you want to purchase it,  use coupon code LPT15 for 15% off.  View show notes and transcript at learnplaythrive.com/podcast

In this episode we explore the role of therapists in promoting positive sexual identity and reducing the risk of sexual assault for our clients. Our guest, Sarah Selvaggi Hernandez is an autistic  occupational therapist and educator working to promote an intentional identity-first approach to autism and OT. Promoting bodily autonomy starts with what we teach our youngest clients and how we treat them in our sessions. This is a must-listen episode for all therapists no matter their setting. View show notes and transcript at learnplaythrive.com/podcast

Jane Farrall, speech pathologist and special educator with extensive training and experience in literacy, discusses how a comprehensive literacy framework can transform speech and OT goals around reading and writing. The episode covers supporting reading comprehension and writing development, the importance of comprehensive literacy, challenges with handwriting, shifting focus to writing tools, parallels between emergent literacy and AC use, strategies for teaching reading comprehension, using declarative language in shared reading, and teaching literacy and communication as life skills.

In this episode we dive into interoception, our ability to understand the messages we are getting from inside our bodies. Our guest, Kelly Mahler, makes the connection between interoception and truly neurodiversity-affirming therapy practices. Kelly Mahler presents internationally on interoception and has authored 12 resources, including The Interoception Curriculum. This episode covers how a deeper understanding of interoception can help us support authentic self-regulation for our autistic clients. View show notes and transcript at learnplaythrive.com/podcast

In this episode, we talk about what it means to cultivate an authentic life together with our autistic clients, from early childhood through adulthood. Our guest, Maisie Soetantyo, is an openly autistic family and inclusivity consultant who founded the Autism Career Pathways. She’s worked with families for 3 decades and believes that nurturing one's autistic authenticity is a critical first foundation to meaningful self-advocacy, career path and living the best life as an autistic person. This episode covers parent coaching in touch situations, cultivating a growth mindset, creating opportunities for meaningful work for our clients, and more.  View show notes and transcript at learnplaythrive.com/podcast

In this episode with preschool director Corrie Price, we go into exactly how you can build neurodiverse, inclusive early childhood spaces from the ground up and from the top down. Corrie Price is a life-long advocate for children and families and the director of Evolve Early Learning, an inclusive preschool in Asheville, NC. View show notes and transcript at learnplaythrive.com/podcast