Making the Shift for Autistic Kids

Does one person in the house always seem to listen to the radio or TV at a volume that is just too loud?? Does another person in the house love when all the lights are dimmed? Maybe you feel like you are always chasing around a child who seems to have a never ending source of energy or trying to create a calming environment for a child who is easily overstimulated.. When you have a family with different sensory needs, it can be tough to find the perfect balance to keep everyone regulated. But the good news is, it's possible! This week on Making the Shift we're talking about strategies you can use to survive and thrive under one roof.

Raise your hand if you have ever had a child walk into your therapy session holding their favorite toy and you thought, "You know what, I'm just going to take this toy away so it's not distracting?". Now raise your hand if you immediately regretted that decision... Been there! This week on Making the Shift we're talking about 5 reasons you should NOT withhold a child's preferred items and what you should do instead.

This week on Making the Shift, we are sitting down with Autistic Advocate Sonny Jane Wise to discuss defying neuronormativity. Sonny Jane Wise, aka the Lived Experience Educator, is on a mission to build a neurodiversity affirming future and challenge neuronormativity so neurodivergent individuals are no longer labelled as disordered. Sonny Jane Wise is a multiply neurodivergent or more specifically, an Autistic Bipolar ADHDer. Sonny is an internationally recognized public speaker, advocate, author and content creator as well as the founder of the Drop In Care Space. Sonny was diagnosed as a child and grew up only hearing a deficit narrative about their neurodivergence. Since then, they have gone on to build an audience of over 100, 000 people online. They have written The Neurodivergent Friendly Workbook of DBT Skills and We’re All Neurodiverse due to be published November this year. They have worked with organizations around Australia to help change the narrative around neurodivergence. Make sure you follow @livedexperienceeducator on Instagram! DBT Workbook: https://livedexperienceeducator.com/store

We believe that creating an allyship plan is essential in today's society to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. It is important to recognize that allyship is not just a one-time action, but a continuous effort that requires an intentional plan. Which is why on this week's episode of Making the Shift, we are sitting down with Dr. Jennifer Hutton to discuss why creating an allyship plan is critical and how we can get moving on implementing that plan. Make sure you check out her Allyship Membership on https://www.buildingallyship.com/ and follow her on Instagram @dr.jpop

Today we are welcoming Katja Piscitelli aka Bohospeechie to the show. Katja is an Inside Out Sensory Trained Clinician who now has a private practice where she specializes in working with gestalt language processors. Find her on social @bohospeechie

Last week on Making the Shift we talked about 4 ways to know if your gestalt processor is dysregulated. And lack of engagement can often be a sign of dysregulation. On this week's episode of Making the Shift we're discussing why it's crucial to address sensory needs in your sessions with gestalt processors. We decided to bring back Melanie Weber, Sensory and NLA Trained SLP to talk about the one client that she struggled to engage with and how she was able to use sensory strategies to: a) realize he was a gestalt processor and b) increase his progress in sessions. To learn more about the Sensory Certificate Course visit www.sensoryslp.com

Have you ever wondered how regulation impacts the way we process language? By understanding how dysregulation can impact our ability to perceive and make sense of the world around us, we can better support our kids in increasing their self-generated language. Join us for this week's episode of Making the Shift with SLP Melanie Weber, as we explore the complex relationship between regulation and gestalt processing, and learn how to identify signs of dysregulation in your gestalt processors. Find Melanie on Instagram @melanieweberslp And if you liked this episode, check out our upcoming training: The Sensory Solution for SLPs. We're covering identifying dysregulation and proactive strategies to keep your clients engaged all day long! Click here to registerL https://sensoryslp.mykajabi.com/sensory-solution-for-slps

As SLPs, we know that the language we use matters. On this week's episode of Making the Shift, we’re talking about why it's important to presume competence. We're diving into what it means to presume competence, signs to look out for in order to tell if a therapist is presuming competence, and our top 5 tips to make the shift to presuming competence in your everyday interactions. Learn how to write ND affirming IEPs at www.speechdude.com

Happy Autism Acceptance Month! On this week's episode of Making the Shift, we’re talking about the difference between autism awareness and autism acceptance. We'll also go into why awareness alone is not enough and 3 ways we can shift towards autism acceptance. For Speech Dude's ND Affirming IEP Courses, visit www.speechdude.com

This week we’re going to be talking about our top tips for sensory seekers. This term is becoming more widely known (yay!) but it’s important to make sure we are all on the same page when we are talking about sensory seekers. On this week's episode of Making the Shift, we’re going to be discussing what a sensory seeker looks like, how to support sensory seekers in a variety of settings, and what not to do! If you're a parent or professional and want to learn more about supporting sensory needs to build communication, check out Jessie's Sensory-Communication Programs at www.sensoryslp.com

Let's talk about sensory strategies. This is the #1 question I get daily. What strategies should I be using?? Another common question I get is: How do I know if those strategies are working?? The thing about using sensory strategies is that we have to first know what the child needs, not what they want. This week on Making the Shift, we are talking about how to find the right combination of sensory supports.

Happy Neurodiversity Celebration Week! Neurodiversity Celebration Week is a worldwide initiative that challenges stereotypes and misconceptions about neurological differences. Being neurodiversity affirming means that we view neurological differences as differences and not deficits. Some common differences seen in neurodiverse individuals include differences in communication, interaction, emotional regulation and sensory needs. Our goal as neurodiversity affirming therapists, teachers, parents, etc is to embrace and validate those differences and to find the right supports and accommodations to help neurodivergent individuals feel supported. And this is where sensory comes in. Sensory impacts us every day, all day long. We are sensory beings and the world is a sensory place. We are constantly being influenced by our sensory experiences. And the way another person experiences the world is totally valid. When a child is sensitive to sounds, they are often perceiving that sound at a much greater level of intensity. And if a child is under-responsive to movement, they might need more than just a 30 second movement break to regulate their sensory system. When we see big reactions to sensory input, we can change our thinking from “they are just overreacting” to “they perceived that input at a greater intensity”. Understanding and validating sensory differences is an important step to embracing neurodiversity. If you are an SLP interested in learning more about how to use sensory strategies in your speech session, click this link below to learn more about the Inside Out Sensory Certificate Course for SLPs: https://sensoryslp.mykajabi.com/sensory-certificate-course If you are a parent of an autistic child or child with sensory needs, click this link to learn about the Inside Out Sensory Communication Program for Parents: https://sensoryslp.mykajabi.com/sensory-communication-parent-program

If you have been around here long enough then you know how passionate Jessie is about SLPs using sensory strategies in their sessions. When we talk about SLPs using sensory strategies, we usually get a few common responses: "Is that in your scope of practice??" "That's what OTs do..." "Why should SLPs learn about sensory?" So today on Making the Shift, we're diving into Sensory and the Scope of the SLP. For information on Jessie's sensory trainings for SLPs & parents, visit www.sensoryslp.com

We hear about dysregulation all the time...but what exactly does it look like? Today we're diving into 3 areas to consider when looking at a child's dysregulation.

Let's talk about Trauma Informed Care. Trauma-informed care shifts the focus from “What’s wrong with you?” to “What happened to you?” A trauma-informed approach to care acknowledges that health care organizations and care teams need to have a complete picture of a client/child's life situation — past and present — in order to provide effective health care services. But what does that look like for SLPs? What type of providers do parents need to look for? We sat down with The Trauma Informed SLP, Kim Neely, to learn more. Kim is a practicing clinician with several years of experience working with clients (pre-K through geriatric) with known trauma exposure responses. Kim is currently a Certified Trauma Support Specialist (CTSS) through Trauma Institute International. She has also completed trainings on trauma-informed organizational procedures, promoting motivation for traumatized clients, and mental health first aid through the Arizona Trauma Institute.

This week we're doing a backwards spin on Valentine's Day - let's talk about challenging social constructs when it comes to gender identity. This episode we are joined by Lyric Rivera is a trans-nonbinary, pansexual, polyamorous Autistic person who runs the internationally recognized Neurodivergent Rebel blog & Youtube Channel. Lyric is also the Owner of NeuroDivergent Consulting, and author of the best-selling business ethics book, Workplace NeuroDiversity Rising, praised in Forbes as “an excellent ‘how to manual’ based on lived experience and professional competence.” Rivera is also known as the pioneer of the #AskingAutistics hashtag. Check out Lyric's site here: https://neurodivergentrebel.com/ Check out Lyric's Youtube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@NeurodivergentRebel

Let's talk about language development. For years we've operated under the assumption that there is one way to develop language. But new research is showing there is actually another way to develop language. It's called Gestalt Language Development. This week on Making the Shift we are excited to have Alex Zachos from Meaningful Speech join us to talk about gestalt language processing. Alex is an SLP, a business owner, a wife, and a mom who is committed to learning and growing as a speech-language pathologist and sharing her knowledge and experience about gestalt language processing. She is the founder of Meaningful Speech LLC whose mission is to educate speech-language professionals, parents, and those working in related fields about gestalt language development and delayed echolalia. Check out Alex's courses for parents & professionals here: https://www.meaningfulspeech.com/a/2147498926/RKN5MGTr Use code JESSIE for 20% off eligible courses.

"Autism is a disease that needs to be cured"... incorrect. "Autism only occurs in boys"... untrue. There are so many common misconceptions about autism out there. And despite all the research to debunk these myths, they still persist. So this week on Making the Shift, Chris and I are going to sit down and bust 5 common autism myths.

This week on Making the Shift we are honored to have Cari Ebert join us to talk about parenting an Autistic child. Cari Ebert, M.S., CCC-SLP is a Pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist in private practice in the Kansas City, Missouri area. She has found her niche working exclusively with young children ages birth to five and their families. She's also a parent of an autistic child. This allows her to see things not only as a professional but also as a parent. On this episode, we're discussing... ✔ Cari and her experience as an SLP and parent of an autistic child... ✔ Her best parenting advice for parents of autistic children... ✔ What you should do and NOT do with your autistic child... Follow Cari on Instagram @cari.ebert.seminars and find her courses and products at https://www.cariebertseminars.com/

Autistic Adults have long spoken out against the harm caused by functioning labels like “severe autism” or “low-functioning” autism. Imagine if we described neurotypical individuals this way. Are you mildly or severely neurotypical? Autism is a neurotype. Using terms like mildly or severely autistic does not give us any information on that child's needs or the support we can provide. This week on Making the Shift, Chris and I are going to talk about the reasons we should step away from functioning labels and what we SHOULD say instead. On this episode, we're discussing... ✔ The problem with functioning labels... ✔ What the Autistic community is saying about labels like mild or severe autism... ✔ What we should be using instead of labels... Reminder - our Making the Shift Virtual Seminar is this Friday, January 20th! Seats are limited for the live, interactive experience. Click the link below to get your ticket & save your seat: https://asdinsideout.mykajabi.com/making-the-shift