This conversation starts with books, then goes into more books, takes a turn into self-advocacy, and then finishes with a powerful message for therapists working with Autistic kids. And if you're wondering, we'll get to the narwhals too. Our guest, Lei Wiley-Mydske, is an Autistic and otherwise neurodivergent and disabled writer, artist, advocate, activist, and parent. Lei runs so many cool projects – including a neurodiversity library inside of a tattoo shop – that we discuss in this episode.

Changing the World with Books, Narwhals, and Letting Kids Say “No” with Lei Wiley-Mydske

A place where we explore research, amplify autistic voices, and change the way we think about autism in life and in professional therapy practice.
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Courses

Many of us have never seen strengths-based, neurodiversity affirming goal writing in practice. In this episode, Autistic SLP Rachel Dorsey walks us through the ins and outs of how to write truly affirming goals for our Autistic clients that contribute to their well-being, not to burnout. Check out the newest version of Rachel’s CE course, Goal Writing for Autistic Students, (co-taught with an incredible team of OTs and SLPs) at learnplaythrive.com/goals.

Strengths-Based Goal Writing in Action with Rachel Dorsey

Ido Kedar is a non-speaking AAC user who chronicles his experience in therapies both before and after he learned to type to communicate. In this re-airing of episode 9, Ido shares concrete advice on how therapists can be more respectful and effective when supporting non-speaking Autistic clients. Ido Kedar is an autistic-self advocate and the author of two books.

The Power of Presuming Competence with Ido Kedar

What is “neurosupremacy” and “neuronormativity,” and how does this differ from the idea of “neruotypicality”? What does peer counseling offer that traditional therapy misses? How can creativity help us break seemingly firm limits set by the systems of power and oppression that exist around us? In this episode, Honey Schneider helps us see the path to reclaiming our own wholeness, and to helping our clients do the same. Honey Schneider has an MA in Mental Health Counseling from NYU. They're white, disabled, and transsexual. Honey currently works as a peer coach.

Reclaiming our Wholeness with Honey Schneider

Our practice frameworks are supposed to guide our work…but what happens when their authors of our practice framework haven’t analyzed their biases?  In this episode, we discuss how ableism is built into the practice framework of occupational therapists, and what it looks like to do something totally different. Today’s guest, Dr. Bryden Carlson-Giving, wrote the first neurodiversity-affirming practice framework for OTs – and there’s something to learn from it no matter what field you work in. We also dive into the cultural model of disability, the limitations of evidence-based practice, and so much more. Dr. Bryden Carlson-Giving is a queer, neurodivergent, and disabled occupational therapy practitioner who developed The EMPOWER Model.

The Cultural Model of Disability and Empowering Practice Frameworks with Bryden Carlson-Giving

We talk a lot about neurodiversity-affirming practice…but what does this look like for physical therapists? Should their work be guided by developmental milestones? Is it ethical to use physical prompts and assistance? How do you know when toe walking is really a problem? And how exactly should we go about finding affirming physical therapists for referrals? Join Autistic PT Iris Warchall in episode 89 to tackle this and more.

Changing the World with Books, Narwhals, and Letting Kids Say “No” with Lei Wiley-Mydske

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