Join me today as we talk about LOVE on the Spectrum! I will be sharing me and my daughter's perspective on the first season of the TV show, "Love on the Spectrum," and then I will be sharing some of the things that I have learned along the way about dating and relationships from an Autistic perspective! 

Show Notes at: https://amybodkin.com/podcast-episode-13 

For more info about Amy Bodkin, a Special Needs Consultant for parents and professionals, visit our website:
Amy Bodkin Consulting – Seeing the Possibilities through a Neurodivergent Lens because Special Needs Kids Are People Too!

I am a HUGE fan of the Teal Pumpkin Project! In fact, not only do we have a Teal Pumpkin sign in our yard, but I am also a Neighborhood Captain, which means I encourage others in my neighborhood to consider participating in the Teal Pumpkin Project! 

The Teal Pumpkin Project is a great way of making sure that children with allergies feel supported on Halloween, but it is also a great way of identifying homes in your area that support accepting children just the way they are! 

See the Show Notes here: 
https://amybodkin.com/podcast-episode-12

For more info about Amy Bodkin, a Special Needs Consultant for parents and professionals, visit our website:
Amy Bodkin Consulting – Seeing the Possibilities through a Neurodivergent Lens because Special Needs Kids Are People Too!

I have had the privilege of knowing some pretty fantastic teachers!! But for all of us who are part of an IEP team – whether we are a teacher, parent, administrator, advocate, etc. – it is essential that we make certain that each child's IEP does what it was intended to do: guarantee children that we are prepared to provide them the support they need to grow and learn!! 

Let's start taking IEP writing seriously and not just selecting from drop down menus... because Special Needs Kids are People Too!! 

And if you need help, reach out! There are so many adults willing to consult and share their experiences!!

Show notes at: https://amybodkin.com/podcast-episode-11

For more info about Amy Bodkin, a Special Needs Consultant for parents and professionals, visit our website:
Amy Bodkin Consulting – Seeing the Possibilities through a Neurodivergent Lens because Special Needs Kids Are People Too!

Words are Power: The Importance of Examining the Language We Use 

Have you ever wondered why I titled my podcast "Special Needs Kids are People Too" when there is a push to stop using terms like "Special Needs"? There is a reason!! Find out in this episode!

Show notes at: https://amybodkin.com/podcast-episode-10

For more info about Amy Bodkin, a Special Needs Consultant for parents and professionals, visit our website:
Amy Bodkin Consulting – Seeing the Possibilities through a Neurodivergent Lens because Special Needs Kids Are People Too!

Who gets to decide which people have value and which don't? Who gets to decide what kinds of diversity are acceptable and what kinds aren't? 

What would happen to our creativity and ingenuity as a society if we prevent the existence of certain types of diversity? What happens to our well-being as a society when we choose to exclude people in our lives who are different from us? What happens in our families and our social groups when we choose to exclude members who make different choices? 

Join me as we wrestle with some of the questions that have tried men's souls throughout the ages.

Let's collectively step up – and step into – the gap left by our differences!

Show notes at:
https://amybodkin.com/podcast-episode-9

#specialneedskidsarepeopletoo #neurodiversity #diversity #autism #downsyndrome #livelongandprosper 

For more info about Amy Bodkin, a Special Needs Consultant for parents and professionals, visit our website:
Amy Bodkin Consulting – Seeing the Possibilities through a Neurodivergent Lens because Special Needs Kids Are People Too!

Are diagnoses harmful or helpful? The answer is they can be both! Join me this week as we discuss how, like so many topics in life, the answer is often both "yes" and "no!"

Show Notes at: 
https://amybodkin.com/podcast-episode-8

For more info about Amy Bodkin, a Special Needs Consultant for parents and professionals, visit our website:
Amy Bodkin Consulting – Seeing the Possibilities through a Neurodivergent Lens because Special Needs Kids Are People Too!

I had the opportunity to talk this week with Amber O'Neal Johnston from Heritage Mom - Homeschooling Children With Mirrors and Windows about diversity and neurodiversity!! This is a topic that is very important to me, and I love Amber's story and her message!

We need mirrors in our lives to reflect what is beautiful about who we are, but we also need windows into the lives of others who are different from ourselves! Learning to love and appreciate our own culture – whether that is a neurodiverse culture, a racial culture, or a religious culture – opens us up to being in a mental state where we can love and accept others in a healthy way!

But it also takes courage to face not only our deepest fears and insecurities but also the courage to "not just drink milk with others."

I have recently been reading and been inspired by John F Kennedy's book, Profiles in Courage. In Robert Kennedy's Forward discussing his brother's wisdom in the face of the Cuban Missle Crisis, he quotes Bonar Law: "There is no such thing as inevitable war. If war comes it will be from failure of human wisdom."

May we raise the next generation to grow not just in stature but also in wisdom!

Check out the show notes here:
https://amybodkin.com/podcast-episode-7

For more info about Amy Bodkin, a Special Needs Consultant for parents and professionals, visit our website:
Amy Bodkin Consulting – Seeing the Possibilities through a Neurodivergent Lens because Special Needs Kids Are People Too!

I am planting my flag on the side of ABA Reform with this episode. It's the release of our highlights reel from our ABAI symposium, Toward Applied Behavior Analysis Reform: What It Means to "Do No Harm." 

Generally speaking, people don't go into a service profession hoping to hurt other people, but we do need to constantly be checking ourselves. When we look back over the long history of medicine, we can point to countless instances where harm was done out of ignorance because we don't know what we don't know.

But this does not excuse us from the responsibility of constantly challenging our previously held assumptions to see if they hold up under scrutiny. We have to start a conversation between the professional community, and the only people who can tell us how we might be causing unintentional harm: Autistic Adults.

This episode includes 5 different speakers from the Symposium titled Toward Applied Behavior Analysis Reform: What It Means to "Do No Harm"  at the ABAI 2021 Convention. 

• @ 4:10 - 16:00 Intro w/ Madison Holcomb (Camp Encourage) 
  "A Too-Short, Very Incomplete Introduction to Masking: The Practice, Effectiveness, Costs and Ethics of Performing Neurotypicality"
  
  
• @ 16:00 - 22:15 Rosie Rossi (BIOS ABA Consultants, LLC) 
  "Checking Blind Spots: Navigating Neurotypical Standards of Social Skills as it Relates to Neurodivergent Clients"
  
  
• @ 22:15 - 32:45 Katie Murray (The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, BIOS ABA Consultants)
  "Current BCBA Training: What Did I Just Learn?"
  
  
• @ 34:03 - 48:00 Amy Bodkin (Amy Bodkin Consulting LLC)
  "Towards a More Ethical and Developmental Approach to Applied Behavior Analysis"
  
  
• @ 48:00 - 59:54 Jamine Layne Dettmering (The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, BIOS ABA, National Louis University)

You can download the entire symposium audio recording as well as a PDF of each participant's slides here: amybodkin.com/podcast-episode-6

To help further reform in this field, I have created a course for professionals titled "Towards a More Ethical and Developmental Approach to Applied Behavior Analysis."

The course provides up to 12 CEU Credits including 3 Ethics CEUs. Amy Bodkin Consulting LLC is an authorized BACB ACE Provider. Click here for more info. 

Educate yourself and others. Share this episode and help us work together to bring about longer, happier lives for Autistics!

As Maya Angelou said, "Do the best you can until you know better, Then when you know better, do better."

ABAI 2021 Convention Symposium detail page

#autismacceptance #abareform #specialneedskidsarepeopletoo 

For more info about Amy Bodkin, a Special Needs Consultant for parents and professionals, visit our website:
Amy Bodkin Consulting – Seeing the Possibilities through a Neurodivergent Lens because Special Needs Kids Are People Too!

This podcast is all about healing trauma through yoga and how it was helpful in my healing journey. I also discuss common misconceptions about yoga, it's history, and it's underlying philosophy and connection to world religions and philosophies.

For show notes and resources, go to:
https://amybodkin.com/podcast-episode-5

For more info about Amy Bodkin, a Special Needs Consultant for parents and professionals, visit our website:
Amy Bodkin Consulting – Seeing the Possibilities through a Neurodivergent Lens because Special Needs Kids Are People Too!

In this episode I discuss the specific ways we can support children to help them  process trauma and move forward in a positive direction. 

1) We have to reduce pressure and provide positive support. 

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs gives us a great map on how to do this. All we have to do is identify where we are and what we need to take the next step up the hierarchy! 

2) We also need to give kids options for processing trauma. 

As most children do not have the advanced language skills to discuss abstract feelings and internal reactions to events, options that involve the arts and movement are best such as yoga, martial arts, art therapy, music therapy, dance therapy, etc.

For show notes and resources, go to: 

https://amybodkin.com/podcast-episode-4

For more info about Amy Bodkin, a Special Needs Consultant for parents and professionals, visit our website:
Amy Bodkin Consulting – Seeing the Possibilities through a Neurodivergent Lens because Special Needs Kids Are People Too!