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The Role of Mental Health Treatment for Autistic Individuals
Mental health treatment is an integral, yet often overlooked, component in the constellation of supports that surround individuals diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Common mental health supports include case management, therapeutic groups to increase social-emotional learning, and...
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The Role of Mental Health Support in Autism Care: Breaking Free of the Patterns of This World
As a mental health professional, I have had the incredible privilege of counseling individuals with Autism for over a decade. I have had the opportunity to witness and be a part of the beautiful journey that occurs when someone who received a diagnostic label of Autism Spectrum Disorder learns to...
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Addressing Mental Health Challenges for Neurodivergent Youth
Youth mental health is a critically important topic that seems to be having a much-needed moment in the spotlight - like here in New York, where Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a $1 billion investment in a plan that may well transform the future of mental health in this state. Even Hollywood is...
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Autistic Lived Experience: Unable to Be There for a Friend in Need
In hindsight, I view my sophomore year of college as being the most challenging year of my life. Up until then, I was living in the sweet bliss of unawareness. I had no concept of how compromised my self-esteem was or what self-esteem even meant, and I had a flawed sense of how my words and actions...
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I’ll Always Be a Sea Creature
Note: This article has been reprinted with permission. You may view the original article, published on November 28th, 2023, at www.neurodiversitypress.com/2023/11/28/ill-always-be-a-sea-creature. At swim practice, I would pretend I was a sea creature. And when I got a little older, I’d still...
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Autism Without Fear: An Autism School Seeks Behavioral Health…Through Humanism
Disclaimer: This past year I consulted for the League School of Greater Boston, the school that is the subject of this piece. I worked with their students on a self-advocacy curriculum, and I’ve also presented for the school on separate occasions. Seeing what they are attempting up close demanded...
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A Mother’s Journey Advocating for Her Child’s Autism Diagnosis and What Fellow Educators Can Learn
As a registered occupational therapist (OTR) and Director of Portfolio Management and Delivery at Pearson Clinical Assessment, I have extensive experience working with students who have been diagnosed with a variety of conditions. And as a mom of an autistic daughter, I understand on a personal...
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Autism and the Law: When Trouble Comes Our Way
“I may have the advantage of race and gender. I may be able to stave off a meltdown for a short period. I may try my hardest to comply and be non-threatening, but I’m only ever one misunderstanding or nervous officer away from death. And it may be, in any given encounter, that there’s nothing...
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Tips for Women in Relationships with Partners on the Autism Spectrum
It is a challenge for most couples to find a balance between their needs and expectations and their partner’s needs and expectations. In a relationship where one individual is on the autism spectrum, there are likely many more opportunities for misunderstandings and frustration. Finding a path to...
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The Big Sigh
This is one of those days. I feel it the moment I open my eyes. I instantly loathe that I am awake. I fall into an old habit of calculating how many hours I will have to reasonably be out of my bed before I can crawl back into it without having to feign illness or apologize for not returning a...
