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Communication Over Compliance: Promoting Assent, Autonomy and Self-Advocacy
Consider an individual participating in a learning activity who suddenly turns away, throws their markers on the floor, and places their head in their hands on the table. A compliance-focused approach might interpret these behaviors as task refusal and encourage the individual to continue the...
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Navigating Lifespan Transitions for Autistic Older Adults: Aging, Independence, and Dignity
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a lifelong neurodevelopmental condition characterized by persistent challenges in social communication and restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Many autistic adults, like Michael, a 61-year-old man diagnosed later in...
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Families, Systems, and Shared Solutions: Rebuilding Trust in Disability Services – Lessons from the OPWDD–Georgetown Partnership
I didn’t start as a systems guy. I started as a dad in denial, with no roadmap, no acronyms, and no patience for policy. Then our family hit rough water. Puberty flipped the table, literally. Supports vanished just when we needed them most. Person-centered practice became paper-centered...
