How to Align Our Work with Our Deepest Values with Dr. Melanie Heyworth

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How to Align Our Work with Our Deepest Values with Dr. Melanie Heyworth

FromTwo Sides of the Spectrum

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Length:

55 minutes

Released:

Jul 19, 2023

Format:

Podcast episode

Description

In this episode, Autistic researcher Dr. Mel Heyworth guides us in completely rethinking the pathologized model of autism. We talk about how we can tell kids they are Autistic, how we can support their passions, and so much more. Dr. Mel Heyworth is the founder of the Australian organization Reframing Autism.

Released:

Jul 19, 2023

Format:

Podcast episode

Titles in the series (93)

A place where we explore research, amplify autistic voices, and change the way we think about autism in life and in professional therapy practice. Visit learnplaythrive.com/podcast/

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A Different Approach to Self Regulation with Autism Level Up: Jacquelyn Fede is a developmental psychologist and autistic self-advocate and Amy Laurent is a developmental psychologist and pediatric occupational therapist. They are the co-founders of Autism Level Up! where they challenge OTs to listen to autistic voices and level up our work with people on the spectrum. Join in the conversation as we explore the incredible self-regulation tools for therapists and autistic people that Amy and Jacquelyn have created. by Two Sides of the Spectrum
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52 min listen
Dismantling Racism & Ableism with Lydia X. Z. Brown: Lydia X. Z. Brown is an autistic attorney and disability justice advocate who specifically focuses on violence against multiply-marginalized disabled people. Join us as we explore how racism impacts the lives of autistic brown, black, and indigenous kids, and what steps OTs should take to move towards an anti-racist practice. by Two Sides of the Spectrum
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Writing Strengths-Based Goals & Evaluations with Dr Scott Tomchek and Dr. Evan Dean: Dr. Evan Dean, PhD, OTR/L, is Assistant Research Professor at the University of Kansas and Associate Director at the Kansas University Center on Developmental Disabilities. His research focuses on promoting community participation for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities through enhancing self-determination, supported decision making and career design. Dr. Scott Tomchek, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA is Professor of Pediatrics and Assistant Director of the Weisskopf Child Evaluation Center at the University of Louisville. He co-authored the AOTA practice guidelines on autism. Strengths-based, family-centered care is central to all programs he touches. In this episode, Evan and Scott dive deep into how and why to write strengths-based evaluations and goals. by Two Sides of the Spectrum
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Respecting Autistic Voices with Sarah Selvaggi Hernandez (The Autistic OT): In this episode, Sarah and I go deep into topics like autonomy, race, foster care, ABA, occupational therapy, and so much more. by Two Sides of the Spectrum
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Navigating Sensory Processing Differences with Dr. Winnie Dunn: Dr. Winnie Dunn is a distinguished professor of occupational therapy at the University of Missouri, the author of the Sensory Profile, and a trailblazer in occupational therapy research and practice. Dr. Dunn’s latest research focuses on parent coaching and occupations in everyday life. Listen in to episode 16 as we explore a person-centered, strengths-based way to look at sensory processing for our clients on the autism spectrum. by Two Sides of the Spectrum
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Fostering Emotional Well-Being in Our Sessions for Our Clients and Ourselves with Deirdre Azzopardi: Deirdre Azzopardi is an occupational therapist with over 25 years of experience who has invested years into continuing education related to social and emotional learning for kids with disabilities. Join into the conversation as we explore the concrete ways that exercise and mindfulness can bring more joy to both our clients and to ourselves during our sessions in school-based practice and beyond. by Two Sides of the Spectrum
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Authenticity & Gender Expression with Christa Holmans, The Neurodivergent Rebel: Christa Holmans is an autistic self-advocate from Texas who runs the neurodiversity lifestyle blog Neurodivergent Rebel. In episode 22, you’ll learn about Christa’s own experience as a gender fluid autistic person. And we’ll tie this into authenticity in general, including what we can all be doing in our sessions to support positive identity around gender and sexuality. by Two Sides of the Spectrum
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The Double Empathy Problem with Dr. Damian Milton: Damian Milton is an autistic researcher whose idea spawned a huge shift in how we think about autism. In this episode, listen in as we explore: - How Damian developed his hypothesis that the trouble with empathy and social skills is a two-way street between autistic and non-autistic people, not a deficit of autistic people - What early research Damian did to confirm this hypothesis - One thing Damian would love to see OTs stop doing with social stories and comic strip interventions with autistic clients - A tip for how to better approach sensory processing challenges with autistic kids, with a cautionary tale from his own life by Two Sides of the Spectrum
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Lessons from a Black Autistic Behavioral Therapist with Joy F. Johnson: Joy F. Johnson is a black, autistic behavioral therapist who runs Spectrum Support Services. She brings a new perspective to the podcast in so many ways. Join into the conversation as we learn from her experiences and discuss what shifts white, neurotypical therapists should consider making in our work. by Two Sides of the Spectrum
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27 min listen
A Strengths-Based Approach to Autism Interventions with Dr. Kristie Patten: Kristie Patten is the chair of the Department of Occupational Therapy at New York University whose cutting-edge work focuses on using strength-based approaches in autism. Join us in this episode as we delve into: - How most OTs wound up using a deficits-based model with autistic kids and why this is not serving our clients well - Why we should move away from withholding kids' interests from them. We'll also talk about how first-then schedules and even limiting screen time may fall into this category - How we can support autistic clients to build from their strengths to support their joy and participation in life, leisure, and work - What we should be doing instead of social skills groups - Why it's really easy to be a bad therapist and really hard to be a good one (plus some concrete steps to take to help get us there!) by Two Sides of the Spectrum
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Comprehensive Literacy with Jane Farrall: In this episode we explore how a comprehensive literacy framework can totally transform how we approach speech and OT goals around reading and writing. Our guest, Jane Farrall, is a speech pathologist and special educator with extensive training and experience in literacy. This episode covers how SLPs and OTs can support reading comprehension and writing development in the larger frame of literacy. by Two Sides of the Spectrum
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Being Black & Autistic: Mental Health, Bias, and Alternatives to Police Intervention with Timotheus Gordon: Timotheus Gordon Jr. blogs and posts on social media as The Black Autist. His posts center on autism acceptance, race, disability, and the latest news relevant for autistic people who are black, indigenous, or people of color (BIPOC). Join us in episode 28 where we talk about race within the disability community, the stories of BIPOC autistic people interacting with police, community-based alternatives to police intervention in crisis, and Timotheus’s advice to therapists working with BIPOC autistic people. This is an important conversation you don’t want to miss. (Psst! We see you white therapist skipping this one. Click play and listen to Timotheus!) by Two Sides of the Spectrum
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Self-Advocacy, Work, & Autistic Girls and Women with Emily Lees: Emily Lees is an autistic speech and language therapist working in the UK. She works in a specialist setting supporting autistic children and teenagers. Emily is committed to adopting pro-neurodiversity approaches and wants to be an advocate and role model for her students. Emily is a new speech therapist with incredible insights and a huge goal to transform the way we understand autism. Join in the conversation as we talk about the challenges and strengths of autistic girls, supports for work, and teaching self-advocacy. by Two Sides of the Spectrum
54 min listen
Why OT Must Be Different From ABA with Greg Santucci, OTR/L: Greg is a pediatric occupational therapist who presents workshops nationally on topics related to sensory processing, challenging behaviors, and improving school-based therapy services. Greg is a huge advocate for best practice in OT. Join us as we discuss why OTs should forgo most behavioral strategies and dive into what we should be doing instead. by Two Sides of the Spectrum
39 min listen
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37 min listen
Pro-Neurodiversity Practices in Action with Jacklyn Googins & Greg Boheler: Jacklyn Googins in the cofounder of OTs for Neurodiversity and the founder of B3 Coffee, an inclusive pop-up coffee stand in Chapel Hill, NC. Greg Boheler, who is autistic, is the cofounder of OTs for Neurodiversity and a board member for B3 Coffee. Listen to episode 21 where we explore how pro-neurodiversity practices and inclusive workplaces can truly benefit everyone. by Two Sides of the Spectrum
41 min listen
Trauma Sensitive OT Practices with Elizabeth Sherman: Elizabeth is an autistic adult and licensed occupational therapist who specializes in trauma-sensitive practices. Listen in to this episode as we explore the relationship between autism and trauma and dive into specific trauma-sensitive practices we can all implement in our work. by Two Sides of the Spectrum
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Strengths Based Approaches in Action: Answering Listener Questions with Matt Braun: Dr. Matt Braun is a speech language pathologist who owns a private practice in the Kansas City area. His doctoral thesis examined whether OTs and SLPs write our goals and evaluations from a strengths or deficits-based perspective. Join Dr. Braun in this episode as he answers listener questions about using strengths-based approaches. by Two Sides of the Spectrum
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Promoting Positive Autistic Self-Identity with Sarah Selvaggi Hernandez by Two Sides of the Spectrum
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There's No Function without Fun with Autism Level Up: Jacquelyn Fede is a developmental psychologist and autistic self-advocate and Amy Laurent is a developmental psychologist and pediatric occupational therapist. They are the co-founders of Autism Level Up, where they push people who support and care for autistic people to take our work to the next level. This talk is an edited replay of their interview for the Neurodiversity in the New Year summit. Listen in to the episode to transform your idea of what it means to do play interventions with kids on the spectrum. by Two Sides of the Spectrum
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Self-Advocacy & Inclusivity: Changing the Paradigm with Zosia Zaks: Zosia Zaks is a certified rehabilitation counselor, author, and autistic self-advocate. He manages the Towson University's Hussman Center for Adults with Autism, where he teaches service-learning courses that examine autism through a social justice lens. In episode 21, Zosia talks about self-advocacy, attitudinal adjustments, how neurodiversity benefits everyone, and so much more. by Two Sides of the Spectrum
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Applying a Disability Studies Lens to Therapy with Chelsea Wallaert: In this episode we explore how our ideas about disability – both as a society and as individual therapists - can deeply impact a parent’s relationship with their child and the child’s own view of themselves. Our guest, Chelsea Wallaert, is an occupational therapist and PhD student in disability studies who is deeply passionate about helping parents have more equitable and positive experiences with their disabled kids, especially during early childhood. Before we as therapists can show up fully for our clients, we must be able to identify ableism in our world and in ourselves and start the work to dismantle it. In this episode we talk about how to do just that. by Two Sides of the Spectrum
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Pathological Demand Avoidance and the Drive for Autonomy with Harry Thompson: Harry Thompson is a UK-based public speaker and writer who is autistic with a Pathological Demand Avoidance profile. Through his work Harry aims to bring more acceptance and joy to the lives of people who are autistic and have a PDA profile. Join us in episode 23 as we explore the challenges and unique strengths of PDAers, and what those of us supporting autistic people should know about PDA. by Two Sides of the Spectrum
1 min listen
Teaching Self-Advocacy with Dr. Stephen Shore: Dr. Stephen Shore is an autistic advocate, consultant, writer, professor at Adelphi University, and adjunct professor at NYU. His work focuses on aligning best practice in supporting autistic people to lead fulfilling and productive lives. He’s a co-author of the book Ask and Tell: Self-Advocacy and Disclosure for People on the Autism Spectrum. Join us in Episode 29 where Dr. Shore gives us a concrete framework for effectively teaching self-advocacy to our autistic clients. by Two Sides of the Spectrum
28 min listen
Reframing Social Differences for Autistic Kids with Rachel Dorsey, Autistic SLP: Rachel Dorsey is Autistic and an ASHA-Certified Speech-Language Pathologist. Join us in episode 26 as we totally overhaul everything you thought you knew about the social skills of autistic people. Rachel plays out some of our most common social (and social-emotional) interventions, painting a picture of how they have negative cascades throughout a child’s lifetime. Then she dives into what we can be doing instead. by Two Sides of the Spectrum
48 min listen
Creating a Meaningful Life: Authentic Approaches Across the Lifespan with Maisie Soetantyo: In this episode, we talk about what it means to cultivate an authentic life together with our autistic clients, from early childhood through adulthood. Our guest, Maisie Soetantyo, is an openly autistic family and inclusivity consultant who founded the Autism Career Pathways. She’s worked with families for 3 decades and believes that nurturing one's autistic authenticity is a critical first foundation to meaningful self-advocacy, career path and living the best life as an autistic person. This episode covers parent coaching in touch situations, cultivating a growth mindset, creating opportunities for meaningful work for our clients, and more. by Two Sides of the Spectrum
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Autistic Motherhood & Self-Advocacy with Sarah Selvaggi Hernandez: Sarah Selvaggi Hernandez is an occupational therapist and educator working to promote an intentional identity-first approach to autism and OT. She’s also a mother to three neurodiverse children. In this episode, we explore Sarah’s experiences as an autistic mother, the types of supports that help her thrive in her daily routines, and her own process of self-advocacy. Then we apply this insight to the clinical work of anyone working with autistic children, children with autistic mothers, and autistic mothers themselves. by Two Sides of the Spectrum
49 min listen
AAC and Autonomous Communication With Kate McLaughlin: Kate McLaughlin, M.S., CCC-SLP (“The AAC Coach” on social media) is a Speech-Language Pathologist specializing in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) for individuals with complex communication needs. She believes that autonomous communication, inclusion, and self-determination are fundamental human rights. In this episode, we dive into how we can support authentic, autonomous communication for our autistic clients. by Two Sides of the Spectrum
44 min listen

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How to Align Our Work with Our Deepest Values with Dr. Melanie Heyworth

How to Align Our Work with Our Deepest Values with Dr. Melanie Heyworth

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