Empowering neurodivergent people through understanding and conversation
Empowering neurodivergent people through understanding and conversation
Q: My daughter is in Kindergarten and has just been diagnosed as Autistic. She was assessed after her teacher pointed out unusual things she’d noticed at school and we were worried about how little she sleeps. She likes going to school, and seems pretty happy in her small group of friends. She doesn’t have any learning problems. So should we even tell her about her autism? Should we just keep an eye on it and[…]
A little over 100 hundred years ago, the term “autism” was first used to describe an aspect of schizophrenia. What we now know were autistic children were diagnosed at the time as schizophrenic. Previously, autistic people were considered to have dementia, or “developmental retardation”. In the 1930s and 40s, scholars began to appreciate that autism and schizophrenia were actually distinct from each other – though both still considered to be psychiatric conditions. It took until[…]
“Take a good hard look at yourself,” is generally a fairly brutal, critical phrase. In the world of parenting neurodivergent children, it’s simply excellent advice. How many aspects of your child’s behaviour or experience had you thought was perfectly normal because it’s what you do? What your parents did. Your siblings. Your spouse. How many times has a family member or close friends dismissed your child’s confirmation by saying, “That’s not ADHD! Everyone does that.[…]
Q. My son’s daycare have suggested we might want to get him assessed for autism. The things they have pointed out I agree with but thought it was age appropriate. He is our only child so we don’t have anything else to compare to at home. I have been reading a lot about it online and can see what the daycare staff are talking about. I am also thinking my husband and I are probably[…]
EDIT: It’s encouraging to see that the digital version of the article has already steered the headline and opening paragraphs away from focusing on autism rates, instead discussing the recently released statistics about the number of Australian children on the NDIS. There are, however, still a number of loaded implications and poorly phrased quotes throughout, that I hope will be addressed in time. There are days when it feels like neuroaffirming behaviours and society’s understand[…]
Q. Are there any clear pathways for clinical assessments for neurodivergence for females? I have found this area lacking and a lack of knowledge amongst health professionals generally. Mum of girl aged 5-8 A. I had to sit with this question for quite some time to be able to answer it without getting too fired up. As an Adult As someone who grew up (went to uni, travelled, built a career, got married, had kids,[…]
