Making the Shift for Autistic Kids

Does one person in the house always seem to listen to the radio or TV at a volume that is just too loud?? Does another person in the house love when all the lights are dimmed? Maybe you feel like you are always chasing around a child who seems to have a never ending source of energy or trying to create a calming environment for a child who is easily overstimulated.. When you have a family with different sensory needs, it can be tough to find the perfect balance to keep everyone regulated. But the good news is, it's possible! This week on Making the Shift we're talking about strategies you can use to survive and thrive under one roof.

Raise your hand if you have ever had a child walk into your therapy session holding their favorite toy and you thought, "You know what, I'm just going to take this toy away so it's not distracting?". Now raise your hand if you immediately regretted that decision... Been there! This week on Making the Shift we're talking about 5 reasons you should NOT withhold a child's preferred items and what you should do instead.

This week on Making the Shift, we are sitting down with Autistic Advocate Sonny Jane Wise to discuss defying neuronormativity. Sonny Jane Wise, aka the Lived Experience Educator, is on a mission to build a neurodiversity affirming future and challenge neuronormativity so neurodivergent individuals are no longer labelled as disordered. Sonny Jane Wise is a multiply neurodivergent or more specifically, an Autistic Bipolar ADHDer. Sonny is an internationally recognized public speaker, advocate, author and content creator as well as the founder of the Drop In Care Space. Sonny was diagnosed as a child and grew up only hearing a deficit narrative about their neurodivergence. Since then, they have gone on to build an audience of over 100, 000 people online. They have written The Neurodivergent Friendly Workbook of DBT Skills and We’re All Neurodiverse due to be published November this year. They have worked with organizations around Australia to help change the narrative around neurodivergence. Make sure you follow @livedexperienceeducator on Instagram! DBT Workbook: https://livedexperienceeducator.com/store

We believe that creating an allyship plan is essential in today's society to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. It is important to recognize that allyship is not just a one-time action, but a continuous effort that requires an intentional plan. Which is why on this week's episode of Making the Shift, we are sitting down with Dr. Jennifer Hutton to discuss why creating an allyship plan is critical and how we can get moving on implementing that plan. Make sure you check out her Allyship Membership on https://www.buildingallyship.com/ and follow her on Instagram @dr.jpop

Today we are welcoming Katja Piscitelli aka Bohospeechie to the show. Katja is an Inside Out Sensory Trained Clinician who now has a private practice where she specializes in working with gestalt language processors. Find her on social @bohospeechie

Last week on Making the Shift we talked about 4 ways to know if your gestalt processor is dysregulated. And lack of engagement can often be a sign of dysregulation. On this week's episode of Making the Shift we're discussing why it's crucial to address sensory needs in your sessions with gestalt processors. We decided to bring back Melanie Weber, Sensory and NLA Trained SLP to talk about the one client that she struggled to engage with and how she was able to use sensory strategies to: a) realize he was a gestalt processor and b) increase his progress in sessions. To learn more about the Sensory Certificate Course visit www.sensoryslp.com

Have you ever wondered how regulation impacts the way we process language? By understanding how dysregulation can impact our ability to perceive and make sense of the world around us, we can better support our kids in increasing their self-generated language. Join us for this week's episode of Making the Shift with SLP Melanie Weber, as we explore the complex relationship between regulation and gestalt processing, and learn how to identify signs of dysregulation in your gestalt processors. Find Melanie on Instagram @melanieweberslp And if you liked this episode, check out our upcoming training: The Sensory Solution for SLPs. We're covering identifying dysregulation and proactive strategies to keep your clients engaged all day long! Click here to registerL https://sensoryslp.mykajabi.com/sensory-solution-for-slps

As SLPs, we know that the language we use matters. On this week's episode of Making the Shift, we’re talking about why it's important to presume competence. We're diving into what it means to presume competence, signs to look out for in order to tell if a therapist is presuming competence, and our top 5 tips to make the shift to presuming competence in your everyday interactions. Learn how to write ND affirming IEPs at www.speechdude.com

Happy Autism Acceptance Month! On this week's episode of Making the Shift, we’re talking about the difference between autism awareness and autism acceptance. We'll also go into why awareness alone is not enough and 3 ways we can shift towards autism acceptance. For Speech Dude's ND Affirming IEP Courses, visit www.speechdude.com

This week we’re going to be talking about our top tips for sensory seekers. This term is becoming more widely known (yay!) but it’s important to make sure we are all on the same page when we are talking about sensory seekers. On this week's episode of Making the Shift, we’re going to be discussing what a sensory seeker looks like, how to support sensory seekers in a variety of settings, and what not to do! If you're a parent or professional and want to learn more about supporting sensory needs to build communication, check out Jessie's Sensory-Communication Programs at www.sensoryslp.com