When we talk about supporting autistic learners with change, we often focus on preparing them for what will happen next. Catching change starts somewhere slightly different. Years ago, I developed and ran a summer day camp for autistic campers, along with their siblings and friends. At the time, I did not have a word for … Read more
A teacher sits down on Sunday night to plan for an autistic student who has been struggling. She already understands that behavior is communication. She knows regulation comes before reasoning. She has moved away from reward charts and consequences and is trying to build support around safety, relationship, and autonomy. Then she opens her laptop … Read more
Sometimes disappointment doesn’t look sad. Sometimes it looks like: And sometimes the child looks just as surprised by the reaction as everyone else. The behavior is visible. What the body is carrying usually isn’t. Adults often see the outside of disappointment: the yelling, the refusal, the tears, the shutdown, the anger. But many neurodivergent children … Read more
Strong energy states — the ones often labeled as outbursts, meltdowns, aggression, or “challenging behavior” — are rarely about the moment they happen in. They’re usually about everything that came before. For many neurodivergent learners, strong energy is the end of a long chain: By the time the strong energy appears on the outside, the … Read more