Prestage Occupational Therapy in Albany, Western Australia | Occupational therapist

Prestage Occupational Therapy

Locality: Albany, Western Australia

Phone: +61 410 310 323

Address: 20a Lockyer Ave 6330 Albany, WA, Australia

Website: https://prestageOT.com.au

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• Occupational therapist

25.01.2022 Stay connected. Check in with your friends and loved ones. Practice self care.

25.01.2022 "The only way to learn to make good decisions is by practicing making decisions."

24.01.2022 I love this!!!!!

23.01.2022 COVID-19 Here at Prestage Occupational Therapy we are following the World Health Organization guidelines. We are: - Washing hands frequently... - Asking clients to wash their hands upon arrival and departure - Disinfecting surfaces and equipment frequently - Practising good respiratory hygiene - Asking clients to cancel their appointment if showing any signs of sickness We understand how important it is to many of our clients to maintain routine in this uncertain time. We ask that if you or your child show any symptoms of being unwell, that you cancel your appointment. Symptoms include: - Fever - Cough - Shortness of breath - Sore throat - Runny nose We also ask if you have been overseas recently that you refrain from attending any appointments for 14 days. You can cancel your appointment by texting or calling 0410 310 323. We are also offering Telehealth sessions in place of face to face. Please let us know if you would prefer this option. Thanks for your support! - Rhianna and team

23.01.2022 "I just brought my daughter Kenna to our counselor for her bi-weekly session and found this beauty on the board. I thought some might need to read this today. ...GREAT reminder! " For our best love stories, listen to our brand new podcasts: https://ihr.fm/2Od03Yr #LoveWhatMatters Credit: Jessica Moering

22.01.2022 Shared by Mellow Doodles

22.01.2022 Im often asked how, as a PDAer, I am able to overcome my need for control in parenting my own children with a PDA profile of autism. I dont overcome it. Ill ...never overcome my neurobiology. It is central to my being and doing. I have, however, made peace with my inherent, organic nature and autistic expression in every sense. Most importantly, to encapsulate PDA by only understanding it as having an extreme need for control, or extreme anxiety seriously undermines the beauty of my inherent drive for autonomy and freedom. Ive not always had the connection and relationships I have with my children and myself that I have today, in this moment. They feared me. They masked. I was not a safe person. I didnt feel safe. I exercised extreme control and held an unyielding power of instability that oozed fear into my family home. When that drive for autonomy and freedom is compromised, my threat response is active. My inherent need for autonomy and freedom is often understood as wilfulness, insubordination, stubbornness and unwillingness. It is not aligned with any of the above; as those all suggest choice and control. For a person to be identified as having an innate pathology outside of their control driving much of their experience of the world, there first must be struggle. Early life, our early years are where the greatest struggle is met. Limitations, restrictions, rules, a collective understanding that children do not know what is good or right for them; an absence of respect or even recognition that children are individuals causes our threat response to be highly active. This interferes with our sleep, our eating, our interests and hobbies, our relationships, all stemming from the brains concrete understanding that all of the above are dictated to us or heavily governed by others; mostly our parents. That inherent drive within me was painful to say in the least. It caused me to be not only misunderstood; but for others to think the very worst of me in most environments. As a young person without an understanding of myself, misunderstood by others, feedback from my environment was crucial in order to help balance those experiences with a positive sense of self. When a child behaves in a particular way, they are most often met with rigidity, disapproval, dismissal and invalidation. For children with a PDA profile, our cup is mostly always empty. What often comes next is a barrage of interventions, mostly behavioural. Reward and punishment (sanctions, limitations, restrictions), of which all heighten the threat response moreso. The added pressure of well intentioned individuals wanting what is good and right for us (nourishing food, exercise, to leave our room, to put down the screen, to eat with family, to visit Grandparents, to attend school) heightens our threat response. I was hostage to my neurobiological response to environments - people, places and things. I needed something different. I didnt know what. Nobody knew what. How could they? Even today, the support I offer families is radical. A complete paradigm shift in parenting. In being and in doing. And yet, I can still present on PDA for an hour, talk about the neurobiology, the difference in brain activity, in neuroception.. and still have someone feed back to me at the end that No child wants to go to bed though or Children need to be told what to do, Screen time should be limited. How is it that we continue to miss the point here? Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia, PDA are neurodivergences. Different brains. We require different supports. We think and do differently. We are NOT neurotypical; and yet, the first line of support and the unrelenting line of supports mostly available to families are based around what neurotypical people need, how neurotypical people think and do. This is called ableism. It is called oppression. It is political. And its political because were talking about human rights. So how do I overcome my need for control when parenting children with a delicate threat response? I am 41 years old. I know who I am, and I still have so much to learn. Through pain, grief, trauma, I learnt from rock bottom, from the view of being at that bottom that the means I had been using for a very long time (my entire life) to make my way up were based around the ideas of others. The assumptions from others around what I needed by observing my behaviour and doing some serious guess work. I had nothing left. I tuned out. I switched off, put my blinkers on, prepared to lose people, places and things along the way and set out on the journey up by tuning in. By fine tuning my neurodivergence. By allowing my organic, inherent behaviours to guide me, to teach me that all I need is already within. I learnt how to move my autistic body. I learnt how to trust in my intuition. I learnt to tune into the language of my neurodivergent neurobiology so that I knew, understood and respected my limits and my strengths. I made peace. I made peace with autism; with PDA. And when I began to live in alignment with my needs and to show up in the world in my unique autistic expression; I felt less desperation around that need for control. I learnt that where I place restrictions, limitations and rules around any aspect of my life; my brain responds in a desperate attempt to counteract those restrictions with the need for more, more and more (screens, food, etc). I learnt that to live in alignment with my PDA nature, I must trust in and live from a space of intuition always. And as a result of practicing these, I felt safe. My PDA brain began to trust me. It began to trust that I would do right by it. And when it received concrete evidence that it was safe; consistency through actions, it calmed down. My anxiety calmed down. My need for control calmed down. When faced with an event, a challenge, a situation around my children where my learnt response from the social constructs of conventional parenting would kick in, I take a moment. I ask myself three questions: 1. How important is this? Does it really matter if we rip up cardboard and throw it around the room? Does it really matter if my child eats with his iPad away from the table? Does it matter if they sleep in our bed? 2. What is the worst case scenario? How bad might this get? Will I be judged? Will my child be in danger? Will something break? 3. How willing and/or able am I to sit with the discomfort of the aftermath? Will I lose people over this? Were they really worth having in my life? Will I be able to clean up this mess later? Do I absolutely have to have the answers to this right now, or ever? I then practise reframing the moment. I see every moment with my children as an opportunity, an invitation to experience their freedom. To learn about them. To connect with them. To meet myself, to connect with the child within me. I return to the moment. I tune out and tune in. I let go of seeing myself through the eyes of others. And I experience joy. I can choose to control, and be an authority over my childs experiences of the world. I can choose to focus on their behaviour and be offended by it, panicked by it, to project into the future of what it may or may not evolve into (this is never good). I can choose to fear everything getting out of control and never being safe and okay ever again (most of us have already experienced or are already experiencing this now). Or, I can be curious. I can remember that my children are not as conditioned as I, that their intuition about what they need and how they feel can also act as a light that shines into my darkness; that guides me to understand myself. I dont always have to say Yes. And, I can also say Yes and choose not to join in. But I never forget this very important fact: In our family, we do differently as the result of doing typically for a long time first and experiencing trauma, disconnection, pain, loss and grief. As parents, many of us are pioneering new pathways for our neurdivergent children. Isnt that equally sad as it is beautiful? We carve a new path, many new paths to different destinations for ourselves and our children because there hasnt existed what we or our children have needed. We know and understand that the foundational years of a childs life are the most important in their beginning development of their sense of self. In a PDAers foundational years, safety is key. The message of safety. Validation, acceptance, love, curiosity and openness. But I must extend these values to myself first and foremost in order to communicate to my neurobiology that I am safe, in order to calm the desperate attempts to take back what many of us have not had for so long. Control. . . . Kristy Forbes inTune Pathways

21.01.2022 How is everyone faring? Theres a lot of posts on Australian social media about shutting down schools due to the Covid-19. The WA state government is meeting th...is afternoon to re-assess the situation. Seeing these types of posts are really unsettling to myself, school for my son is his happy place, where he thrives and grows as a little human. I know the risks, and I know they will be shut in due course. Its causing myself and my son quite a lot of anxiety because we will lose our support system. I know there are other parents feeling the same as me so Ive compiled some helpful links. Keeping off social media is important for our well being, try to sensor the negative and keep up to date with facts. I know reading comments on news stories really affects my outlook. This is a Covid-19 social story PDF by the Autism Association WA. https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com//Whats-Covid-19-Na A lot of awesome resources for people with disabilities. https://everyaustraliancounts.com.au/emergency-information/ Autism and Quarantine - really good advice for those "why is this happening to me" moments. https://neuroclastic.com/2020/03/19/autism-and-quarantine/ A nice blog with a lot of fun ideas for activities. https://www.themomkind.com/autism-and-coronavirus-quaranti/ I will post some more if I find anything else that I find helpful. And Im planning on posting quite a few fun things. Stay safe everyone!

20.01.2022 I’m often asked how, as a PDAer, I am able to overcome my need for control in parenting my own children with a PDA profile of autism. I don’t overcome it. I’ll ...never ‘overcome’ my neurobiology. It is central to my being and doing. I have, however, made peace with my inherent, organic nature and autistic expression in every sense. Most importantly, to encapsulate PDA by only understanding it as having an extreme need for control, or extreme anxiety seriously undermines the beauty of my inherent drive for autonomy and freedom. I’ve not always had the connection and relationships I have with my children and myself that I have today, in this moment. They feared me. They masked. I was not a safe person. I didn’t feel safe. I exercised extreme control and held an unyielding power of instability that oozed fear into my family home. When that drive for autonomy and freedom is compromised, my threat response is active. My inherent need for autonomy and freedom is often understood as wilfulness, insubordination, stubbornness and unwillingness. It is not aligned with any of the above; as those all suggest choice and control. For a person to be identified as having an innate pathology outside of their control driving much of their experience of the world, there first must be struggle. Early life, our early years are where the greatest struggle is met. Limitations, restrictions, rules, a collective understanding that children do not know what is good or right for them; an absence of respect or even recognition that children are individuals causes our threat response to be highly active. This interferes with our sleep, our eating, our interests and hobbies, our relationships, all stemming from the brain’s concrete understanding that all of the above are dictated to us or heavily governed by others; mostly our parents. That inherent drive within me was painful to say in the least. It caused me to be not only misunderstood; but for others to think the very worst of me in most environments. As a young person without an understanding of myself, misunderstood by others, feedback from my environment was crucial in order to help balance those experiences with a positive sense of self. When a child ‘behaves’ in a particular way, they are most often met with rigidity, disapproval, dismissal and invalidation. For children with a PDA profile, our cup is mostly always empty. What often comes next is a barrage of interventions, mostly behavioural. Reward and punishment (sanctions, limitations, restrictions), of which all heighten the threat response moreso. The added pressure of well intentioned individuals wanting what is good and right for us (nourishing food, exercise, to leave our room, to put down the screen, to eat with family, to visit Grandparents, to attend school) heightens our threat response. I was hostage to my neurobiological response to environments - people, places and things. I needed something different. I didn’t know what. Nobody knew what. How could they? Even today, the support I offer families is radical. A complete paradigm shift in parenting. In being and in doing. And yet, I can still present on PDA for an hour, talk about the neurobiology, the difference in brain activity, in neuroception.. and still have someone feed back to me at the end that No child wants to go to bed though or Children need to be told what to do, Screen time should be limited. How is it that we continue to miss the point here? Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia, PDA are neurodivergences. Different brains. We require different supports. We think and do differently. We are NOT neurotypical; and yet, the first line of support and the unrelenting line of supports mostly available to families are based around what neurotypical people need, how neurotypical people think and do. This is called ableism. It is called oppression. It is political. And it’s political because we’re talking about human rights. So how do I overcome my need for control when parenting children with a delicate threat response? I am 41 years old. I know who I am, and I still have so much to learn. Through pain, grief, trauma, I learnt from rock bottom, from the view of being at that bottom that the means I had been using for a very long time (my entire life) to make my way up were based around the ideas of others. The assumptions from others around what I needed by observing my behaviour and doing some serious guess work. I had nothing left. I tuned out. I switched off, put my blinkers on, prepared to lose people, places and things along the way and set out on the journey up by tuning in. By fine tuning my neurodivergence. By allowing my organic, inherent behaviours to guide me, to teach me that all I need is already within. I learnt how to move my autistic body. I learnt how to trust in my intuition. I learnt to tune into the language of my neurodivergent neurobiology so that I knew, understood and respected my limits and my strengths. I made peace. I made peace with autism; with PDA. And when I began to live in alignment with my needs and to show up in the world in my unique autistic expression; I felt less desperation around that need for control. I learnt that where I place restrictions, limitations and rules around any aspect of my life; my brain responds in a desperate attempt to counteract those restrictions with the need for more, more and more (screens, food, etc). I learnt that to live in alignment with my PDA nature, I must trust in and live from a space of intuition always. And as a result of practicing these, I felt safe. My PDA brain began to trust me. It began to trust that I would do right by it. And when it received concrete evidence that it was safe; consistency through actions, it calmed down. My anxiety calmed down. My need for control calmed down. When faced with an event, a challenge, a situation around my children where my learnt response from the social constructs of conventional parenting would kick in, I take a moment. I ask myself three questions: 1. How important is this? Does it really matter if we rip up cardboard and throw it around the room? Does it really matter if my child eats with his iPad away from the table? Does it matter if they sleep in our bed? 2. What is the worst case scenario? How bad might this get? Will I be judged? Will my child be in danger? Will something break? 3. How willing and/or able am I to sit with the discomfort of the aftermath? Will I lose people over this? Were they really worth having in my life? Will I be able to clean up this mess later? Do I absolutely have to have the answers to this right now, or ever? I then practise reframing the moment. I see every moment with my children as an opportunity, an invitation to experience their freedom. To learn about them. To connect with them. To meet myself, to connect with the child within me. I return to the moment. I tune out and tune in. I let go of seeing myself through the eyes of others. And I experience joy. I can choose to control, and be an authority over my child’s experiences of the world. I can choose to focus on their behaviour and be offended by it, panicked by it, to project into the future of what it may or may not evolve into (this is never good). I can choose to fear everything getting out of control and never being safe and okay ever again (most of us have already experienced or are already experiencing this now). Or, I can be curious. I can remember that my children are not as conditioned as I, that their intuition about what they need and how they feel can also act as a light that shines into my darkness; that guides me to understand myself. I don’t always have to say Yes. And, I can also say Yes and choose not to join in. But I never forget this very important fact: In our family, we do differently as the result of doing typically for a long time first and experiencing trauma, disconnection, pain, loss and grief. As parents, many of us are pioneering new pathways for our neurdivergent children. Isn't that equally sad as it is beautiful? We carve a new path, many new paths to different destinations for ourselves and our children because there hasn’t existed what we or our children have needed. We know and understand that the foundational years of a child’s life are the most important in their beginning development of their sense of self. In a PDAer’s foundational years, safety is key. The message of safety. Validation, acceptance, love, curiosity and openness. But I must extend these values to myself first and foremost in order to communicate to my neurobiology that I am safe, in order to calm the desperate attempts to take back what many of us have not had for so long. Control. . . . Kristy Forbes inTune Pathways

20.01.2022 Can we talk about autistic levels? They dont indicate level of autistic. There is no "more or less" autistic.... They are support levels, indicating the amount of support a person requires. They are also extremely problematic as they are assigned during a snapshot of an autistic persons life and unless a person revisits, and requests a reassessment, the support level remains. Today, I might be a level one in terms of support. Tomorrow, a level three. The most common understanding around support levels, unfortunately, is a reinvention of functioning labels according to number. Support levels assist the gate keeping around funding and support allocation to disabled people. "Level 3" does not indicate "severe" autism, which is classically misunderstood as a person who is non speaking. There are people who are hyperlexic and live independently and are also assigned a Level 3. Autism is autism. Functioning labels are harmful and damaging, and prevent us from being supported in the ways we require. Those who have previously been deemed "High functioning" have had their challenges grossly overlooked based on the superficial understanding and impressions based on their behaviour or speech and language. These are the members of our community who sit under the statistic around higher than average mental health issues, and suicide. Those who have previously been deemed "Low functioning" or "severe" have had their intelligence severely undermined and dismissed. Their capacity and ability has been dismissed due to their co-occurring conditions and the way they move their bodies. We are autistic. Not high or low "functioning". We function differently. We mask and hide for survival. Its important to listen to autistic voices, in order to learn about our differences. We NEVER argue amongst ourselves who is more autistic than another. What you SEE, is NOT what you get. Our autistic expression is NOT to be compared with non autistic expression. They are different and do not mean the same things. Whatever you think you know about autism, if it fits inside of any of the above, it needs to be reframed. We are autistic. Not more or less autistic. We are autistic. Diverse, different, but a community of humans whose autistic expression varies. We are autistic. . . . . Kristy Forbes inTune Pathways

17.01.2022 "THERES LOTS OF SONGS IN MY HEAD, DYING TO ESCAPE." Meet Tyler, a 16-year-old non-verbal student from Denmark in WA, whos written a song in the style of Nic...k Cave. Tyler has cerebral palsy and communicates through an app. He wrote a poem called The One You Feed about the battle in his brain and his classmates added music!

15.01.2022 Ehlers Danlos Syndrome is not "just a joint problem" EDS is mainly seen as a joint problem, as it causes joint pain, loose joints, dislocations, subluxations,... injuries to joints, hyperextensible joints & early onset osteoarthritis However, EDS can cause many more issues than you might think. The internal organs are also made up of connective tissue (which is faulty in EDS) & this means most people with EDS also have problems with their insides For example, some common comorbidities of EDS are: Dysfunction of the Autonomic Nervous System (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome) Dysmotility of the gut (making digestion slower than it should be) Small Fibre Neuropathy (nerve damage that can cause severe pain, numbness, pins & needles, tingling) Bladder Dysfunction Migraines Chiari 1 Malformation Mast Cell Activation Disorder (a malfunction of the mast cells which are part of the immune system, causing allergy-like symptoms) Skin problems (such as slow healing & easy bruising, etc) And much much more! There are also different types of EDS, some of them affecting the internal organs more than the joints (such as Vascular EDS causing organ rupture) It's also important to recognise that Hypermobility Spectrum Disorders can be just as debilitating if not more debilitating than EDS & the management of HSD and hEDS is the same ID: An illustration of a quote that reads "Ehlers Danlos Syndrome is not "just a joint problem". The words Ehlers Danlos Syndrome and joint problem are rainbow and bold. Beside the quote are two zebra awareness ribbons

14.01.2022 Sorry, Im just tapped out. I said this to one of my kids teachers this morning as she requested a private zoom with my child and I. At the same time as thi...s, I had two other kids hopping on their google meets, I had to pull my oldest from her work to hold the baby, the kids Dad had a call just starting, and as I struggled with my laptop to even find which Godforsaken link I needed to even click, I was ready to crumble. The laptop wouldnt connect to the internet. The baby was fussing. My oldest was frustrated I had to pull her from what she was in the middle of. I had noise coming from each room with all the kids trying to, you know, school, and it took every fiber of my being not to throw the laptop off the table. Im one person trying to juggle the schedule for 5 kids and everyday I fluctuate between moments of having it together and seriously, well ... losing it. This isnt normal. Any of it. Trying to function in the unfunctionable. Thats the best way to explain all of this: trying to function in the unfunctionable. As the teacher immediately noticed my temperament and disposition, she was kind and started by sympathizing to all Im attempting to run here. When she asked about a couple lower scores on my daughters reading comprehension quizzes, whom by the way throughout the score year has had all high marks, I immediately let go. This is not an environment conducive for learning. Its just not. My children have a loving and safe home, but no, its not a school. To be honest, most days its a shit show. There isnt much peace and quiet through the day, and when one is trying to focus on some level of the house or in a certain room, you can hear another zoom call or herd of cattle coming through in another. So no, shes not getting to concentrate nor having things able to completely sink in. And you know what? It felt so good to say that. I wanted to scream it. I wanted to cry while sharing that. I wanted to pound my fists on the table after I got it all out. But I found some last ounce of strength to hold some amount of composure conveying my exhausting frustration. This all will be over soon. Right? Or at least I keep telling myself. This just isnt normal. Any of it. Were not supposed to be able to turn to our manuals of living through a global pandemic and total, utter chaos and just snap our fingers and handle this all with grace. Its impossible. So for those who are looking for their white flags to raise and shake ferociously high in the air, youre not alone. Its okay to not love this time and feel okay or good about it in every hour of every day. I cant think about tomorrow or the next day or how Im going to get through next week. Im literally taking it one day at a time and focusing on surviving the next hour. Thats IT. This is no longer survival of the fittest. Its survival of those willing to adapt to the most abnormal time of our lives. If youre reading this and asking yourself how you can do it, well ... good news is, you already are. It may not always be pretty, but youre doing it. Its suffice to say that my little breakdown to one of my kids teachers this morning was so well received and so appreciated on her end. Heres to getting one more hour in the books, my Friends. Theres crumbs on my counter. The dishes need done. The laundry needs switched. The dog needs to go out. The baby needs fed. A kid needs help on their work. Theres massive bags under my eyes as I havent slept in 12 years. I wore this outfit yesterday and to bed and today which is now tomorrow. Here we go. Were freaking rockstars ... every single one of us.

14.01.2022 Today is a tough day. I mean, mostly everything about this lockdown (in my very privileged life) is just what I needed, just what I wanted. But when a neuro...divergent family is thrown together, against their control, with no respite, no continuity of the routine/schedule/services that were previously supporting your neuro divergent needs and no time to transition into said new lifestyle... Well the shit is bound to hiteth the fan. So to speak. Autism is great, for sure, wouldnt change it for the world. But that doesnt mean it doesnt come with the biggest, most hugest, bigger than I can explain, challenges. There literally is no such thing as High Functioning Autism. If I *had* to give it a functioning label Surviving on a Daily Basis would be the best fit (IMHO), and that label would describe every autistic person living in this crazy modern world, no matter their wide variation of strengths and difficulties. To be autistic is hard work, and requires a constant commitment to life. And I share about my own experience of this a lot. But I never let myself write about parenting autistic children. Its really hard to give a proper, realistic insight into what its like to parent autistic children. To do that would mean to share their personal details, to be deficit focused (we tend to save that for our funding meetings and assessments), and to write things that no one would ever in a million years want their children to ever stumble across and read. I fully embody this perspective. Yet I constantly search for someone, ANYONE who is writing about the experience I am having - so that I might feel validated, and not so alone. But no ones writing about it! Because no one can morally share the inside scope on what reeeeally happens in autism without betraying their commitment to being the best parent they can. I found an article yesterday (on a click baity platform id never usually click on) written by a mother experiencing the closest to my own parenting experience that Ive yet to read. I felt my heart stop for a moment, in solidarity, and then (I know, I know!!!) I read the comments. They were judgemental, ableist, ignorant, unfair, insensitive and disapproving. And so triggering. It made me realise that the non autistic world will never truly understand the experience of parenting autistic children because its just not safe for us to share about. I guess what Im trying to say is, If you know a family with autism in the mix, please know that this time is not easy for them, no matter how many #lifegoals they appear to be nailing, no matter how easily this lockdown appears to fit in with their already homeschooling life. No matter how many times they say theyre fine, and that social distancing is their dream anyway ! Know that they cant tell you their reality, because their reality literally cant be shared in words. And if this is how us parents are feeling? Just imagine, how our neurodivergent children are feeling. xxx (Image by Lucy Champion Photography)

14.01.2022 Hamilton and Dopabean explain Spoon Theory! (**).* #neuroclastic #actuallyautistic #redinstead #lightitupgold #spoonie #worldautismday #autism #ourgoldenmo...ment Love and gratitude to @0dds0ck for the doodle!

13.01.2022 Reading the mental states of others! Many children on the spectrum are so literal that they rarely think about how others are thinking or feeling. They do n...ot look past the spoken words to read the perspectives and intentions of those speaking the words. What they see and hear is all there is. They often do not consider what other people are thinking and feeling. To effectively relate with others, we have to look past the spoken words and think about how others are thinking. Next, based on this appraisal, we (1) predict what the person will do, and (2) pattern how we will respond. Ongoing interaction consists of continually thinking about how the other is thinking, predicting his behavior, and then patterning our behavior based on this assessment. This ongoing appraising is essential for staying coordinated with others in interaction. Since children on the spectrum do not think about how others are thinking (or are weak at doing so), they are not using this information to add meaning to what they are saying and doing. They are reacting to what others do literally (say and do), rather than appraising, predicting, and projecting on what will happen in the interaction. Teaching the child to look past the literal: 1. First, start with thinking about how others are thinking. Think out loud to model this thinking process for the child. Later, this process can extend to thinking about how others are feeling as well as thinking; connecting how the person may be feeling based on what he is thinking. I bet Johnny is sad because he thinks Jenny doesnt like him. Many children do not make the connection between their thoughts and feelings. However, this comes later when the child has good knowledge and language base for identifying and labeling emotions. Unless the child has gained that knowledge, only start with what the other is thinking. 2. During the day, together watch what others are doing and talk about what is literal (what you see and hear happening); then talk about what the people are thinking. Help the child learn to look at the body language and facial expressions, and what is going on in the situation, that helps us determine what the person is thinking. Do it together, mentoring how you do it. Then talk about what evidence lead you to the guess (body language, facial expression, situational factors, etc.). Practice watch, listen, think (about what they are thinking), and then predict (how they will respond). Use this watch, listen, think, predict model for practicing together. 3. There are numerous ways of practicing this. Go to the mall or park and watch others interacting. First list what you see and hear (literal), then guess at what they are thinking. From this assessment, predict how they will act based on what they are thinking. You can also do this while watching TV or movies, and also while reading stories together. Use picture books so you can discuss how the characters are thinking and use this information to predict how they might respond. 4. Keep it simple at first. Just focus on what the person is thinking. Once they get used to that, then you can move onto what the person is feeling. From there, then you can start guessing at what the persons perspectives and intentions are. The final goal, over the long term, is for the child to think about the other persons thoughts, feelings, perspectives, and intentions, and use this appraisal to (1) predict what the person will do, and (2) pattern how they will respond. This process will take years to develop, but each step in that direction is valuable. 5. When making these appraisals, make sure to discuss what evidence they are using to make the guess (facial expressions, body language, actions, situational factors, etc.) This way, when in doubt, they will have a few tools to use to make an appraisal. 6. As the child gets older and more skillful, the appraisals can also include how others think and feel about you and your behavior. Jim, when you let Johnny borrow your toy truck, how do you think that made him feel. Jess, what do you think Tommy was feeling (or thinking) when you took his ball? This way they can get better at monitoring how others are responding to their actions. This requires more abstract reasoning and can only be mastered after first learning to appraise the perspective of others. Make sure to have fun doing this. Get used to thinking out loud, as you evaluate social situations during the day. The thinking out loud strategies can be used to teach the child that people have different thoughts, feelings, and perspectives. For more information and strategies for teaching perspective taking refer to Michelle Garcia Winners books and website, www.socialthinking .com. This series on social struggles can be found in the blue book, Autism Discussion Page on the Core Challenges of Autism. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2

12.01.2022 Let’s talk about the word autistic for a moment. This post is not intended to be combative. It is simply meant to share information I wish I had known a deca...de ago when starting my career as an educator. I was taught in college and teacher trainings to always use person-first language (kid with autism). This was considered a universal truth from non-autistic professionals. However, over the last five years, I have had conversations with hundreds of self-advocates and learned that this is not true. In fact, many self-advocates prefer identity first language (autistic kid). To be honest, I have avoided commenting on this topic for some time. I like the focus of SBSK to be on the individual being featured and not a debate about semantics. It seems now the topic is no longer one that can be ignored. Every time I publish a video that includes the word autistic in the caption or title, I am greeted by countless messages proclaiming this phrasing is wrong from non-autistic people. Last night I shared an interview of a kid who proudly described himself as autistic. As anticipated, I received many messages about how it was wrong to refer to him in this way. One person said the title of the video made them cringe. In the mentioned video, this child shared that he felt alone and different his whole life. After learning he was autistic, he began to better understand himself. His new identity as an autistic person helped to replace feelings of uncertainty and anxiety with pride and self-awareness. Instead of cringing at the word autistic, I ask that you examine why this word would elicit feelings of discomfort in you. With that said, I do have a process when deciding the captions and titles of SBSK videos. I understand our videos reach millions of people each day, so I take no decision lightly. First, I ask the featured person if they have a preference. Most people these days prefer identity first. Some though, person first. If a person has a preference, I use that. If a person does not have a preference, I use identity first language. Hundreds of my disabled and autistic friends have told me this is their preferred terminology and I honor their expertise. Personally, I see the word autistic as a way to communicate information that will allow me to better connect with a person. In fact, I often get excited when I hear this word and instinctively reply "Cool!" when someone shares they are autistic. Many of my favorite people in the world are autistic! To sum it up, there is no right or wrong when it comes to language. What we must be wary of is speaking over people who have the lived experience of being an autistic person. The redundancy of the messages correcting my use of language often has me feeling like a character in the movie Groundhog’s Day. Semantics are constantly evolving. Many of the points I made in this post will probably be outdated in a few years. I will continue to work with each self-advocate I feature to ensure the use of their preferred terminology. I only ask that you do the same. Thank you. -Chris Image Description: Chris and Jon (his former autistic student and SBSK legend) as co-keynote speakers at the 2017 National Autism Conference.

11.01.2022 Ableism. Able-what? What is that? We have so many -isms, why are we so worried about being politically correct? *scoff* The people who hurt autistic people t...he most are the people who care the most. I know I just bothered a lot of readers, but theres a lot of unlearning and relearning to be done, so set your discomfort aside and sit with what youre about to read before a gutteral rejection of that statement. People who have ableist ideas, do ableist things, teach ableist methods, etc. are not bad people. We all have ableist ideas. Yes, even you. Me, too. Ableism is not usually an intentional abuse of a disabled person, and it is usually the result of a well meaning person or organization that "didnt think of it that way". We all experience the world through a filter of our own experiences, and when people have only experienced the world from their own perspective, it can be tough to understand how circumstances impact someone who lives a different experience. We could pathologize this and use terms like "theory of mind", but that isnt what I do here, so were just going to say "I didnt think of it that way." And that is exactly why its so important to ask disabled people about their experiences and needs. Because disabled people have "thought of it that way." Ableism is not providing opportunities for growth and success, or not presuming competence. Ableism is not listening to a disabled person when they explain or request their support needs. Ableism is talking about a disabled person as if they cant hear or understand us, or we speak for the person without first having listened to the person, or if theyd rather speak for themselves. Ableism is limiting access to information or to the disability community. Ableism is an event that does not have a clear directive on how to request accessibility. Ableism is systems that dont allow for accessibility because of bureaucracy or set procedures that have no wiggle room for accommodation. Ableism is assuming that a persons disability is a flaw, or using their disability to dismiss, insult, or degrade the way they experience and interact in the world. Ableism is loving the person but hating their neurological classification. Ableism is calling someone rude for not being able to or not wanting to speak, or tone policing the things that they do say. Ableism is having a negative perception of a group of disabled people because you had an unpleasant interaction with someone, or because you dont agree with them. Ableism is denying agency or autonomy, not allowing disabled people to make decisions about their own lives or bodies. Ableism is denying a disabled persons rights to accessibility, because you want them to be able to do something, or because "the world wont change for them." Ableism is disclosing or exposing a disabled persons private medical information, sharing meltdown videos, potty pictures, etc. Ableism is expecting that a disabled person has access to support staff, which alleviates your responsibility to provide accessibility. Ableism is passing judgment on people, not knowing their disability status, and assuming they can do something because you can do something. Ableism is assuming that someone has a support in place so that they are able to do something that you think they should be able to do. The vast majority of people have good intentions, but they just "havent though of it that way" because that isnt the experience theyve had in the world. That is why it is so important to listen to disabled people on the topic of our disability. It is not because we have all the answers (we dont), and its not because we dont appreciate or want your support (we do), but we have spent our entire lives "thinking of it that way". So when we talk about something being ableist, it is not an evaluation of someones character, its an identification of discrimination, a barrier, or support need. And sometimes a support need is something as simple as validation and acceptance. Ableism doesnt have to be intentional in order to be harmful. So if a disabled person says, "hey, thats harmful," please listen. Thats how you show your character, thats how you demonstrate that youre a good, caring person.

10.01.2022 Many Autistic/neurodivergent children bottle up their feelings at school and in other settings, which means their struggles might not be readily apparent to peo...ple outside their immediate family. Meltdowns or shutdowns might occur only at home. Open communications between parents & teachers/other key adults can reveal a fuller picture and help ensure that young people get the support and understanding they deserve. For a deeper dive, please see our recent posts (with linked Autistic insights) on: Autism & Overwhelm: www.facebook.com/theicannetwork/posts/1399614100223796 Autistic Shutdown & How To Help: www.facebook.com/theicannetwork/posts/1468330713352134 Image credit: More Than One Neurotype

10.01.2022 If you have ever been held responsible in a very subtle (and not so subtle) manner by friends, family and support services for being the cause of your childs s...upport needs, I want to assure you that you are not. Our children are autistic. This means, they met a criteria that demonstrates that their brain and body; their neurobiology is divergent, or different. Many therapies then take that information and attempt to reprogram or fix and change an autistic child to live in alignment with neuronormative standards (as their non autistic peers). If we, autistic people, were able to live as non autistic people without extreme challenges, mental health struggles, anxiety and chronic illnesses among many of the other coocurring conditions that arise from long term chronic stress, we simply would not be autistic. A parent who cares for their child, who is tuned in to their childs challenges, who seeks support for their child, who worries about their child, is a responsive caregiver. You are not a magician. You cannot turn an orange into an apple. And, your child is a perfectly whole and complete orange. Your child relying heavily on you to meet their needs, however outside the box they might be, is a sign that they trust you. You are their safe person. You are not weak. You are not failing them. You are perfect for them. I promise you. . . . Kristy Forbes inTune Pathways

09.01.2022 I love this perspective

08.01.2022 "THERE'S LOTS OF SONGS IN MY HEAD, DYING TO ESCAPE." Meet Tyler, a 16-year-old non-verbal student from Denmark in WA, who's written a song in the style of Nic...k Cave. Tyler has cerebral palsy and communicates through an app. He wrote a poem called 'The One You Feed' about the battle in his brain and his classmates added music!

07.01.2022 New stuff for the clinic! #OT #prestageOT #occupationaltherapy #kids #amazingalbany #fun #games #learning

06.01.2022 Whatever the source, trauma leaves its imprint on the brain.

06.01.2022 Interoception is the sense related to knowing what is going on in your body and how your body feels. For someone who struggles with interoception they may have ...difficulty with self-regulation and can become overwhelmed by sensations in their bodies. Using daily movement and mindfulness can help connect the brain to the body and reduce the feelings of overwhelm that can be connected to interoception. See more

05.01.2022 This is so familiar in AUTISTIC households My brilliant autistic daughter loves lining up her toys and smarties. Lining up objects is stimming, its autistic ...culture, its visual art ! It doesnt have to make sense to anyone, it makes sense to US ! AUTISTICS #actuallyautistic #autism #neurodiversity #autistic #advocacy #neurodivergent #autie #IamAutistic

05.01.2022 Lets talk about the word autistic for a moment. This post is not intended to be combative. It is simply meant to share information I wish I had known a deca...de ago when starting my career as an educator. I was taught in college and teacher trainings to always use person-first language (kid with autism). This was considered a universal truth from non-autistic professionals. However, over the last five years, I have had conversations with hundreds of self-advocates and learned that this is not true. In fact, many self-advocates prefer identity first language (autistic kid). To be honest, I have avoided commenting on this topic for some time. I like the focus of SBSK to be on the individual being featured and not a debate about semantics. It seems now the topic is no longer one that can be ignored. Every time I publish a video that includes the word autistic in the caption or title, I am greeted by countless messages proclaiming this phrasing is wrong from non-autistic people. Last night I shared an interview of a kid who proudly described himself as autistic. As anticipated, I received many messages about how it was wrong to refer to him in this way. One person said the title of the video made them cringe. In the mentioned video, this child shared that he felt alone and different his whole life. After learning he was autistic, he began to better understand himself. His new identity as an autistic person helped to replace feelings of uncertainty and anxiety with pride and self-awareness. Instead of cringing at the word autistic, I ask that you examine why this word would elicit feelings of discomfort in you. With that said, I do have a process when deciding the captions and titles of SBSK videos. I understand our videos reach millions of people each day, so I take no decision lightly. First, I ask the featured person if they have a preference. Most people these days prefer identity first. Some though, person first. If a person has a preference, I use that. If a person does not have a preference, I use identity first language. Hundreds of my disabled and autistic friends have told me this is their preferred terminology and I honor their expertise. Personally, I see the word autistic as a way to communicate information that will allow me to better connect with a person. In fact, I often get excited when I hear this word and instinctively reply "Cool!" when someone shares they are autistic. Many of my favorite people in the world are autistic! To sum it up, there is no right or wrong when it comes to language. What we must be wary of is speaking over people who have the lived experience of being an autistic person. The redundancy of the messages correcting my use of language often has me feeling like a character in the movie Groundhogs Day. Semantics are constantly evolving. Many of the points I made in this post will probably be outdated in a few years. I will continue to work with each self-advocate I feature to ensure the use of their preferred terminology. I only ask that you do the same. Thank you. -Chris Image Description: Chris and Jon (his former autistic student and SBSK legend) as co-keynote speakers at the 2017 National Autism Conference.

05.01.2022 Are you an allied health assistant with experience in working with children? Prestage Occupational Therapy is looking for a casual AHA for ongoing work with flexible hours. Must have recent experience working with paediatric clients. Experience with autism is also preferred. Please email a cover letter and CV to [email protected] Please do not send private messages.

04.01.2022 A perspective to consider.

04.01.2022 Can we talk about autistic 'levels'? They don't indicate level of autistic. There is no "more or less" autistic.... They are support levels, indicating the amount of support a person requires. They are also extremely problematic as they are assigned during a snapshot of an autistic person's life and unless a person revisits, and requests a reassessment, the support level remains. Today, I might be a level one in terms of support. Tomorrow, a level three. The most common understanding around support levels, unfortunately, is a reinvention of functioning labels according to number. Support levels assist the gate keeping around funding and support allocation to disabled people. "Level 3" does not indicate "severe" autism, which is classically misunderstood as a person who is non speaking. There are people who are hyperlexic and live independently and are also assigned a Level 3. Autism is autism. Functioning labels are harmful and damaging, and prevent us from being supported in the ways we require. Those who have previously been deemed "High functioning" have had their challenges grossly overlooked based on the superficial understanding and impressions based on their behaviour or speech and language. These are the members of our community who sit under the statistic around higher than average mental health issues, and suicide. Those who have previously been deemed "Low functioning" or "severe" have had their intelligence severely undermined and dismissed. Their capacity and ability has been dismissed due to their co-occurring conditions and the way they move their bodies. We are autistic. Not high or low "functioning". We function differently. We mask and hide for survival. It's important to listen to autistic voices, in order to learn about our differences. We NEVER argue amongst ourselves who is more autistic than another. What you SEE, is NOT what you get. Our autistic expression is NOT to be compared with non autistic expression. They are different and do not mean the same things. Whatever you think you know about autism, if it fits inside of any of the above, it needs to be reframed. We are autistic. Not more or less autistic. We are autistic. Diverse, different, but a community of humans whose autistic expression varies. We are autistic. . . . . Kristy Forbes inTune Pathways Image credit: Sharon McCutcheon

04.01.2022 If, like me, your current lifestyle resembles a time where you werent doing so well, Its important to acknowledge that this is NOT that time. There were a num...ber of years of my life where I was unable to leave our family home For a number of reasons, all associated with unsupported autistic life. Anxiety, depression, learning to navigate new ways of being. This current time is much like that, in the necessity for navigating a new way of being right now, and until further notice. However, where there has been struggle, suffering and specifically, trauma, The human brain does not know the difference between a memory and reality. If, like me, youre now in a similar environment as you were during earlier struggles, Its crucial to address this with the brain. The autistic brain seeks patterns to make sense of anything. My autistic brain is attempting to have me believe that we, as a family, are back where we once were, in a time of darkness, uncertainty, fear and living out a doom and gloom narrative. And thats okay. In fact, its a good sign of a healthy, functioning autistic brain. It is SO important, however to communicate with our brain that we are not back at that point in time and it does not need to recreate and dredge up old patterns - of thinking, feeling, being and doing. We do this by recreating. We add in small changes to our routine. Simple additions, such as dance and movement to cultivate an energetic presence of joy in our entire being, Using essential exercise time wisely, walking in nature, The trick is, to implement a small change that wasnt present within our lives before. Were wanting to create NEW PATTERNS. Projects are important to me, building, designing, creating, Baking, singing, purging old clothing or goods I no longer need. Engaging support via the phone or telehealth sessions, Staying connected with friends and family electronically, Taking advantage of technology and the many helpers and healers showing up in the world right now, Whether that be via an accessible exercise routine on their page, Charity, humour, kindness. Its important to avoid vilification of each other. Some of us will use the time to learn another language, learn new skills, knit a sweater, And that is excellent. Those people are doing exactly what they NEED to do. Some of us will use the time to stay in our pjs and binge watch television series And that is excellent. Those people are doing exactly what they NEED to do. I want to encourage people to really tune in To ourselves. To let go of the detrimental pressures of a society that seeks conformity and control Many of us will find peace once these pressures are removed. Many of us will long for, grieve over our loss of routine and our sense of normality It is a time to be kind. It is a time to accept, to love and understand. Mostly, to accept, love and understand ourselves. A time to check in with people, So many of us are afraid to be left alone with our thoughts, Without distractions. Serving others, reaching out, making small changes, Creating NEW patterns for our brains to adjust to and understand. . . . Kristy Forbes inTune Pathways . . Image: that time a few years ago when we got a new oven and I made naan bread and it was the most exciting change to our daily routine in years.

03.01.2022 Modelling a fabulous "beanie" made by a client during a session today! . First I used my steam roller (peanut ball) to make the road (York St), then drove my car to Icky Finks, then we bought some yarn (aqua for me), and little person crocheted me a beanie! Phew! . #pretendplay #occupationaltherapy #OT #prestageOT #stories #internalmotivation #engagement #purpose #function #sensorybreak #amazingalbany

03.01.2022 One step I often see therapists miss is restructuring your activity when it doesnt go as planned. Our kids on the spectrum think differently, and our job isnt... to understand what will make sense to them with perfect accuracy on the first try. Our job is to be good at observing and to learn from what goes well and what doesnt. When I make a learning activity and the child goes under the table and leaves, I dont add a reward or a consequence to get the child engaged. I think "that was really good information for me," and go back to the drawing board. Do I need to make it more interesting? Change the instructions? Change how the materials are laid out? Change the goal altogether (especially if Ive realized its not really an emerging skill)? Sometimes we can just teach a few times and the child will get it. But other times its much better to simply restructure the activity so that it is more aligned with how the child learns.

03.01.2022 Check in with yourself. #untigering HT @glowingheartssleepco on Instagram

03.01.2022 Telehealth There have been so many changes over the past couple of weeks. We have moved across to Teleheath 100% (video sessions) as of Monday next week. I would like to say a huge thank you to my amazing clients who have already had their session via telehealth this week. It is new, it is different, but it works well! ... If you have an appointment coming up next week and you havent heard from me already, I will be contacting everyone soon. If telehealth doesnt suit your child, we can discuss other options such as home programs or parent support via phone or video. I hope everyone is staying safe and happy! Rhianna #occupation #OT #prestageOT #occupationaltherapy #therapy #telehealth #amazingalbany #autism

02.01.2022 We are absolutely thrilled to be able to run our third season of Albany Integrated Cricket this coming season! Recognised, Supported by & an Award Winner from ...Autism WA last season, we are all about breaking down the barriers for kids with special needs - encouraging participation through cricket, giving the kids meaningful ways to be included, have equal opportunity & belonging. All while learning about & playing cricket, meeting others & most of all having FUN! Come join us today & sign up at www.playcricket.com.au (and please feel free to share or contact for more info!)

01.01.2022 A helpful guide to what anger is often hiding. Via WholeHearted School Counseling