Don't know what to ask?

Between the conflicting information, the intense online arguments, and the sheer volume of new terms to learn, the first few steps into neurodiversity can be overwhelming. If you aren’t sure where to begin, here are a few of the topics we can cover!

Articulating experiences inside autism/ADHD: What do terms like “monotropism,” “hyperplasticity,” “executive function,” and “interoception” really mean in practice?
Communication differences: Is neurodivergent communication simply inferior? Let’s take a closer look at the norms, the underlying needs, and the very real benefits of communicating “autistically.”
Debunking myths about autism and ADHD: Why do you hear “autistics aren’t empathetic” but see your autistic student feel deep distress over a homeless cat? Why do you hear “ADHDers are just lazy” but see your teen client work desperately to keep up? How did these myths come to be? What behaviours do these labels target, and what truths do these labels obscure?
Diagnostic criteria – separating fact from fiction: Is autism a rising epidemic? Is ADHD a “little boys’ disorder”? Are they overdiagnosed? Can autistic people make eye contact? Does using sarcasm or politeness mean your child isn’t autistic?
Discrimination in school and the workplace: How do our institutions and businesses set autistic/ADHD people up for failure—even when they aren’t trying to? What can parents, educators, and business owners do to implement more inclusive practices?
Envisioning the future: How can your child find a job that works for them? What if they don’t? And how can you adjust your view of what success really looks like?
Inclusive education: What can be added to classrooms to help diverse minds feel peaceful and capable? Is your child or student’s current IEP helping them gain skills—or is it (accidentally) teaching them to fit a mold?
Politics of language: “Autistic”? “Person with autism”? “ASD”? Why is how we refer to autism so contentious?
Problems with the pathology model: Why do many therapists leave autistic/ADHD clients more unhappy? Why do research results and lived experience so rarely match up? How does our cultural view of disability lead well-meaning doctors and academics to hurt rather than help? Is “disability” really a dirty word?
Managing inertia within autism/ADHD: Why can’t your kid/client/student stop what they’re doing? Why is it so hard to get them going again? What can you do to help?
Masking: Why are autistic people so different at home versus at school? What are the long-term problems with “fake it ’til you make it”?
Misdiagnosis – the history and causes: Why won’t your child’s, student’s, or client’s doctor believe they’re autistic/ADHD? Why do they keep getting labelled Obsessive Compulsive, Oppositional Defiant, or Borderline? How have gender, ethnicity, and family income historically impacted how neurodivergent people are assessed?
Radical trust: Can an autistic or ADHD teenager really understand their own needs? Should you back off or double down? Are you a bad parent if you let them take days off of school? (Absolutely not!)
Selfhood in parenting: Do you need to give up everything to raise a healthy autistic/ADHD child? (Spoiler: Please don’t!)
Spiky cognitive profiles: Why “high/low functioning” can’t tell us the whole story, and which descriptors to use instead
Stimming and self-regulation: Why the heck do they keep flapping and pacing? Should you intervene?
Transitioning to college/university: How could the new environment impact autism/ADHD? How and where can your child self-advocate? Will they have an IEP?
The state of autism research: When is “evidence-based” not really evidence-based? Why do autistic adults protest the stated results of many autism studies? Learn to evaluate evidence through a critical, neurodiversity-informed lens.
When school just doesn’t work: So you’ve decided to let your child stay home. Have you signed them up for failure? (Nope!) Are you a bad parent? (Not at all!) Can you still promote learning? (Yes, absolutely!)