Synergy Autism Podcast

Part of the Blake Baxter conversation series, listen in was we discuss Pathological Demand Avoidance... AKA Pervasive Drive for Autonomy... a profile for some individuals on the Autism spectrum. Show notes: https://synergyautismpodcast.blogspot.com/

Blake Baxter and I dive into the book titled Against Empathy by Paul Bloom. As Blake puts it, "empathy has been weaponized against autism." Listen in to hear more about both autism and the concept of empathy.

Listen in to Blake's story of his diagnosis in his 50's and how his life began to make more sense because of it.

My friend, Blake Baxter, shares his diagnosis story and we are collaborating on a podcast series regarding the ambiguous concept of empathy. This is part 1 of our series together as we venture together to figure out what is the definition of empathy and why it is assumed to be missing in those with autism when we have seriously different experiences.

Amazing Inclusion Discussion with Dr. Pretti-Fronczak & Dr. Julie Causton. I feel blessed to have these two on my podcast to talk about the importance and criticalness of inclusion for all students now rather than later. Research is telling us it is the right way to be ensuring education for our children. Let's get our schools, classrooms, and students feeling successful together! We talked about a video to play at IEPs by Dr. Julie Causton. Here it is! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_8EwDZDfV0 Sample book chapters of their new book, The Way To Inclusion by Dr. Kristie Pretti-Frontczak and Dr. Julie Causton: https://files.ascd.org/pdfs/publications/books/The-Way-to-Inclusion-sample-chapters.pdf To learn more, go to: https://www.inclusiveschooling.com And to learn more specifically about the upcoming professional development opportunity for school personnel: https://www.inclusiveschooling.com/sli2023/

Episode #64: Sam Way's Discovery About Pacing Thanks to the Covid Vaccine Listen in to hear this young man's discovery about how controlling the pacing brought down his anxiety about his covid vaccine.

Kit Falbo is so interesting! He shares how he took his love of stories, science fiction and daydreaming into writing novels. He describes how he develops characters and integrates video games into his plots. He even shares about how his neurodiversity affects him as a novelist and parent. Show notes can be found here: https://synergyautismpodcast.blogspot.com/2021/11/episode-63-interview-with-kit-falbo.html

Listen in to my interview with one of the top golfers in the United States discussing his diagnosis of autism as an adult. He shares his story and is vision to support those surrounding people with autism, as well. It was my pleasure to have Billy Mayfair on the Synergy Autism Podcast. Please enjoy! For show notes: https://synergyautismpodcast.blogspot.com/2021/10/episode-62-interview-with-pro-golfer.html

In this podcast, I share with you what to do when your child has challenging behaviors so that everyone on your team is consistent, your child learns positive behaviors, and you have more peaceful days together.

It seems there are a few things at play that are landing autistic people on the wrong side of the law. I have now been involved in two sexual assault cases, numerous aggravated assault cases, and two theft cases. Listen in to hear more about how we can keep autistic teens out of trouble with the law.

Today, I want to share a bit about what I have learned happens for many autistic individuals and some ideas for alleviating it. This is the experience of what I am calling "perception - chaos." For details on this podcast, please visit:

Today, I thought I’d return to a common dilemma faced by parents and professionals supporting autistic individuals and that is the concept of favorites. Most of us neurotypicals have lots of favorites like favorite colors and favorite foods. But many autistic individuals struggle with the concept of favorites and may be unable to answer the question “which one is your favorite?” when presented with 2 or 3 nice and positive choices. Why!? What is going on? For more information regarding this podcast, please go to: https://synergyautismpodcast.blogspot.com/2021/08/episode-58-mp-trouble-with-favorites.html

I had a very special guest join us, her name is Yasmine White and she is the founder and CEO of Voices Together which is the largest music therapy organization in North Carolina. I was lucky enough to be introduced to Yasmine by my good friend and colleague, Jonathan Chase who some of you may be familiar with from previous podcasts. Yasmine and I had a lovely conversation where she described music therapy and her curriculum specifically. She inspires the audience to understand that music lives within all of us and calls parents to share music with children of all ages and abilities. For more information and show notes, please see: https://synergyautismpodcast.blogspot.com/2021/07/episode-57-interview-with-yasmine-white.html

I have such a deep respect for so many of my adult clients and how they think about things. Over the last couple of weeks, I have spoken to at least 3 different adults about this one concept that just blows my mind. For more details on this podcast, please go to: https://synergyautismpodcast.blogspot.com/2021/07/episode-56-mp-paralyzed-by-ripple-effect.html

I used to think the “wait and see” approach only affected little ones before the age of 2 or 3. Parents bringing their children in with concerns about social engagement and medical professionals stating that the child is still within normal limits so let’s “wait & see.” The hope being that the child would outgrow the lack of engagement, not yet saying words, or having what seemed like extreme reactions to sensory information.

In this 10 minute podcast, I talk about balancing who is running the show. I have many client children of all ages who will either lead or follow but the in between is challenging. Sharing the lead or switching it up is essential for full well rounded development and well being.

Short one today to celebrate the awesome fathers out there. Take a listen!

Providing choices allows personal agency, while avoiding choices is a recipe for disaster for all humans, autistics included. And while many children who are neurotypical may demand their own control, individuals with autism may need you to offer it to them. Listen in for ideas to give an autistic someone you love control and personal agency.

For years people assumed that autistic people did not feel emotions in themselves or recognize them in others. By consulting with autistic adults, we now know this may be the exact opposite of the truth. They actually feel emotions more intensely than many of us. It is the ability to organize and make sense of those emotions in themselves and others that is confusing and overwhelming, causing them to either shut down or have what seem like overreactions. For more information: www.synergyautismcenter.com

This is the first excerpt from my upcoming book: Seeing Autism - Connection through Understanding due out this Summer 2021. For more details and a transcript, please go to: https://synergyautismpodcast.blogspot.com/2021/06/episode-50-excerpt-from-seeing-autism.html