Affect Autism

This episode features a new empowering podcast called The Affirming Village Podcast. Quoted directly from the Affirming Village podcast description: The Affirming Village podcast is “a black and white neurodivergent mama duo rewriting the IEP narrative with lived experience raising neurodivergent learners. One is still deep in IEPs and school calls; the other has walked the path into adulthood. Both are non-attorney special education advocates, with years of experience, whether in the mental health field or the school system, currently helping families navigate the IEP table with clarity, compassion, and power. While training schools, organizations, and parents to create more neuroaffirming spaces for neurodivergent and disabled learners. This is where professionals meet personal and stories, strategies, and community come together.”Link to the show notes with links to key discussion points and other ways to view or hear the episode here: ⁠https://affectautism.com/2025/10/03/the-affirming-village/Consider joi

AUTISTIC Viewpoints⁠⁠⁠ is a new podcast hosted by ⁠⁠⁠Turrell Burgess⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠Daria Brown⁠⁠⁠. Two autistics, very different, yet aligned on many values. Join their conversation by tuning in to hear their viewpoints on topics from DIR® to professional sports, food, and pop culture to neurodivergent relationships and more!Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠https://affectautism.com/autistic-viewpoints/⁠⁠Timestamps:00:00 Welcome and hello00:37 Introduction to our guest, Khylil Robinson01:35 First topic: Dealing with awkward situations02:48 Turrell's dating mixer and football game07:35 Meet-up experiences and Khylil's audio hyposensitivity15:58 Driving and loud music20:05 Board games, arcade games, bowling alleys, night clubs and socializing29:25 10 Pillars of Autistic culture from the Autistic Culture Podcast29:52 Food!39:07 Ausome Ambassadors48:38 Canada Fun Facts!Links/Resources (not endorsements; no commission was received for any of these links):Khylil's organizationKhylil on the WE CHOSE PLAY podcast:Part 1: Taki

This episode features Kelly Bron Johnson in Montreal and Anne Borden King in Toronto. Kelly is a non-binary, Autistic, and Hard of Hearing (HoH) self-advocate and founder of ⁠Completely Inclusive⁠, a social enterprise consultancy devoted to inclusion and accessibility in the workplace. Anne is the co-founder of ⁠Autistics for Autistics⁠, Canada's autistic self-advocacy organization, and the host of ⁠Noncompliant: A Neurodiversity Podcast⁠. Both guests are mothers of autistic teenage sons and authors. We are chatting about their journey and Canadian disability advocacy.Link to the full blog post with links to key discussion points and other ways to view or hear the podcast here: ⁠https://affectautism.com/2025/09/26/action/⁠Consider joining our DIR® Parent Network or becoming an Affect Autism member for bonus content and support from a like-minded community of Floortimers here: ⁠https://affectautism.com/support/

This episode I'm airing a year-old presentation made by the late, great DIRFloortime® Expert Training Leader and phenomenal educator, Kasheena Holder. I hope you will enjoy the tips she provided our DIR® Parent Network with regarding bridging the gap between home and school. For those who knew Kasheena, this will be a wonderful reminder of her warmth, wisdom, and dedication to families. And for those hearing her for the first time, it’s a chance to be inspired by the passion and insight she so generously shared.Link to the full blog post with links to key discussion points and other ways to view or hear the podcast here: https://affectautism.com/2025/09/26/school/Consider joining our DIR® Parent Network or becoming an Affect Autism member for bonus content and support from a like-minded community of Floortimers here: ⁠https://affectautism.com/support/

Thank you, Floortimers, for the years of learning! This episode, number 290, the first episode of Season 11, features Sophia Ashman, a DIR practitioner in Los Angeles, California who currently works in preschools and provides in-home therapy. She has been a Floortimer for 25 years and was one of my son's first therapists at his school which is how we met, but we quickly became friends and I miss her tremendously and want her to move back to Canada! The philosophy that she strongly believes in is that the children she works with need to be seen, be heard, and feel understood. Link to the full blog post with links to key discussion points and other ways to view or hear the podcast here: https://affectautism.com/2025/09/19/essential-floortime/Caregivers: Consider joining our DIR® Parent Network for support from a like-minded community of Floortimers here: https://www.icdl.com/parents

Carolina Sosa Carrero is an educator in music, movement, and language with a Master’s degree in early intervention and child development. She is the first DIRFloortime® Expert Training Leader in Ecuador! Gaby Cabezas has a Communications and Literature degree with a Master’s in English Language. She is currently working as an English teacher and writes science fiction. Caro and Gaby are both neurodivergent and very enthusiastic about DIRFloortime®! Their goal is to spread DIR® to the Spanish-speaking world through Caro’s work and their new podcast, Ecos Neurodivergentes!Link to the full blog post with links to key discussion points and other ways to view or hear the podcast here: https://affectautism.com/2025/09/12/ecuador/Caregivers: Consider joining our DIR® Parent Network for support from a like-minded community of Floortimers here: https://www.icdl.com/parents

Carolina Sosa Carrero es educadora en música, movimiento y lenguaje, con una maestría en intervención temprana y desarrollo infantil. ¡Es la primera Líder de Capacitación Experta en DIRFloortime® en Ecuador! Gaby Cabezas tiene un título en Comunicación y Literatura, además de una maestría en Lengua Inglesa. Actualmente trabaja como profesora de inglés y escribe ciencia ficción. Caro y Gaby son ambas neurodivergentes y muy entusiastas del DIRFloortime®. ¡Su objetivo es difundir DIR® al mundo hispanohablante a través del trabajo de Caro y de su nuevo pódcast, Ecos Neurodivergentes!Enlace a la publicación completa del blog, con vínculos a los puntos clave de la conversación y otras maneras de ver o escuchar el pódcast aquí: https://affectautism.com/2025/09/12/ecuador-es/Cuidadores: Consideren unirse a nuestra Red de Padres DIR® para recibir apoyo de una comunidad de Floortimers con intereses afines aquí: https://www.icdl.com/parents

AUTISTIC Viewpoints⁠⁠ is a new podcast hosted by ⁠⁠Turrell Burgess⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Daria Brown⁠⁠. Two autistics, very different, yet aligned on many values. Join their conversation by tuning in to hear their viewpoints on topics from DIR® to professional sports, food, and pop culture to neurodivergent relationships and more!Learn more at ⁠⁠https://affectautism.com/autistic-viewpoints/⁠Timestamps:00:17 Introductions02:58 Explosion of Neurodiversity03:48 Our Podcast Content09:30 Our Health Issues11:39 Canada Fun Facts14:08 Sports16:22 DIRFloortime®26:12 Reflections31:40 Podcast Dedication37:38 Wrap-UpLinks/Resources:⁠⁠Neurotribes⁠⁠ by Steven Silberman ⁠⁠Turrell's past podcast⁠⁠ with DariaKhylil Robinson podcast episodes: ⁠⁠Part 1⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Part 2⁠⁠Kasheena's podcasts: ⁠⁠Here⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Here⁠⁠ * Thank you to Hungarian recording artist ⁠⁠Post Analog Disorder for the intro/outro music⁠⁠ permission

Here is the trailer for our upcoming podcast, AUTISTIC Viewpoints, hosted by Turrell Burgess and Daria Brown. Two autistics, very different, yet aligned on many values. Join their conversation by tuning in to hear their viewpoints on topics from DIR® to professional sports, food, and pop culture to neurodivergent relationships and more!Learn more here: ⁠https://affectautism.com/autistic-viewpoints/⁠⁠#AutismAcceptance⁠ ⁠#AutismCommunity⁠ ⁠#AutismSpectrum⁠ ⁠#AutismEducation⁠ ⁠#AutismFamilies⁠ ⁠#AutismKids⁠ ⁠#AutismMoms⁠ ⁠#AutismParents⁠ ⁠#Neurodivergent⁠ ⁠#NeurodiversityAcceptance⁠ ⁠#DisabilityAwareness⁠ ⁠#DisabilityAdvocate⁠ ⁠#DisabilityInclusion⁠ ⁠#DevelopmentalDisabilities⁠ ⁠#DisabilityServices⁠ ⁠#actuallyautistic⁠ ⁠#WeChosePlay

Dr. Angel Belle Dy is a DIRFloortime® Expert Training Leader in the Phillippines who started The Growing Brain PH, a DIR® accredited clinic that began as a social media page. She is a medical doctor who has a background in public health, community-based programs, and program development and fell into the world of infant mental health and parent coaching through finding Floortime. She teaches both online and on site courses for the International Council on Development and Learning.Link to the full blog post with links to key discussion points and other ways to view or hear the podcast here: https://affectautism.com/2025/08/29/medical/Caregivers: Consider joining our DIR® Parent Network for support from a like-minded community of Floortimers here: https://www.icdl.com/parents

This marks the first edition of Autistic Moms Chatting from Affect Autism. This episode features two autistic mothers and autistic advocates living in the United Kingdom. Autistic Moms Chatting is an addition to the usual podcast episodes.Link to the full blog post with links to key discussion points and other ways to view or hear the podcast here: ⁠https://affectautism.com/2025/08/26/creating-community/

This marks the fifth edition of DIR® Dialogues from Affect Autism. This episode features Practitioner Panels–this one featuring five Speech-Language Pathologist DIRFloortime® Expert Training Leaders exploring Gestalt Language Processing. DIR® Dialogues is an addition to the usual podcast episodes.Link to the full blog post with links to key discussion points and other ways to view or hear the podcast here: https://affectautism.com/2025/08/15/dir-dialogues-glp/Caregivers: Consider joining our DIR® Parent Network for support from a like-minded community of Floortimers here: https://www.icdl.com/parents

Returning guest, Clinical Psychologist Dr. Robert Naseef, and first-time guest, Autistic Self-Advocate and Professor of Special Education at Alephi University, Dr. Stephen Shore have recently published an article in Autism Spectrum News called Reframing Pathological Demand Avoidance: A Neurodiversity-Affirming Perspective which we discuss.Link to the full blog post with links to key discussion points and other ways to view or hear the podcast here: https://affectautism.com/2025/08/01/pda/Caregivers: Consider joining our DIR® Parent Network for support from a like-minded community of Floortimers here: https://www.icdl.com/parents

Maythe Martinez es una Líder Experta en DIRFloortime® en Mérida, México, donde fundó una escuela acreditada en DIRFloortime® llamada Senderos. Maythe es licenciada en psicología, tiene una maestría en Desarrollo Infantil y también es especialista en salud mental de la primera infancia. Senderos⁠ es una escuela bilingüe (español-inglés) de nivel preescolar y primaria que actualmente está organizando sus actividades para el campamento de verano y aceptando inscripciones para el próximo ciclo escolar.Link to the full blog post with links to key discussion points and other ways to view or hear the podcast here: https://affectautism.com/2025/07/18/senderos-es/Caregivers: Consider joining our DIR® Parent Network for support from a like-minded community of Floortimers here: https://www.icdl.com/parents

Maythe Martinez is a DIRFloortime Expert Training Leader in Merida, Mexico where she opened a DIR-accredited DIRFloortime school called "Senderos" which means "path" in English. Maythe is a licensed psychologist and an early infant/early childhood mental health specialist as well. Senderos is a (Spanish-English) bilingual preschool and elementary school currently planning their summer camp activities and accepting students for the upcoming school year. Link to the full blog post with links to key discussion points and other ways to view or hear the podcast here: https://affectautism.com/2025/07/18/senderos/Caregivers: Consider joining our DIR® Parent Network for support from a like-minded community of Floortimers here: https://www.icdl.com/parents

This marks the fourth edition of DIR® Dialogues from Affect Autism! This episode features Practitioner Panels–this one featuring five DIRFloortime® Expert Training Leaders exploring considerations around setting limits and boundaries with our children. DIR® Dialogues is an addition to the usual podcast episodes.Link to the full blog post with links to key discussion points and other ways to view or hear the podcast here: https://affectautism.com/2025/07/04/limit-setting/Caregivers: Consider joining our DIR® Parent Network for support from a like-minded community of Floortimers here: https://www.icdl.com/parents

This edition of Parent Perspectives features a full-time mother, passionate advocate, and deep thinker, navigating life through the lens of a late ADHD diagnosis with her neurodivergent family. We discuss her family’s experience at their Floortime intensive at ICDL’s DIR® Institute.Link to the full blog post with links to key discussion points and other ways to view or hear the podcast here: https://affectautism.com/2025/06/20/parent-insights/Caregivers: Consider joining our DIR® Parent Network for support from a like-minded community of Floortimers here: https://www.icdl.com/parents

This marks the third edition of DIR® Dialogues from Affect Autism! This episode features Practitioner Panels–this one featuring five international DIRFloortime® Expert Training Leaders discussing moving from being someone “doing Floortime” to becoming a “Floortime therapist.” DIR® Dialogues is an addition to the usual podcast episodes.Link to the full blog post with links to key discussion points and other ways to view or hear the podcast here: https://affectautism.com/2025/06/06/dialogues-3/Caregivers: Consider joining our DIR® Parent Network for support from a like-minded community of Floortimers here: https://www.icdl.com/parents

This episode's guest is Tammy Bishop in Florida who has been an occupational therapist since 1999. She operates a service called Bicycle Lessons 4 All where she teaches autistic kids and individuals of all abilities to ride a bicycle. We met in a Praxis course at the STAR Institute and I like the idea of including a Floortime-adjacent topic on the podcast from time-to-time.Link to the full blog post with links to key discussion points and other ways to view or hear the podcast here: https://affectautism.com/2025/05/23/bicycle/Caregivers: Consider joining our DIR® Parent Network for support from a like-minded community of Floortimers here: https://www.icdl.com/parents

Mary Beth Stark joins us this episode from Atlanta where she has been a speech and language pathologist for over 40 years at Floortime Atlanta and is a DIRFloortime® Expert Training Leader. Our topic is about pre-social abilities as pre-communication which gets into reciprocity and the development of communication. This is an update of an older podcast episode we did at the end of 2019 and is replacing it with new insights.Link to the full blog post with links to key discussion points and other ways to view or hear the podcast here: https://affectautism.com/2025/05/09/pre-linguistics/Caregivers: Consider joining our DIR® Parent Network for support from a like-minded community of Floortimers here: https://www.icdl.com/parents