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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-aVMdJ3Aok

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Website: (Video trainings)                                       The Behavior Revolution 

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Website: (Video trainings)                                       The Behavior Revolution 

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https://db23.thebehaviorrevolution.com/

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Book: Make Social and Emotional Learning Stick!: Practical Activities to Help Your Child Manage Emotions, Navigate Social Situations & Reduce Anxiety By Elizabeth Sautter

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Book: Make Social and Emotional Learning Stick!: Practical Activities to Help Your Child Manage Emotions, Navigate Social Situations & Reduce Anxiety By Elizabeth Sautter

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https://www.amazon.com/Make-Social-Emotional-Learning-Stick/dp/1641844272/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1BOKKR3SUEVXX&keywords=social+emotional+learning+stick+by+sautter&qid=1677860004&s=books&sprefix=social+emotional+learning+stick+by+sautte%2Cstripbooks%2C121&sr=1-1

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Make Social and Emotional Learning Stick!: Practical Activities to Help Your Child Manage Emotions, Navigate Social Situations & Reduce Anxiety

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Make Social and Emotional Learning Stick!: Practical Activities to Help Your Child Manage Emotions, Navigate Social Situations & Reduce Anxiety [Sautter, Elizabeth] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Make Social and Emotional Learning Stick!: Practical Activities to Help Your Child Manage Emotions, Navigate Social Situations & Reduce Anxiety

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Mindfulness Activity for Raising Happy Kids

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https://learnplaythrive.com/creating-autism-interventions-that-promote-flexibility/

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Creating Autism Interventions that Promote Flexibility: - Learn Play Thrive

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Creating Autism Interventions that Promote Flexibility: Your Ultimate Guide​ One thing we know about the learning style of autistic people is that there is often a strong adherence to routines. This can sometimes really work to their advantage. Imagine the child who always comes into the classroom,…

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Rethinking Planned Ignoring with Autistics

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Rethinking Planned Ignoring with Autistics

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https://learnplaythrive.com/rethinking-planned-ignoring-for-kids-on-the-spectrum/

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Rethinking Planned Ignoring for Autitic Kids - Learn Play Thrive

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Rethinking Planned Ignoring for Autistic Kids If you work with autistic children, you're always looking for effective strategies to help your clients meet their goals. When challenging behaviors get in the way, many therapists decide that a behavioral approach is the way to go. They may choose to ignore their clients' challenging behaviors, praise or [...]

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https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5mmYOMBSU7gepuSuo9Xekx

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Book: Break Free from Reactive Parenting: Gentle-Parenting Tips, Self-Regulation Strategies, and Kid-Friendly Activities for Creating a Calm and Happy By Laura Knight

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Book: Break Free from Reactive Parenting: Gentle-Parenting Tips, Self-Regulation Strategies, and Kid-Friendly Activities for Creating a Calm and Happy By Laura Knight

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https://www.amazon.com/Break-Free-Reactive-Parenting-Gentle-Parenting/dp/1646044045/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1MK2BMRR9100S&keywords=The+reactive+parenting&qid=1677855469&s=books&sprefix=the+reactive+parenting%2Cstripbooks%2C105&sr=1-1

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Break Free from Reactive Parenting: Gentle-Parenting Tips, Self-Regulation Strategies, and Kid-Friendly Activities for Creating a Calm and Happy Home

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Break Free from Reactive Parenting: Gentle-Parenting Tips, Self-Regulation Strategies, and Kid-Friendly Activities for Creating a Calm and Happy Home [Knight, Laura Linn] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Break Free from Reactive Parenting: Gentle-Parenting Tips, Self-Regulation Strategies, and Kid-Friendly Activities for Creating a Calm and Happy Home

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https://www.amazon.com/Yes-Brain-Cultivate-Curiosity-Resilience/dp/039959468X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2LXZ25LC5E5VO&keywords=yes+brain+book&qid=1677855239&s=books&sprefix=yes+br%2Cstripbooks%2C124&sr=1-1

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Daniel J. Siegel (Author), Tina Payne Bryson (Author)

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The Yes Brain: How to Cultivate Courage, Curiosity, and Resilience in Your Child

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The Yes Brain: How to Cultivate Courage, Curiosity, and Resilience in Your Child [Siegel, Daniel J., Bryson, Tina Payne] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Yes Brain: How to Cultivate Courage, Curiosity, and Resilience in Your Child

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https://www.amazon.com/Shanker-Reframed-Stuart/dp/1487506317/ref=pd_bxgy_vft_med_img_sccl_2/135-3813088-3450531?pd_rd_w=xIuAW&content-id=amzn1.sym.7f0cf323-50c6-49e3-b3f9-63546bb79c92&pf_rd_p=7f0cf323-50c6-49e3-b3f9-63546bb79c92&pf_rd_r=MG71WYNQWJGZZ1YPRHZ3&pd_rd_wg=oTyoe&pd_rd_r=d6d21443-a64f-42c9-94ef-fc0fe8db085d&pd_rd_i=1487506317&psc=1

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Shanker: Reframed [Shanker, Stuart] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Shanker: Reframed

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Book: Calm, Alert and Learning: Classroom Strategies for Self-Regulation By Stuart Shanker

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Book: Calm, Alert and Learning: Classroom Strategies for Self-Regulation By Stuart Shanker

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https://www.amazon.com/Calm-Alert-Learning-Strategies-Self-Regulation/dp/0132927136/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3N3E12CU7AQWD&keywords=calm+alert+learning+shanker&qid=1677853919&sprefix=calm+alert+learning+shanker%2Caps%2C239&sr=8-1

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Calm, Alert and Learning: Classroom Strategies for Self-Regulation

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Calm, Alert and Learning: Classroom Strategies for Self-Regulation [Shanker, Stuart] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Calm, Alert and Learning: Classroom Strategies for Self-Regulation

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https://www.amazon.com/Self-Reg-Child-Stress-Successfully-Engage/dp/0143110411/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2AZSUWOVYJ0OV&keywords=reframe+stuart+shanker&qid=1677853734&sprefix=reframe+stuart+shanker%2Caps%2C1474&sr=8-1

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Self-Reg: How to Help Your Child (and You) Break the Stress Cycle and Successfully Engage with Life

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Self-Reg: How to Help Your Child (and You) Break the Stress Cycle and Successfully Engage with Life [Shanker, Dr. Stuart] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Self-Reg: How to Help Your Child (and You) Break the Stress Cycle and Successfully Engage with Life

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5 min YOGA STRETCH AT YOUR DESK | Chair Yoga | No Mat Yoga | Yoga with Uliana

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Seated yoga for the neck, shoulders, & upper body

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Seated yoga for the neck, shoulders, & upper body

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Seated yoga for the neck, shoulders & upper body (15 minutes)

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What supports do they need to be able to do well? Prevent, Teach, Reinforce!

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What supports do they need to be able to do well? Prevent, Teach, Reinforce!

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https://www.amazon.com/Explosive-Child-Sixth-Understanding-Chronically/dp/0063092468/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=ross+greene+explosive+child&qid=1677718868&sr=8-1

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The Explosive Child [Greene, Ross] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Explosive Child

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https://www.amazon.com/Whole-Brain-Child-Revolutionary-Strategies-Developing/dp/0553386697/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=the+whole+brain+child&qid=1677718730&sr=8-1

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The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind

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The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind [Siegel, Daniel J., Bryson, Tina Payne] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind

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Nurture the Love of Learning with a Strengths-Based Approach to Autism Interventions

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Nurture the Love of Learning with a Strengths-Based Approach to Autism Interventions

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https://learnplaythrive.com/nurture-the-love-of-learning-with-a-strengths-based-approach-to-autism-interventions/

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A couple of weeks ago, a colleague* said something that hit me like a punch to the gut. She pointed out that for our autistic kids, we spend most of their school day and most of their therapy time working on the things that they find the most challenging. Meanwhile, neurotypical students, spend most of their time nurturing and cultivating their strengths.

A Lesson from My Own Life

Take me as an example of a neurotypical school experience. One of my challenges is that I'm awful at memorizing. But nevertheless, I loved school and thrived. I mostly avoided the classes that required heavy memorizing. I dropped AP history in about four seconds.

Instead, I spent a great deal of my time engaged in things I was good at. I got to choose things that made me feel like a competent, and therefore confident, student. And, other than biology, it helped me to not hate school.

Of course there were things I missed out on. Inaccessible teaching methodology made me dislike science and history. Eventually, I got older and found ways to learn that matched my learning style. But when I look back, my challenges with memorization were just a small part of my school experience.

These days, every once in a while, I get dragged into trivia and humiliated. But generally, I avoid things that will showcase how awful my memory is.

I do not try and remediate this weakness like playing memory games or reading books about memory strategies. In fact, I generally avoid memory tasks as much as possible. These activities just don't pay off in terms of building my skills. In fact, they have such a damaging effect on my self-esteem I simply choose not to engage with them.

So instead, I focus on the things I'm interested in. The things I am good at.

If school had been "memorization practice" to remediate my deficit, I would have been miserable at school. And my self-esteem would have plummeted.

Luckily, the people around me saw my strengths and helped me cultivate them. I learned enough strategies to help me succeed despite my mediocre memory. But more importantly, I learned how to focus on the things I was naturally good at doing. And those things-like, for example, writing-have served me over and over in my life.

The School Experience of Kids on the Spectrum

Consider the school experience of our autistic kids. Over and over we create behavior plans, write social skills goals, and create special classrooms to teach remedial skills.

Autistic kids are taught how to mask their autism and try to use the social skills expected of neurotypical students. They learn how to suppress their need for movement or other types of sensory input. They try to remediate motor and academic challenges. They learn new speech and language skills.

Providers like OTs and SLPs push into classrooms to make sure that students are practicing these skills throughout the day. (Here you might picture the OT with the "whole body listening" visual crouching next to the student reminding him to have "listening hands" in social studies class.)

We withhold the things our kids are interested in and good at over and over again by using first-then schedules and token boards.

It's easy to think that helping a child boost their remedial skills is the most important thing we can do for them. If certain daily activities aren't quite so hard, they'll be free to cultivate a love of learning, right?

But asking our autistic kids to constantly struggle against their challenges can do two things: rob them of the love of learning and take away time they could be spending to cultivate their skills and interests.

Can you imagine the vast number of things an autistic child needs to keep in mind during a school day, on top of all of the regular school requirements?

"Don't forget to look them in the eyes"

"Start your letters at the top"

"Do not make that sound in the hallway"

"Take turns on the swing set"

and on and on and on.

If you read that list and think, "That doesn't sound so bad." Remember these are things that are likely really hard, really unnatural, or simply nonsensical to an autistic child.

To me, this sounds exhausting. And like something we should all deeply reconsider.

A Strengths-Based Approach to OT

There are therapists who rely on a behavioral approach, using rewards and external reinforcers to motivate a child. For therapists using a behavioral approach, intrinsic motivation and joy in daily activities are likely not the goal. Instead, compliance is the goal.

But, there are others of us who don't see compliance as the goal. We may nevertheless reflect and discover, "I think I do strengths-based therapy, but really I'm not so sure."

Here's the thing: the answer to my struggles in science and history was not to spend more time practicing memorizing. I just needed to modify the activity by using a few tips and tricks to get by. But to truly thrive, I needed my teachers to teach differently. I needed them to teach in a dynamic way that required less memorization so I could actually learn.

In order to teach our autistic children effectively and fairly, we need to be able to teach in a way they understand, striking a balance between asking an autistic child to learn new skills and asking for the change to come from elsewhere, such as changing the environment, the teaching style, or the activity itself.

We don't need to ignore or avoid the challenges our autistic kids face. But, we also need to make sure we aren't focusing so much on challenges that we lose sight of their strengths, interests, and positive self-worth.

Two Examples of Strengths-Based OT

Scenario 1: Joan refuses to do partner-work in her seventh-grade science class.

Traditional Approach - A behavior plan is written to clarify the expected behavior and to provide reinforcements for her to work with a peer. Before class, Joan is shown a social story explaining who her partner will be and what will be expected of her.

Deficits to be remediated:

Strengths-Based Approach - Joan is allowed to partner with an autistic classmate who she relates easily to. They conduct their work using a Google Drive document.

Scenario 2: An early intervention OT would like to teach Anthony how to do a puzzle. Anthony does not imitate or attend to verbal instruction.

Traditional Approach - The OT uses hand-over-hand assistance to help Anthony do the puzzle. The OT uses a "first-then" schedule to show him that he can play with his trains (preferred activity) after doing the puzzle.

Deficits to be remediated:

Strengths-Based Approach - The OT chooses a simple three-piece puzzle. She tapes a high interest image (train) inside each section of the inset puzzle and a matching picture on top of each puzzle piece. She structures the puzzle so that he can clearly see what he is supposed to do without relying on a demonstration.

Stocking Your OT Toolbox for a Strengths-Based Approach

A strengths-based approach to OT with autistic kids allows us to strike a balance between accepting that they think differently and also finding a way to teach them new skills. It reduces the burden on our autistic kids, who are often overwhelmed with the daily challenges of life in a world that is set up for neurotypical people. And it lets us find joy together with them as we help them learn new skills in a way that is truly effective, engaging, and respectful.

In order to successfully use this approach, we must have a nuanced understanding of autism and a robust set of autism tools in our OT toolboxes. We can't continue relying on hand-over-hand assistance, withholding preferred activities, and using token economies. Instead, we need interventions that respect the learning style of autistic kids. Then we can engage autistic learners in meaningful learning.

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Nurture the Love of Learning with a Strengths-Based Approach to Autism Interventions - Learn Play Thrive

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Nurture the Love of Learning with a Strengths-Based Approach to Autism Interventions A couple of weeks ago, a colleague* said something that hit me like a punch to the gut. She pointed out that for our autistic kids, we spend most of their school day and most of their therapy time working on the things [...]

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Getting Unstuck with Self-Calming for Autism

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Getting Unstuck with Self-Calming for Autism

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https://learnplaythrive.com/getting-unstuck-with-self-calming-for-autism/

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Getting Unstuck with Self-Calming for Autism

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Once the child is good at doing the routine, you can surprise them with it in the middle of an activity so they can practice doing it unexpectedly. Start by interrupting an activity when they are calm and saying, "It's time to do your relaxation" or showing them that you've added it unexpectedly to their schedule.

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What Your Child’s Behavior Is Actually Telling You- Parent Handout

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What Your Child’s Behavior Is Actually Telling You- Parent Handout

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Teacher Inner Thoughts (JOKE) Introduction

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Teacher Inner Thoughts (JOKE) Introduction

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https://www.youtube.com/shorts/cmAdbisi93M

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Music: Uplifting Teacher Playlist                                               (Play during breakfast, breaks, lunch, dismissal)

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Music: Uplifting Teacher Playlist                                               (Play during breakfast, breaks, lunch, dismissal)

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https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4PuaHcRmsCd6iUW9FnXyTQ

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4p5286T_kn0

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Inspirational Video- Be a Mr. Jensen- MUST WATCH!!

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLbK0o9Bk7Q

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O29e4rRMrV4

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Rainbow Breath - Learn To Raise Your Energy | Meditation For Kids | Breathing Exercises | GoNoodle

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLThHhzA9hQ

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Shut Up & Dance (Return from break movement)

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Shut Up & Dance (Return from break movement)

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=29&v=kVJu9AMJJr4&embeds_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fpadlet.com%2F&source_ve_path=MTM5MTE3LDM2ODQyLDIzODUx&feature=emb_title

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WALK THE MOON - Shut Up and Dance (Movie dance compilation)

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https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/two-sides-of-the-spectrum/id1514489746

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A place where we explore research, amplify autistic voices, and change the way we think about autism in life and in professional therapy practice.
Visit learnplaythrive.com/podcast/

A place where we explore research, amplify autistic voices, and change the way we think about autism in life and in professional therapy practice.
Visit learnplaythrive.com/podcast/

An incredible resource!

I'm so grateful to have found this podcast. As an Allistic Autism Consultant I rely on the voices and experiences of the Autistic community to guide and shape my practices. The guests of this podcasts do just that!

Great

Thoughtfully informative. My new favorite podcast.

Great, helpful information

I'm a mom though. Would love if she expanded her target OT audience to include all people who work with autistic kids. :)

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‎Two Sides of the Spectrum on Apple Podcasts

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A place where we explore research, amplify autistic voices, and change the way we think about autism in life and in professional therapy practice.Visit learnplaythrive.com/podcast/ A place where we explore research, amplify autistic voices, and change the way we think about autism in life and in professional therapy practice.Visit learnplaythrive.com/podcast/ I'm so grateful to have found this podcast.

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https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/beautifully-complex/id1212571693

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Join parenting coach and mom-in-the-trenches, Penny Williams, as she helps parents, caregivers, and educators harness the realization that we are all beautifully complex and marvelously imperfect. Each week she delivers insights and actionable strategies on parenting neurodivergent kids - those with ADHD, autism, anxiety, learning disabilities... Her approach to decoding behavior while honoring neurodiversity, and parenting the individual child you have will provide you with the tools to help you understand and transform behavior, reduce your own stress, increase parenting confidence, and create the joyful family life you crave. Penny has helped thousands of families worldwide to help their kids feel good so they can do good.

Join parenting coach and mom-in-the-trenches, Penny Williams, as she helps parents, caregivers, and educators harness the realization that we are all beautifully complex and marvelously imperfect. Each week she delivers insights and actionable strategies on parenting neurodivergent kids - those with ADHD, autism, anxiety, learning disabilities... Her approach to decoding behavior while honoring neurodiversity, and parenting the individual child you have will provide you with the tools to help you understand and transform behavior, reduce your own stress, increase parenting confidence, and create the joyful family life you crave. Penny has helped thousands of families worldwide to help their kids feel good so they can do good.

Valuable Resource

My daughter was recently diagnosed with ADHD, and I've since been struggling with what she needs and how I can best support her. Beyond the initial diagnosis from her pediatrician, there are months long waitlists to see specialists and therapists. It's a lonely place to be. But this podcast feels like the perfect mix of education and therapy for those of us living with or caring for someone with learning differences. From one mom to another, thank you!!

5-Star Review - Dr. Tay

I absolutely love this podcast because Penny's energy is infectious and engaging. As a licensed child psychologist, this is a podcast I love tuning into to hear from others in the field. I have added this podcast to my mix!

Great/practical information & examples.

I love listening to these short topics!! I just read/jotted down the last school episode. I'm trying to be more helpful & learn different ways I can help my Alex -7 years old. Ty Penny & guests

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Join parenting coach and mom-in-the-trenches, Penny Williams, as she helps parents, caregivers, and educators harness the realization that we are all beautifully complex and marvelously imperfect. Each week she delivers insights and actionable strategies on parenting neurodivergent kids - those with...

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"The reality is that no one wins a power struggle" -Ross Greene

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"The reality is that no one wins a power struggle" -Ross Greene