Exploring Neurodiversity with Adina Levy from Play. Learn. Chat Adina Levy

In this episode, I wanted to share with you a brief section from my recent webinar, Collaborative Connections, where I talked all about how you can actually get children involved in their collaborative teams.
 
I'm going to share practical suggestions about how you can actually involve children in these situations so that they can be a core part of their own journey. Their self advocacy ability can increase when you support and guide them and you're including them in their whole process. You're supporting self determination, choice making, and honouring them as a whole human by showing them the value of their own perspectives.
 
Keep learning with me!

Register for the Communicate and Connect Webinar Series for Professionals who support Neurodivergent Children: https://playlearnchat.com/c-and-c using discount code BUNDLE25 for 25% off until midnight 12th June 2024!
 
Register here: https://courses.playlearnchat.com/offers/8BDd2eoH/checkout?coupon_code=BUNDLE25
 
The 3 webinars in the series are:
Responsive Relationships: Communication Strategies for Professionals to Connect with Neurodivergent Children Collaborative Connections: Coach and Communicate with Carers & Teams of Neurodivergent Children Supportive Spaces: Creating Inclusive and Accessible Environments to Support Neurodivergent Children in their Communities Speech Therapists - get on waitlist for my Affirming Communication for Autistic Children course! Doors are opening in June and those on the waitlist get the best offers! - https://playlearnchat.com/speechie-course
 
Podcast Link: https://pod.link/1625478932
Website: www.playlearnchat.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/play.learn.chat
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/play.learn.chat

In this episode, I'll share my journey to identification as an Autistic ADHDer. I recently got an email from another speech therapist who is in the neuro questioning phase. And she asked me this "As I understand you were late diagnosed. I wanted to ask you about your experience getting diagnosed and what you feel have been the benefits and drawbacks of it" and I really, really thank you for this email.
 
And interestingly, I think within a day I got a message on Instagram from somebody else with a very similar question. So I thought it is probably high time for me to share a bit more about my journey through AuDHD identification and diagnosis here on the podcast, because the bits that I do share always get interesting. I had a long time of questioning before I decided I wanted to seek formal identification (a.k.a. diagnosis). Here's how my journey went...
 
Keep learning with me!

Register for the Communicate and Connect Webinar Series for Professionals who support Neurodivergent Children: https://playlearnchat.com/c-and-c using discount code POD10 for 10% off!
 
The 3 webinars in the series are:
Responsive Relationships: Communication Strategies for Professionals to Connect with Neurodivergent Children Collaborative Connections: Coach and Communicate with Carers & Teams of Neurodivergent Children Supportive Spaces: Creating Inclusive and Accessible Environments to Support Neurodivergent Children in their Communities Born on a blue day book - Daniel Tammet: https://a.co/d/5PJefFj
Yellow Ladybugs conference: https://ylbconference2024.vfairs.com/
 
Podcast Link: https://pod.link/1625478932
Website: www.playlearnchat.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/play.learn.chat
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/play.learn.chat

In this episode, I'm going to be sharing some practical ideas about how you can tackle a challenge that a lot of us experience. Whether you're a therapist, a teacher, a parent, or a carer of a neurodivergent child. At some point when supporting this child, you're going to be interacting with a team around them. And at some point you're going to be experiencing different approaches to how you will support that title, how you believe that child should be supported. It can be incredibly hard to navigate these different perspectives and to find that common ground and come to a productive point in how you work together to achieve solid support for this child.
I'm going to share the following five strategies that can be very useful for conflict resolution, but also give you an example of what that might sound like, exactly what you might say, depending on the situation of course:
1. Build Empathy
2. Ask open-ended questions with curiosity
3. Take time to reflect and process in private
4. Assess possible outcomes
5. Collaborate to come to solutions together
Keep learning with me!
Episode 9 of the Exploring Neurodiversity Podcast: Collaboration & Advocacy: When others aren't aligned with your Neurodiversity Affirming approach to supporting Neurodivergent Kids: https://pod.link/1625478932/episode/248b03be6c287bbadb09dd2264a0933d
Register for the Communicate and Connect Webinar Series for Professionals who support Neurodivergent Children: https://playlearnchat.com/c-and-c using discount code POD10 for 10% off!
 
The 3 webinars in the series are:
Responsive Relationships: Communication Strategies for Professionals to Connect with Neurodivergent Children Collaborative Connections: Coach and Communicate with Carers & Teams of Neurodivergent Children Supportive Spaces: Creating Inclusive and Accessible Environments to Support Neurodivergent Children in their Communities  
Podcast Link: https://pod.link/1625478932
Website: www.playlearnchat.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/play.learn.chat
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/play.learn.chat

In this episode, I'm super excited to be talking about a topic that is just deeply embedded in my clinical practice, in my worldview and in how I support autistic children in my whole life. And that topic is Responsive relationship strategies for building connection with the autistic children in your life. We'll be outlining some of the ideas behind what forms responsive relationships. And the opposite, what forms directive relationships and why that can be quite damaging or challenging for your relationship with the autistic kids in your world. 
Register for the Communicate and Connect Webinar Series for Professionals who support Neurodivergent Children: https://playlearnchat.com/c-and-c using discount code POD10 for 10% off!
 
The 3 webinars in the series are:
Responsive Relationships: Communication Strategies for Professionals to Connect with Neurodivergent Children Collaborative Connections: Coach and Communicate with Carers & Teams of Neurodivergent Children Supportive Spaces: Creating Inclusive and Accessible Environments to Support Neurodivergent Children in their Communities  
Podcast Link: https://pod.link/1625478932
Website: www.playlearnchat.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/play.learn.chat
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/play.learn.chat

Self-advocacy is not as simple as just learning one skill or one isolated thing. In the neurodiversity affirming world and in the therapy world, we love talking about self-advocacy, but what is it and how do you get there?
 

 
I like to think of the components of self-advocacy is being broken up into four main sub parts:
Supportive Environment & Community - Safe people and spaces that encourage, believe you, facilitate and offer support Self-awareness of Needs & Preferences - You need to be aware of what you like, need, and don’t like or don’t want Self-worth & Confidence - You need to believe you’re worthy of support, and feel confident and secure enough to ask for what you want/need Ability to Communicate - You need to be capable of communicating your preferences, choices and protests in a way that others around you understand  
In this episode, I outline what each of those parts are, why they're so important. And some ideas and examples for how this can look in practice.
 
Keep learning with me!
 
Register for the Communicate and Connect Webinar Series for Professionals who support Neurodivergent Children: https://playlearnchat.com/c-and-c
 
The 3 webinars in the series are:
Responsive Relationships: Communication Strategies for Professionals to Connect with Neurodivergent Children Collaborative Connections: Coach and Communicate with Carers & Teams of Neurodivergent Children Supportive Spaces: Creating Inclusive and Accessible Environments to Support Neurodivergent Children in their Communities  

 
Podcast Link: https://pod.link/1625478932
Website: www.playlearnchat.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/play.learn.chat
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/play.learn.chat

In this episode, I explore the reasons and impacts of masking for high-masking autistic people (who are often, but not always girls, AFAB, or non-binary folks). I talk some ways that high-masking autistic people can appear in the world, and share my hope for the future of Autistic kids and people everywhere to feel freer and more comfortable to know and be themselves!
 
Yellow Ladybugs Conference that I mention: https://ylbconference2024.vfairs.com/ - If you have ANY Autistic people in your life who are girls/women/AFAB/nonbinary, this is the event of the YEAR. It's 3 days online and the 3rd day is also in person, in Melbourne. I'll be there! I'm also on a panel for the 2nd year and adore this organisation and conference.
 
Want to learn more with me? Register for my free webinar to kickstart your ND Affirming Practice journey: https://playlearnchat.com/free-neurodiversity-webinar/
 
 
Podcast Link: https://pod.link/1625478932 
Website: www.playlearnchat.com 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/play.learn.chat 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/play.learn.chat