On today's podcast, I had the opportunity to learn from Haley Moss. Haley is an author, lawyer, educator, speaker, and is also autistic. In this episode, she shares her perspective on important issues in the autism and neurodivergent community, as we have a conversation surrounding inclusivity in therapy and society.
 
 "Be yourself, but not like that".  It can be extremely exhausting for adults to keep up with behaviors that are seen as typical and don't come naturally to them. Haley compares Neurodivergent social skills to being bilingual. It's not that they don't have social skills, they are just different and no matter what or how they try to make them "alike" neurotypical individuals it will always come out with an "autistic accent".  She emphasizes the importance of teaching the reason behind typical social skills as cultural needs versus them being "better" or "normal". Everything someone does has a reason behind it and tying trust and understanding to that is really helpful.
 
What is Neurodiversity?

Neurodiversity is a difference in cognition in which everyone's brain works differently.  Neurotypical brains operate in ways that may be expected in a "normal" manner. Neurodivergent is a scope of operation involving the brain out of the box, outside of what would be "expected" ways to include autism, ADHD, mental health, intellectual disabilities, and acquired disabilities such as traumatic injury or illness.

What is Ableism?

Haley shares a definition from the Center for Disability Rights, "Ableism is a set of beliefs or practices that devalue and discriminate against people with physical, intellectual, or psychiatric disabilities and often rest on the assumption that people with disabilities need to be fixed in one way or another." Ableism is much more prevalent in society than people realize, especially in the manner of accessibility and that neurodivergent individuals are not given seats at the table for key discussions.

Practicing Empathy in Your Therapy Sessions

As professionals, we truly want to help people. One of my goals with this podcast is to help therapists and providers do better by knowing better. Haley shares some of her tips from a neurodivergent perspective on how to be empathic as a provider.
 

1. Behavior happens for a reason. Behavior can mean so many things, it's important to apply that by taking the whole person into account.
2. Describe individuals' specific high and low support needs. These can evolve over time but when aware of these needs, individuals can advocate for themselves and other services can provide support where possible. 

I learned so much during this chat with Haley. If you'd like to learn more or connect with her, you can find her on her website and all social media platforms.

#autism #speechtherapy

What’s Inside:

• What is ableism?
• What is neurodivergent?
• How to be inclusive in your therapy practice.
• How to practice with empathy.
• What does true acceptance look like?
• Autism and social justice.

Mentioned In This Episode: 

Haley Moss
ABA Speech: Home