Blog/Articles

There are, perhaps, few children for whom goals are made and discussed as explicitly as they are for children with disabilities. We have touched on this concept in previous articles in relation to goals that promote empowerment, self-advocacy, and the double standards for compliance between disabled and non-disabled people. These goals also seem to lend themselves to overshadowing a child’s right to provide or withhold consent. Parental consent is often considered to be a substitute Read more…

Trigger warning: mentions of self harm, forced hosptalization, and suicide   It has been said that we don’t know what autism looks like on its own – only what autism plus trauma looks like. As long as we live in a world that is is set up to face forced neurotypical behavior, existing as a neurodivergent person will always be traumatic. Many believe that this truth offers some explanation for the high rates of anxiety Read more…

Trigger warning: ableist language Those who criticize politicians for their harmful stances toward the disability community are often the same people who use ableist language to refer to those politicians. It is good – and crucial – to criticize ideas, actions, and impacts. Meanwhile, it is problematic – and extremely harmful – to criticize people for inherent qualities (real or perceived). When we refer to a politician’s ideas, actions, and impacts, we emphasize that we Read more…

Halloween is fast upon us. For those who participate, it brings with it unique situations in which to put knowledge of the five foundations into practice. Of course, it should go without saying that the potential opportunities from any of these activities never outweigh the harm of encouraging children to engage beyond their boundaries. Halloween can look different for everyone, and that’s ok! Let’s explore some potential aspects of the halloween experience and some opportunities Read more…

“Finally, children are exposed to media that so often takes advantage of the “weird” character for a laugh. How many of the gross neighbors, awkward first dates, and annoying classmates in popular media look like neurodivergent kids and their adult counterparts? How many of their abuses occur with laugh tracks in the background?”