Autism Acceptance Month Is Not a Celebration—It’s a Reckoning
Every April, the world turns its attention to autism. The posts go up, the slogans circulate, and suddenly everyone is talking about “awareness” again. But if... Read more.
What Happened Before That Moment?
Sometimes a small sign says a lot about how we think about children. Today I walked past a table with a sign that said: “All emotions are okay, but not all child... Read more.
An Invisible Storm: Why Extreme Weather Is Quietly Overloading Our Kids’ Nervous Systems
If you’ve ever stood in a classroom on a day when a massive storm is brewing, you know the feeling. There’s a kind of static in the air. Kids are vibrating at... Read more.
The Illusion of “Play-Based ABA”: The Gentle Mask of Control
One of the newest rebrands of Applied Behavior Analysis is “play-based ABA.” At first glance, it looks comforting to parents and teachers who may have heard... Read more.
Why ABA Can Never Be Trauma-Informed: Not now. Not ever.
Lately, I've seen more and more programs advertising something they call "trauma-informed ABA." On the surface, it sounds hopeful. After all, who wouldn't want therapies... Read more.
Choice Doesn’t Fix It: Why PBIS Still Harms Kids
When I was a little girl, I didn't speak until I was four years old. I remember the way adults looked at me—like I was broken, like my silence defined me. They... Read more.
Neurodivergent Students Don’t Need a Calm Corner, They a Whole Classroom Rooted in Calm, Connection, and Compassion
“Just make a calm-down space in your room!” they say, as if emotional regulation can be solved with a bean bag chair, a glitter jar, and a cute sign that says... Read more.
Both Sides Get Social-Emotional Learning Wrong And Keep Pushing the One System That Harms Kids Most, PBIS
In today’s chaotic and polarized political environment, Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) has become one of the most misunderstood and misrepresented concepts in... Read more.
What PBIS Got Wrong About My Echolalia
Internalized echolalia is one of those things people rarely talk about because they rarely know it exists. For me, it's not some quirky feature of being autistic.... Read more.
Bullied by Peers and Bullied by PBIS
As an autistic person, school was never a place I felt truly safe, included, or supported. Recently I came across a social media post based on the Autistic Not Weird... Read more.