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.
Misunderstood: How Communication Differences Lead to Social Seclusion in Higher Education
At one point during my college experience, I was called into a meeting with several of my professors. They informed me that some of my classmates had told them they... Read more.
Change is Needed in Higher Education to Support Neurodivergent Students
My college experience was shaped by the challenges of navigating an environment that often did not fully understand or accommodate my needs as an autistic student.... Read more.
Finding My Place in the World
In the intricate fabric of who I am, there's no room for the notion of laziness. Anyone who's crossed paths with me would never toss around that label or anything... Read more.