Category: Neurodiversity-Affirming
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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 I’m being honest, awareness has never been the issue. Autism is not hidden. It is not rare. It is not misunderstood because people haven’t heard of it. It is…
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How Martial Arts Can Help Those Who Have Experienced Exclusion, Bullying, Seclusion & Restraint
As a child growing up in the mid-1960s, I became the product of early private school education, an experience that no doubt changed me for years to come. For as long as I can remember, I was always a very shy and timid kid, even well into my early 20’s. It is unclear if I…
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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 behaviors are okay.” And I stopped. Because that phrase gets repeated in education spaces as if it’s wisdom. People nod along like it’s…
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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 didn’t see the potential bubbling beneath, only the ways I failed to fit the mold. That early experience taught me something I carry…
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Cultivating Inclusive Futures: Supporting Neurodivergent Learners Through Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility
Creating inclusive and supportive environments is essential for everyone. This is especially true for neurodivergent children, people with disabilities, and racial or ethnic minority communities who often face systemic barriers. This literature review explores how Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) principles are applied in education, healthcare, and community settings to make these environments more…
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My Journey: Heart-Strong International Changemakers for Children
This past week, I was very proud to receive my certificate in the Heart-Strong International Changemakers for Children course, taught by Sandi Lerman. Signing up, I already knew that anything Sandi and Heart-Strong International had put together was going to be amazing! AASR has a long-running relationship and collaboration with Sandi and Heart-Strong International, including…
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It’s All Just Part of the Routine: How Touch Becomes Restraint in Early Childhood Education
Every child deserves to feel safe in their body. Every early educator wants to be someone a child can trust. If we truly want to build environments rooted in care, we have to be willing to pause, reflect, and make changes. There are amazing, wonderful things happening in early childhood education settings every day. I…
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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 “breathe.” But here’s what so many people miss: when I’m dysregulated when my nervous system is in fight, flight, freeze, or fawn I’m not…
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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 education. What should be a universally embraced tool to help students develop self-awareness, emotional regulation, empathy, and resilience has instead become a lightning rod for controversy. Politicians from both ends of the political spectrum…
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We Don’t Understand You: Understanding Trauma Matters
For the longest time, humans knew next to nothing about the organ that resides in their own skull: the brain. A vital organ that controls our actions, thoughts, and behaviors. A price of misunderstanding the workings of the brain has led to detrimental effects, like traumas known as Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). From a multitude…