[Permission received to post this wonderful letter and review of Give Me the Red Cup: Knowing Joy in Autism. It is thrilling to know my book's simple message succeeds in telling the complex story of thinking, communicating, reframing and understanding…each other and ourselves! While English is not Petra’s first language, and we communicate across the globe, [...]
"How are You?" This is the first question I ask whenever I begin to work with a family seeking behavioral support for a child diagnosed with autism. The answer is often "fine"; sometimes the answer is "tired"; occasionally the answer is "I don't know." There doesn't seem to be adequate language to communicate. The focus [...]
Confidence increases as a result of repetition and the reinforcement we receive for our effort. We grow in confidence when we feel competent. For example, imagine trying a new and challenging recipe. We gather the ingredients and follow the directions to create a successful result. All the best chefs remind us to begin with good ingredients [...]
'Don't bury what you don't want to grow.' Like a spring garden, well-maintained feelings grow and produce thoughtful responses. Untended feelings grow too; they may permeate like weeds interfering with and ultimately overwhelming good growth. Feelings don't evaporate because we don't attend to them. Feelings reside in our being. As parents, partners, caregivers - careful [...]
A truly therapeutic person relates to the essence of you even when you don't feel you have an adequate way to communicate your thoughts, experience and need. The impact of a therapeutic person stays with you long after the encounter has ended. You carry away the sense of being heard and maybe even understood! You carry [...]
To be present : the state or fact of existing, occurring, or being present in a place or thing. Synonym: existence, being there Wherever I go there I am. You know those maps that tell us where we are? In a shopping center, an amusement park, the airport… Now our cell phones do that right in our pocket [...]
