Exploring Neurodiversity with Adina Levy from Play. Learn. Chat

In this episode I share my perspectives about the role that 'play' should take in speech therapy sessions for autistic children.   I also share my ideas for how you can support learning and progression towards various goals for a child, through connecting with the way they enjoy playing!     If you're a Speechie and you're keen to learn more with me, this course is for you - Affirming Communicatio...

I'm sharing 8 key ways you can do Neurodiversity Affirming Therapy - You can find all of the points I discuss on the free PDF download here: Neurodiversity Affirming Speech Therapy Practices for SLPs supporting Autistic Children: https://playlearnchat.ck.page/76b2db1d09   Here are the 8 key practices that I encourage you to do, as a Neurodiversity Affirming Therapist:   Accept all forms of communi...

In this episode I chat with the wonderful Annie Crowe. Friend, Neurodivergent Empowerment Coach and NeuroAccess Consultant who brings her lived experience as a late-identified Autistic ADHDer 2e PDAer, together with her professional experience as a human rights lawyer to help neurodivergent adults gain the skills, confidence and community needed to live their best neurodivergent life!   We go all...

Today I'm sharing three actionable, practical changes that you can make (or start to make) today around language , relationship strategies , and a commitment to keep learning, to support you on your Neurodiversity Affirming Practice journey.   This is an abridged version of my recent webinar ( Neurodiversity Affirming Practice Kickstart: 3 Actionable Tips to do Today ), where I share actions you c...

In this fabulous chat with Stephanie Robertson, Neurodivergent OT, we chat about all kinds of topics including: her journey of self-discovery and self- acceptance the impact of masking on mental health and well-being the need for systemic change and neurodiversity affirming practices to create an inclusive and supportive environment for neurodivergent people moving away from behaviourism understan...

In this episode for parents and professionals who support autistic and neurodivergent children, I share my response to a very common question - What should I do when other people don't agree with my neurodiversity affirming approach to supporting autistic or neurodivergent kids?   I've got 7 ideas to share about how to collaborate and advocate when you're not aligned with the other person's approa...

Picture this. You take your child to swimming class and it's a pretty unfamiliar environment. They haven't met the teacher before. It's noisy. It's all new and pretty overwhelming. It might also be quite enticing and interesting, but there's also a huge dose of new and unknown in there.   The time comes around for your child's lesson to start. And you take your child over to the edge of the pool....

We're tucking in to this idea that All Communication is Valid. Busting the ableist bias that speech is the best way of communicating. In this episode I share some of the reasons why it might be hard for an autistic child (or anyone!) to speak.   More non-speech might be needed when… Speech skills are hard for someone (physical/motor skills or motor planning) Language skills are hard The content of...

Autism Acceptance Month is here! This April, how can YOU be a fantastic, genuine and helpful ally to the autistic community?   Here's how you can be an excellent ally this Autism Acceptance Month:⁠ 1️⃣ Listen to diverse autistic people⁠ 2️⃣ Share the work of autistic creators⁠⁠ 3️⃣ Get comfortable with feeling uncomfortable. Challenge your existing beliefs & biases 4️⃣ Call out ableist, negative,...

Show Notes: In this episode, I discuss the issue with looking at children's behaviour through a lens of 'what triggered that behaviour?'. We talk about the need to understand the Deep Why behind a child's behaviour, before you can work out how best to support them.   I share a very relatable example for any parent - a child 'refusing' to leave the house when you need to get out the door, and how t...

In this episode we discuss a range of key considerations to ensure that goals for autistic children's support are Neurodiversity Affirming, useful and relevant to each child. We'll discuss the need for goals that support an autistic child's regulation, connection, and overall well-being. Goals should not only seek to change the skills of a child, but we should instead have goals that aim to change...

In this episode, we dive into the specifics of what a Neurodiversity Affirming approach looks like when supporting social interactions for autistic children. The key point is that we do not want to teach neurodivergent children that they need to act more neurotypical. This means all our goals, therapy approaches and resources need to teach that autistic children might be different, and socialise i...

'Social skills' is a massively important area of support that we all need to pause and examine what we've been teaching neurodivergent kids. We need to check if the programs, resources and goals we've worked on previously still apply under a Neurodiversity Affirming approach.   There's a lot that we need to change.   In short, we do not want to be teaching neurodivergent kids that they should act...

So… you're ready to be part of the Neurodiversity Affirming movement to support an autistic and neurodivergent child in your world. Awesome, welcome in! The language you use matters. I'm kicking off this podcast series by sharing the language that you need to put in the bin, and the language to use instead. In today's episode, we delve into neurodiversity versus neurodivergent, why identity first...

Welcome to the Play. Learn. Chat - Exploring Neurodiversity podcast. Here, we're going to share conversations to help you connect and grow with your autistic or neurodivergent child. Join me, speech therapist, Adina Levy, as I share realistic ideas, practical strategies, and open conversations to help you better understand and celebrate your autistic or neurodivergent child. We'll discuss your chi...