Neurotwist: A Speech Pathologist's Journey Through Neurodiversity

On this week's episode, we are joined by Bettina Lopez-Lam, MS, CCC-SLP, who is an autistic SLP and mother to an autistic child. Our discussion covers the journey of seeking out an autism diagnosis for her child, to an eventual diagnosis of her own, and how these changes in perspectives have impacted her family life and clinical practice. Most importantly, we discuss how love, understanding, a...

On this week's episode, we journey outside of speech pathology to learn from an occupational therapy colleague, Normandy Rindahl, OTR, ppOTD, MOT. Join us as Normandy gives a thorough breakdown of what the sensory system even is and how it is different in the neurodivergent population. We also discuss affirming approaches for addressing sensory needs and why the goal of "fixing" them is not produc...

On this episode. Emily is joined by fellow autistic clinician Jamie Boyle to talk about experiences of being neurodiversity-affirming in contexts where other clinicians may not be on the same page. She also shares advice about how to stick to your values and educate others while still staying in your scope and maintaining professional boundaries. Jamie also shares about her private practice and ho...

Content Warning: This episode contains discussions about racism and eugenics against multiple groups. Please read the description for a list of sources and references. In this episode, Emily is joined by SLPA and Anthropology student Anna to give an introduction to the topic of disability studies. Anna gives background on the history of disabled people and how society's treatment and accommoda...

In this episode, Emily has a discussion with autistic SLP Ally about their experiences with counseling in the work of speech pathology, especially with autistic clients and their families. The two also discuss the ways that clinicians can become better counselors, and the experiences they share with being late-diagnosed autistic therapists.  Follow Ally on Instagram! Follow Emily on Instagram...

Content Warning: This episode contains discussion and descriptions of ABA practices.   In this episode, Emily has a discussion with fellow SLP Brianna Guerrero about her experience making the shift from compliance-based therapy techniques to affirming and child-led approaches. Though the conversation centers heavily around early childhood, many of these concepts can be applied to older i...

Welcome to the Neurotwist podcast! In this introductory episode, Emily discusses the goals of the show as a whole, and dives into some of the foundational concepts of the neurodiversity movement as it relates to therapy and clinicians themselves.  Follow Emily on Instagram! Intro and outro music: "Northern Glade" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution...