“I wish more people understood how it felt to be neurodivergent”: What to Know About Neurodiversity
Time for a societal change? Awareness of neurodiversity is one step, acceptance and valuing these differences are the goals. This would mean a shift from ‘corrective’ behaviour therapy offered by Early Intervention centres. Here’s what to know about the Neurodiversity movement.
‘There is nothing wrong with being neurodiverse. It is simply a different way of thinking. Some of the greatest minds in history are suspected of being neurodiverse and their discoveries have changed the world. If as a society, we could find a way to embrace neurodiversity and support individuals rather than treating it as a problem to be solved, we might be a lot further in finding solutions for some of the major problems we are currently facing’ says Donna who is neurodivergent herself and has two neurodivergent children. As Autism Acceptance Week (previously referred to as Autism Awareness Week) nears, two mamas and Speech and Language Therapists Fátima Ionescu and Melanie Muttit advocate for a societal change to move from awareness of autistic individuals and neurodiversity to acceptance, support and inclusivity instead. The autistic community would like us to move away from Autism Awareness and instead to Autism Acceptance due to the ableist views and perceptions created by Autism Awareness Day. This would also mean not aiming to “fix” or “correct” neurodivergent attributes and characteristics as some Early Intervention centres aim to do and instead looking for neurodiverse-affirming approaches
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Lynn C. Davison Q&A with Dr. Sharon Saline: How to Help Our Autistic Young Adults Get Things Done
Video Recording of the Live Q&A on May 13, 2022 with Dr. Sharon Saline and Lynn C. Davison https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLXTz2IsLjQ
- Access the transcript here.
- Receive a PDF download of Dr. Saline's 12 GREAT Ideas About Getting Stuff Done: How to improve executive functioning skills through collaboration and harnessing GRIT.
Dr. Sharon Saline Answers Questions About How to Help Our Autistic Young Adults Get Things Done
"We want to meet our kids where they are. And then I think one of the 12 things that may not be but we want to meet our kids where they are rather than where they think they should be. You know, and I think that this is really a challenge for all of us. Whether we are parenting neurotypical or neurodivergent kids. We want to be able to, we have to be able to put aside the things that we think should be this way or the advice that we have and let kids figure it out." – Dr. Sharon Saline
ADDitude Mag - "Why Is Accepting Compliments So Difficult for My Child?"
"Your compliments are intended to convey your pride and enthusiasm about your son’s effort. He dismisses them because of shame, low self-esteem, and his overactive inner critic. If we can address these issues, it will be easier for him to accept your praise."
Read the full ADDitude article!
Q: “Why Is Accepting Compliments So Difficult for My Child?”
Article by Dr. Sharon Saline on ADDitude.com
ADDitude Mag - "Working Memory vs. Short-Term Memory: What’s the Difference?"
"While there’s some debate in the field about this, it’s generally held that short-term memory is super quick: It stores information briefly. Working memory is related to short-term memory, but it lasts slightly longer and is involved in the manipulation of information."
ADDitude Mag - Q: “Fear of Failure Holds Me Back. How Do I Let Go of Past Mistakes?”
“When you make choices that hold you back in any way, what you’re really doing is depriving the world of the uniqueness that is you. Risk is an inherent part of life – and you can’t live a full life where you’re not taking risks and sharing all you have to offer with others.”
ADDitude Mag - When Perfectionism Stems from ADHD: Challenging the Fallacy of “Not Good Enough”
When Perfectionism Stems from ADHD: Challenging the Fallacy of “Not Good Enough”
"Perfectionism, when unhealthy, drives a person to exhaustion striving for a flawlessness that’s neither reasonable nor healthy. Though it may seem contradictory, perfectionist traits may stem from ADHD — an overcompensation for past errors or for feeling “not good enough.” Letting go of perfectionism does not mean eliminating worries around mistakes, failure, and judgment, but rather accepting that they are part of life — and one that can help us grow."
ADDitude Free Download: The Eisenhower Matrix for ADHD Decision-Making
The Eisenhower Matrix for ADHD Decision-Making
The Eisenhower Matrix is a simple, effective decision-making tool for determining which tasks deserve our immediate action, our long-term attention, our delegation skills, and our circular bins.
What Is the Eisenhower Matrix?
"It’s human nature. When a fire sparks up, we drop everything to fight it. But in our ADHD lives, there are little fires everywhere. And we get so busy extinguishing flames sometimes that we can spend a whole day — maybe a week — spinning around and around in a mess of fire retardant. We’re exhausted but have nothing to show for our time or energy. If this sounds familiar, let me introduce you to the Eisenhower Matrix, a decision-making tool devised by the 34th President of the United States — a five-star general who accomplished a dizzying amount of important work in his two terms. Use the chart below to help determine which flare-ups could be delegated or ignored, and which ones actually deserve your precious attention."
ADDitude Webinar Replay - Perfectionism and ADHD: Making ‘Good Enough’ Work for You
Access the recording of the ADDitude webinar by Dr. Saline on 1/19/22:
"Perfectionism and ADHD: Making ‘Good Enough’ Work for You"
Get access to the webinar replay! "In this webinar, Dr. Sharon Saline will explain how to stop setting unreasonable standards, engaging in negative comparisons to others, and criticizing yourself for living with ADHD. You will learn how to understand and manage the root causes of perfectionism, examine the role of imposter syndrome, decrease negative self-talk, and increase your capacity for personal compassion. You will understand how to improve executive functioning skills related to procrastination and productivity, stop reflexive shame, and create techniques for managing stress. With these resources, you’ll begin to nurture the essential resilience of a growth mindset and accept yourself as you truly are — perfectly imperfect." In this free, hour-long webinar, you will learn to:
- Understand the relationship between anxiety, perfectionism, and ADHD
- Improve executive functioning skills related to procrastination and productivity
- Set realistic expectations based on previous successful experiences
- Develop techniques for addressing imposter syndrome, fear of failure, and shame
- Increase the capacity for mindful self-compassion and self-acceptance
ADDitude Mag - The Best of 2021: Must-Read Articles on ADHD
"From cutting-edge clinical research to features on mental health during the pandemic to a deep dive on social media’s impact on ADHD brains — ADDitude published no shortage of thought-provoking and insightful articles this year. Below, click through to the most riveting reads from 2021, selected by our ADDitude editors."
Includes two articles by Dr. Sharon Saline:
The Normangee Star - You Are Worthy of Self-Compassion: How to Break the Habit of Internalized Criticism
“Self-compassion allows you to be good enough as you are, with your warts, with your foibles, sometimes off-balanced, sometimes more reactive than you’d like, sometimes disorganized, but fundamentally perfectly imperfect as a human being, just like everyone else.”
Dr. Saline's article "You Are Worthy of Self-Compassion: How to Break the Habit of Internalized Criticism" was featured in The Normangee Star Newspaper! It's featured in Volume 109, No.42, page 5, on October 27, 2021. Read the article, originally published by ADDitude Magazine. Subscribe to The Normangee Star Newspaper Serving Normangee, Hilltop Lakes and Surrounding Communities in Leon and Madison Counties of Texas since 1912.
ADDitude Mag - You Are Worthy of Self-Compassion: How to Break the Habit of Internalized Criticism
“Self-compassion allows you to be good enough as you are, with your warts, with your foibles, sometimes off-balanced, sometimes more reactive than you’d like, sometimes disorganized, but fundamentally perfectly imperfect as a human being, just like everyone else.” Read the full article by Dr. Saline!