Children, Adults, and Families
Specializing in working with Neurodiverse Individuals

Recently a parent was telling me about a time he was coaching his young adult son to ask for more work when he'd finished a task. Parents of autistic young adults often tell me of the time they discovered that their child didn't understand that one is expected to stay busy in the workplace, and "standing around" or inaction is frowned upon. Asking for more work is a basic employment skill I have taught scores of young people, and learning it seems to be fundamental. However

How about a post that is more conventional and all about your good? Let's talk about sleep. I was working on sleep issues the other day and it reminded me there is so much we can do to improve our sleep. And, because good sleep is a moving target, all of us can always be working on better sleep. Dr. S's Big Three for behavior change include sleep, exercise, and nutrition. Of those, sleep is primary. The following will be behavioral advice, and not medical advice. My beh

In my field there is a science to asking questions. For instance, a technique called Motivational Interviewing is a method of questioning that helps build a sense of control and autonomy in the client when discussing problems. Over the years I have learned to adjust my language to make questions easier to answer, highlight a person's autonomy, and train active decision making. I often use the question tag, "How did you choose to..." For instance, "How did you choose to sta

I have changed my mind about the college housing options for my autistic clients. Until recently my recommendation to all of my autistic clients going off to college was to request a single room. Now, I am more likely to talk about pros and cons of the options (including living at home), based on my experience, and facilitate a discussion between parents and their kids. The reality I have discovered is that shared living arrangements have their risks, and single rooms also