Connect with Autism

Point of awareness:

There are autistic people not receiving services.
Why?
They are experiencing dysregulated behaviors... because they are autistic.

Make it make sense, please.

Just because a person has “gotten through” to a certain point in life without support doesn’t mean they don’t deserve it now.

For years, an autistic girl could sit quietly in a classroom, get good grades, have a few friends and never be recognized as autistic at all.

That is part of the reason autism has historically been diagnosed far more often in boys.

Autism does not belong to one s*x, but researchers increasingly understand that it can be less obvious in some girls and women. Instead of displaying behaviors adults immediately associate with autism, a girl may become extraordinarily good at watching other people and copying what works.

She studies how other girls talk. Rehearses conversations before they happen. Forces herself to make eye contact. Memorizes jokes and expressions. Suppresses movements that might attract attention. She may even construct different versions of herself for different social situations.

Researchers often call this masking or camouflaging.

Even intense interests can be overlooked. A boy obsessively interested in train schedules might attract attention. A girl intensely focused on horses, celebrities, literature or a particular friendship may simply be described as passionate. What matters is not necessarily the subject, but the intensity and function of the interest.

And masking can come at a price.

Holding yourself together through an entire school day can be exhausting. Some girls appear socially capable in public, then become overwhelmed at home. Anxiety, depression or eating disorders may be noticed long before anyone considers autism.

There is another problem: much of the early research that shaped our understanding of autism disproportionately involved boys and men. The picture clinicians learned to recognize was therefore incomplete.

That picture is changing.

Women are now being diagnosed in adulthood after spending decades believing they were simply too sensitive, too anxious, too intense or inexplicably exhausted by things everyone else seemed able to do.

Sometimes autism wasn't absent.

The signs were there.

The girl had simply spent years learning how not to let anyone see them.

I only share programs that I believe in, from therapists that I have met.

Check this out. ❤️

✨ FREE Parent Class: The Skills Behind School Success ✨

Have you ever looked at your child and thought…

“I know they’re capable, so why is this so hard?”

Maybe homework turns into a battle. They need constant reminders to get through everyday routines. They struggle to sit still, become overwhelmed easily, lose their place when reading, avoid certain tasks, melt down after school, or seem to work so much harder than other children to accomplish the same thing.

Sometimes what looks like a behavior, attention, or motivation problem is actually a child struggling with one of the developmental skills underneath learning.

I would love to invite parents to join me for a FREE parent class: The Skills Behind School Success: What Every Parent Should Know. ❤️

We’ll talk about executive functioning, sensory processing, self-regulation, attention, visual skills, motor development, and some of the other building blocks that affect how children learn, behave, participate, and manage everyday life.

Most importantly, I want you to leave understanding your child a little better and with simple, practical strategies you can actually use at home.

🌿 Monday, August 31st at 6:00 PM
📍 Arrows Developmental Support & Pediatric Therapy Services
320 Osuna Rd. NE, Suite G1
Albuquerque, NM 87114

The class is completely FREE and open to parents in our community. You do not need to be an Arrows family to attend.

If there is a child in your life who seems to have to work a little harder than everyone else, I would love to have you join us. ❤️

📞 505-219-1260
📧 [email protected]
🌿 www.arrowstherapy.com

Two ways to know if Connect With Autism can help—

1) For simple questions, message here or email [email protected].

2) For more detailed concerns, book a free consult (virtual or in-person) at http://www.connectwithautism.com.

I work with ALL families to find a good solution, either with me, or with a referral elsewhere.

CONNECT WITH AUTISM Inclusive recreational and speech therapy services to facilitate relationship, community, and unity in the Rio Rancho area.