Two Sides of the Spectrum

Reframing Social Differences for Autistic Kids with Rachel Dorsey, Autistic SLP

Episode Summary

Rachel Dorsey is Autistic and an ASHA-Certified Speech-Language Pathologist. Join us in episode 26 as we totally overhaul everything you thought you knew about the social skills of autistic people. Rachel plays out some of our most common social (and social-emotional) interventions, painting a picture of how they have negative cascades throughout a child’s lifetime. Then she dives into what we can be doing instead.

Episode Notes

Rachel Dorsey is Autistic and an ASHA-Certified Speech-Language Pathologist. Join us in episode 26 as we totally overhaul everything you thought you knew about the social skills of autistic people. 

In this episode, we dive into:

• Rachel’s own experience as an autistic person with neurodiverse and neurodivergent friendships
• The subtle and insidious ways that OTs and SLPs are teaching our autistic kids to hide their own thoughts and emotions, even when we think we aren’t
• The surprisingly negative ways that traditional social and social/emotional interventions can play out throughout a child’s life
• How we can use a neurodiversity-affirming approach instead to support our clients’ strengths and their sense of positive self-identity and belonging