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04/05/2026

Day 5 of Autism Advocacy Month

A lot of autistic adults aren’t struggling with communication.

They’re navigating a mismatch in communication styles.

✨ saying exactly what they mean
✨ not using hints, subtext, or “reading between the lines”
✨ needing clarity instead of guessing
✨ asking direct questions
✨ being honest, even when it’s uncomfortable

But in a world that relies on indirect communication,
this can be misunderstood as:

😬 rude
😶 blunt
🤔 socially unaware
🚫 “lacking empathy”

When really, it’s often the opposite.

Many autistic people value:
💬 clarity
💛 honesty
🧠 precision
🤝 genuine connection

Education means understanding this:

Different doesn’t mean wrong.

It means we may need to meet each other differently.

04/04/2026

Day 4 of Autism Advocacy Month

Many autistic people learn something early: How to hide.
✨ forcing eye contact even when it’s uncomfortable
✨ copying how others talk, joke, and respond
✨ rehearsing what to say before speaking
✨ smiling when it doesn’t match how they feel
✨ staying quiet instead of asking for clarity
This is called MASKING.

From the outside, it can look like:
✔️ socially skilled
✔️ easygoing
✔️ “just like everyone else”
But on the inside, it often feels like:
😓 constant effort
🧠 overthinking every interaction
⚡ sensory overload building quietly
🔥 deep exhaustion by the end of the day

Masking isn’t harmless. It’s adaptive. And over time, it can lead to burnout, anxiety, and losing a sense of self. Education means understanding this: If someone seems “fine,” it doesn’t mean it’s easy.

neurodiversity neurodivergent NeuroaffirmingCare

04/04/2026

Day 4 of Autism Advocacy Month

Many autistic people learn something early: How to hide.
✨ forcing eye contact even when it’s uncomfortable
✨ copying how others talk, joke, and respond
✨ rehearsing what to say before speaking
✨ smiling when it doesn’t match how they feel
✨ staying quiet instead of asking for clarity
This is called masking.

From the outside, it can look like:
✔️ socially skilled
✔️ easygoing
✔️ “just like everyone else”
But on the inside, it often feels like:
😓 constant effort
🧠 overthinking every interaction
⚡ sensory overload building quietly
🔥 deep exhaustion by the end of the day

Masking isn’t harmless. It’s adaptive. And over time, it can lead to burnout, anxiety, and losing a sense of self. Education means understanding this: If someone seems “fine,” it doesn’t mean it’s easy.

04/03/2026

Day 3 of Autism Advocacy Month

A lot of autistic adults were missed as kids. Not because they weren’t autistic— but because they learned to cope quietly.
✨ They followed rules closely
✨ They studied how to “be social”
✨ They rehearsed conversations ahead of time
✨ They pushed through sensory discomfort
✨ They became who others needed them to be

From the outside, it looked like they were doing “just fine.” On the inside, it often felt exhausting. By adulthood, it doesn’t “look like autism.” It can look like:
🧠 anxiety
🔥 burnout
😔 chronic overwhelm
🌀 feeling like you’re “too much” or “not enough”

Education means understanding this: Autism didn’t suddenly appear in adulthood. It was just never recognized.

04/03/2026

Today is World Autism Day.

For many autistic people, the hardest part isn’t autism itself.
It’s being misunderstood.

It’s being told you’re “too much” or “not enough” at the same time.
It’s working twice as hard just to be seen as “okay.”

Awareness means recognizing this:
Autistic people aren’t broken.

Autistics are navigating a world that wasn’t built for them.

Autism doesn’t always look like what people expect.

Some autistic people make eye contact.
Some talk a lot.
Some have jobs, families, and full lives.

But what you don’t see is the effort it takes—
to process noise,
to read social situations,
to keep up.

Awareness means looking beyond appearances.

02/23/2026

Come join us at CFHA for The first F&H SIG webinar of 2026 will feature a presentation on working with couples presenting with medical concerns by Lizee Nuñez Love, MS, LMFTA.

You can get more info and register here: https://www.cfha.net/event/families-health-sig-webinar-2/

02/20/2026

I’m excited to share a new collaborative publication in Family Therapy Magazine:

🔗 https://ftm.aamft.org/family-therapists-in-schools-where-weve-been-and-where-were-going/

“Family Therapists in Schools: Where We’ve Been and Where We’re Going”

This piece, written with colleagues from the AAMFT Family Therapists in Schools Interest Network, explores the growing role of systemic therapists within educational settings — not just as providers of individual mental health services, but as relational consultants working across student, family, school, and community systems.

School-based family therapy sits at a critical intersection of education, mental health, and public policy. When we intervene systemically, we are often supporting more than a student — we are influencing the relational ecosystem shaping their development. The work is frequently invisible, yet it profoundly impacts safety, engagement, and belonging.

Grateful to collaborate with colleagues who are helping expand where family therapy can live and who it can reach.

This article is a collaborative effort by members of AAMFT’s Family Therapists in Schools Topical Interest Network and school-based colleagues (contributors are listed in alphabetical order).

02/10/2026

I work heavily with mixed neurotype partners. Mostly Autistic, ADHD, and AuDHD combinations. What I have realized in the work I do is that they sometimes “speak a different language”. Many have learned how to speak indirect (neurotypically coded language) and others speak their authentic direct language. This sometimes is misinterpreted in relationships.

I often find myself translating between the partners nd helping each understand each others language. This sheet may be helpful in the misinterpretations you may be seeing yourself.

02/07/2026

🍃🍃🍃
I work heavily with mixed neurotype partners. Mostly Autistic, ADHD, and AuDHD combinations. What I have realized in the work I do is that they sometimes “speak a different language”.

Many have learned how to speak indirect (neurotypically coded language) and others speak their authentic direct language. This sometimes is misinterpreted in relationships.

I find myself often translating between the partners and helping each understand each others language. This sheet may be helpful in the misinterpretations you may be seeing yourself.

01/06/2026

Meet Misty Schmidt, a therapist, researcher, and neurodiversity advocate whose work with Autistic and ADHD partners uncovers new ways of understanding communication, resilience, and connection. 🧠

In her talk, Dr. Schmidt invites us to rethink what communication, connection, and resilience look like when we stop defining them through neurotypical expectations. Resilience is often framed as endurance—pushing through, adapting to existing systems, or returning to “normal,” but Dr. Schmidt challenges that framing by drawing from the ways and partners build communication and connection on their own terms.

Are you ready for a shift in how you understand difference, advocacy, and community care? We are. Registration opens soon.

12/17/2025

On February 28th, I’ll be taking the TEDx stage to talk about resilience through a neurodivergent lens—how connection, adaptation, and relationships shape what resilience actually looks like. I’m excited to share this:

Mark your calendars! is officially coming back.
🗓 When? Saturday, February 28, 2026
🗺 Where? The TWU Denton Campus
💪The theme? Resilience
Look out for a call for speaker proposals and opportunities to volunteer coming your way soon!!!
Interested in sponsoring or collaborating? Shoot us a DM or contact Elizabeth Brownlow at ebrownlow@twu.edu.