Autism Mind

09/13/2025

Proposition: neurotypicals have a great theory of mind and are highly empathetic, and autistic people lack both. The reality may be quite the opposite!

09/13/2025

For many autistic individuals, the journey to self-discovery is not straightforward. This article outlines the stages and my personal experience navigating them.

08/18/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/16uHbJPF3A/?mibextid=wwXIfr

07/24/2025

Family and Caregiver Support for Autistic PDA families

PDA is best understood as a profile within the autism spectrum, marked by intense anxiety and a strong need for autonomy. Demand avoidance in PDA is driven by anxiety and the need to feel in control, not by deliberate defiance. Autistic people with PDA often use creative or strategic approaches to avoid demands and may show distress or regret after avoiding a demand.

🟩 Families and caregivers play a vital role in supporting individuals with PDA. Research highlights the importance of:

▪ Parental education and training: Parents need to be equipped with an understanding of PDA and the strategies to manage demand avoidance and reduce anxiety in the home environment (Lim et al., 2024; Larner, 2023).

▪ Collaboration between families and professionals: A team approach, involving teachers, psychologists, and other healthcare providers as needed, is essential for ensuring consistent support across settings (Doyle & Kenny, 2023; Haire et al., 2023).

▪ Addressing parental stress: Supporting the mental health and well-being of parents is critical, because caring for an individual with PDA can be stressful, isolating, exhausting and lead to increased anxiety, depression and burnout without appropriate support and care (Lim et al., 2024; Kenny & Doyle, 2024).

There are some points from our recent blog: https://www.attwoodandgarnettevents.com/blogs/news/what-does-the-research-say-about-current-best-practice-to-support-individuals-with-pda

📚On July 25, 2025, we will be hosting our PDA courses.
PDA and Autism: An Introduction
https://www.attwoodandgarnettevents.com/products/webcast-pda-and-autism-an-introduction-25th-july-2025
PDA and Autism: Going Deeper
https://www.attwoodandgarnettevents.com/products/webcast-pda-and-autism-going-deeper-25th-july-2025
PDA may also be called - Persistence Demand for Autonomy

07/15/2025

Always provides next level information accurately and professionally. Insight and personal experience treating autistics and aspergers is like no other.

🌟 Hello everyone! Tony Attwood here! 🌟

I want to personally invite you to follow the Attwood and Garnett Events page and Garnett Events, where I work alongside my exceptional colleague, Dr Michelle Garnett, an AuDHDer and clinical psychologist. Michelle and I have been working together for over 30 years in clinical practice, supporting neurodivergent individuals and their families, and developing resources and strategies for the community.

While I share some updates here, following the AGE page Attwood and Garnett Events directly will ensure you have access to all our latest posts, resources, and event announcements—some of which may not appear here.

We’d love for you to join us at Attwood and Garnett Events and stay fully connected to the insights and support we’re passionate about sharing.

Looking forward to seeing you there! 😊

07/15/2025

The diagnostic criteria for autism of the DSM-5 can be confusing, ableist, and pathology-based. Let me explain what they are, and help you make sense of them.

07/04/2025

06/24/2025

We can never stop learning about autism; we are not there yet!

Dr. Natalie Engelbrecht ND RP: I am autistic. Fifteen therapists missed it, as well as my medical doctor. Heck, I even missed it myself, and I am a psychotherapist!

06/24/2025

04/30/2025

This past week, our autism community lost a great warrior. Brian Roselione was a friend, colleague, and integral part of my family's journey with autism. Brian and I met over 15 years ago when our family was in the thick of learning to live with autism, also right before we opened the Social Mind Center. Brian's coaching and equipping led to our entire family thriving. Brian emphasized and insisted on the importance of equipping autistics with language, communication (social), thinking skills, and self-management skills to navigate the neurotypical world.

Brian believed that autistics needed to have the communication skills to self-advocate for their own needs and desires. We spent thousands of hours discussing best practices and strategies to teach autistics to expand their ToM (theory of mind, the ability to understand that others have their own thoughts, beliefs, desires, and emotions, which can differ from one's own) and also, discussing for those in our community with limited language and communication what could be done to help them to have a voice and be as independent as possible.

We both believed that autistics needed to understand neurotypical thinking and intentions to navigate neurotypically designed environments independently—the self-awareness to know that their autistic thinking, learning, and living was different, not less. We advocated from the place of neurotypicals, understanding the differences in autistic thinking, knowledge, and navigating life.

We struggled with the continued lack of understanding of autism and continual expectations for autistics to evolve into neurotypicals. We have to learn the autistic language as they learn ours.

Our family is deeply grieved by this loss and the loss to the autism community. We are so grateful for the time we had with Brian. I am most grateful and comforted that we recently shared with him how our family would not have overcome without him. He stood unwaveringly with us and for us. If I've learned anything in recent years, it's to share with loved ones what they mean to you and the difference they've made in your life. We do not know when we will depart this life. Brian, I'll miss all the texts and conversations about how to serve our autistic community better.

The Anselma family will miss you deeply. Jon, Ana, Gaby, and Nicky.

04/29/2025

Photo description: "Autism is like cake
It can come in many different flavors, slices, sizes, shapes, types, or ingredients; but at the end of the day, it's still cake!
Someone's autism might look different from the outside or result in different types of behaviors, but at the end of the day, it's still autism
embrace-autism.com "
📋🧠 - Virtual Worldwide Assessments for ages 16+: https://embrace-autism.com/autism-assessments/

📖🧠 - The Ultimate Guide to Autistic Burnout book is available in soft cover & hard cover on Apple, Amazon and in E-book format at our store: https://embrace-autism-store.myshopify.com/products/the-ultimate-guide-to-autistic-burnout-e-book

04/29/2025

The ESQ is a questionnaire designed to rate your executive skills—your ability to plan, focus attention, multitask, and self-regulate.