Social Mind Center

08/25/2025

Jared Richards, recipient of the first ever Autism Speaks Predoctoral Fellowship for Autistic Scientists, is pioneering research on autistic burnout—a state of persistent fatigue, social withdrawal and challenges in daily life that has long gone unrecognized in research. Their work aims to create a self-report tool to help autistic people, clinicians and researchers better recognize and address burnout.

Learn more about Jared’s project in this blog here: https://www.autismspeaks.org/blog/research-understand-autistic-burnout

If you’re interested in doing research like this, now’s your chance: applications are open for the new cycle of our Predoctoral Fellowships for Autistic Scientists. Submit your application before 9/2/25 and join the next generation of autistic researchers advancing our understanding of autism.

Click here to submit your application: https://www.autismspeaks.org/news/now-open-2025-predoctoral-fellowship-autistic-scientists

07/24/2025

By most people’s standards, my social life is seemingly nonexistent. But I am neither lonely nor unhappy. For autistics, a small social life can be a happy life!

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.

07/15/2025

Expert Information and Tips for Families. Watch here: https://on.asha.org/46n5Mo3

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

So Important!

If you’re using The Interoception Curriculum, have you ever heard repeated client responses like?:
“I don’t know how I feel.”
“I feel fine.”
“My hands feel normal.”
These are meaningful starting points—that deserve a lot of curiosity.
In our new FREE blog, we unpack:
✔️ Why these responses might happen
✔️ What they might really mean
✔️ How to adapt with trust, safety, and patience in mind
Let us know what we missed–what insights do you have about these common responses!
And read more here: https://www.kelly-mahler.com/resources/blog/interoception-activities-why-i-dont-know-and-i-feel-fine-are-valid-answers/

06/24/2025

As a speech-language pathologist in pediatric oncology, I often have patients whose communication rehabilitation paths are complicated and unpredictable. As June is Aphasia Awareness Month, I want to highlight what I have learned about helping seriously ill children with cancer with this condition.....

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 better serve our autistic community.

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

04/29/2025

When you work with the autism community in whatever capacity, make sure that you are listening to autistics and learning from them. So important that your continuing education is mostly from them!

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/16PnpPxUBR/

04/29/2025

So helpful to understand and support. Ana

04/29/2025

04/19/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1AEHecKsAQ/?mibextid=wwXIfr