Cheryl WIlloughby Counseling

10/13/2024

The exact reason labels are important. You wouldn’t throw away the manual to your dishwasher- and it would not be beneficial to not know what brand of dishwasher you have. Knowing your neurotype is even more important. Labels bring vocabulary, understanding, and a pathway for connection.

Rose LaPiere, LPC: Therapist/Teacher 💕

10/13/2024

I love the awake project. They have such great info. Well worth the read and follow.

Part 2: Soft-Signs (Experiences) of Autism
Overthinking Social Interactions
• Constantly replaying conversations in your head after social interactions, analyzing what was said and whether you "got it right."
• A tendency to prepare in advance for social situations by scripting potential conversations in your mind.
• Anxiety over accidentally saying something inappropriate or off-topic & feeling overly apologetic or pretend like you were joking when you do.

10/11/2024

A few years ago i began what is growing into a beautiful native garden. What started as a shortcut to avoid watering a neglected patch of my yard, became a rich, beautiful place of with blooming flowers, active bees and full of butterflies. The entire trick was to stop forcing things to grow in unnatural places in unnatural ways. I then began pulling out grass and chopped square boxwoods, to create space for desert plants. Removing what did not belong, to give what belongs more care and concern. Learning to thrive as an adult with autism has followed a very similar path. Removing all the things that were forced to squeeze into a space that did not fit and re-wilding to care for my own sensory system as it best requires. Research clearly shows that masking neurodiversity comes at a high cost to a person’s mental and physical wellbeing. Removing the mask is not easy, or appreciated by all, but I fully believe provides the most space to truly bloom and thrive. I would welcome anyone who is on that path to claiming their most authentic self to reach out and learn neurodiverse specific ways to care for the nervious system.

10/07/2024

Diagnosis is more than a “label.” It is a pathway for understanding, vocabulary, and self compassion. We would not want a dishwasher without a manual. Neurodiverse individuals deserve the manual for how and why their brain is uniquely wired.

Many adults have been retrospectively diagnosed with autism, ADHD, and bipolar disorder

09/23/2024

“Difficulty reading social cues” is considered one of the pillars of an Autism diagnosis but not all of us present the same way. For example, I can read body language very well. Perhaps learned out of necessity during my childhood in a dysfunctional family? Perhaps learned in my extensive study & special interest in psychology? Nonetheless, I’ve never identified with “misses social cues.” I DO, however, struggle with reciprocity & knowing how to pace myself in natural conversations (it’s easy to do so as a therapist, as I mostly listen). With friends & family, I accidentally interrupt or insert another idea that I think is related but others don’t. Am I still learning at age 60? Yes, but it will never be implicit. This is just one example of how diagnostic “criteria” cannot easily fit everyone.
(Picture: a Picasso-like set of 3 faces in green)

09/20/2024

Exactly!

08/19/2024

07/02/2024

An amazing group brought to you by an amazing set of therapists.

05/25/2024

I’m just bursting with pride seeing some of the most amazing humans rewarded for their perseverance and tenacity. Yall rock!

03/15/2024

7875 likes, 159 comments. “We’ve all been listening to people teach about the power of positive thinking for a decades we get it, but how do you actually do it? How do you actually be more positive rather than just understand that it’s a good thing to do.”

02/17/2024

Hello Neuroscience.

Check out Brain Executive Program's video.