BrainPower Neurodevelopmental Center

05/25/2026

05/22/2026

L.R.Knost - Little Hearts/Gentle Parenting Resources Tiny Buddha ❤️

05/20/2026

Autism is genetic- but that doesn’t mean it will present the same way from sibling to sibling (or parent to child).

In fact, it’s very common for multiple siblings to be Autistic, but one to get diagnosed (in general, or one gets diagnosed much earlier than others). It’s usually the kids who externalize traits, struggles, and emotions and/or fit stereotypical traits who get diagnosed early. And then internalizers/maskers to go without support or without an accurate diagnosis.

The truth is, both of these kids would likely benefit from support and the ability to understand their neurology.

05/18/2026

We love our SLPs! Happy National Speech Language Pathologists’ Day!

05/18/2026

Getting diagnosed with autism later in life, whether it’s in your 20s or 40s or even your 60s, can be a total game-changer. It can impact your entire sense of identity and how you interact with the world and others. It can also bring a profound feeling of relief while answering many questions, including: why did it take so long to figure this out?
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Today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that one in 45 adults is autistic, and even more are likely undiagnosed. This rise is due to the improved understanding of the condition (and acknowledgement that autism is a true spectrum, rather than a collection of specific traits) thus leading to updated diagnostic criteria.

When autism is diagnosed in adulthood, it doesn’t mean that someone only developed the signs of autism later in life. In most cases, they had been living with undiagnosed autism since childhood, and belong to what experts call the “lost generation.” “These adults missed out on services, and therefore often experience pretty significant challenges, including mental health conditions,” says Jackie Shinall, PsyD, head of reliability and quality assurance at Prosper Health.
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There are many reasons for lost generation autism. In addition to a previous lack of awareness of autism in adults, outdated diagnostic criteria allowed even more people to slip through the cracks.
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In the past, autism was primarily viewed through the lens of the “classic” presentation (the stereotypical autistic male you’re picturing), so more subtle signs were often missed. “In some cases, this relates to the broadening of the autism spectrum, as there are some individuals who would not have met the diagnostic criteria in the past, but now do meet the criteria as it has evolved and our understanding of autism continues to improve,” says Heather Flynn, PhD, a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in autism assessments for individuals of all ages.‍ ( Health ❤️)

05/17/2026

Coaching With Brooke ❤️

05/16/2026

Masking is a strategy used by some autistic people, consciously or unconsciously, to appear non-autistic in order to blend in and be more accepted in society. Masking can happen in formal situations such as at school or work and in informal situations such as at home with family or socialising with friends.

Masking is sometimes referred to as ‘camouflaging’, ‘social camouflaging’, ‘compensatory strategies’ and ‘passing’. Research suggests autistic people learn how to mask by observing, analysing and mirroring the behaviours of others – in real life or on TV, in films, books, etc.

Masking autistic characteristics and suppressing your needs, preferences, instincts and coping mechanisms (such as stimming) can result in:

*distressed behaviour, including meltdowns and/or shutdowns (often only expressed when it can’t be held in any longer or when the individual feels safe enough in their environment to do so, such as when they get home from school)
mental and physical exhaustion (which can lead to autistic burnout)
*mental health difficulties (including increased suicidality and/or self-harm)
*isolation and/or feeling disconnected from other people
being more vulnerable to abuse (if you ‘blend in’ by overriding your reactions and going along with what other people want, this may not keep you safe in certain situations, such as sexual interactions)
*a loss of sense of self
*low self-esteem. (National Autistic Society ❤️)

Image ❤️

05/13/2026

"My son has loved attending his amazing school, but it’s been tough for him. In the second grade, he was diagnosed with ADHD. We’d struggled since preschool with trying to help him acclimate to a school environment, so the diagnosis didn’t come as a surprise. But it wasn’t until the middle of third grade that we began medicating our son for his ADHD. Even after beginning medication, we had some rough semesters, grade-wise. There were so many teacher conferences, so many tears at night over homework, so many assignments finished but not turned in. So many zeros.

We eventually got Lucas’s medication straightened out, and he’s doing much better in school. In fact, this last semester he got straight A’s for the first time. I’m proud, of course, because he worked his butt off, but that’s not the point I want to make. Even if he’d made C’s, he still worked his butt off.

My point is, kids who work really hard to make C’s don’t get awards. Although I don’t begrudge celebrating a child’s success, I think we are doing a disservice to kids who are affected by disorders that impact their academic performance. We are inadvertently shaming kids who are dealing with ADHD or anxiety or autism or other issues that make school exponentially harder.

When my son came up to me after the ceremony, tears in his eyes because he was sad to be leaving the school, he said, “Mom, I think I was the only one that didn’t get a Presidential Award.”

He noticed. Of course, he noticed. He knows he’s overcome so much and worked so hard to pull his grades up, so, yeah, it was a punch to the gut for him to get left out. My son will be okay though – once his official report card comes in, we’ll celebrate his efforts in a big way.

But what about other kids who have experienced similar, awards ceremony after awards ceremony, year after year after year? If you’re a parent of one of these kids, you know how hard they work. You know how hard you work. You know that persistence and dedication does not always correlate to measurable achievement. You know that often, your child has to work twice as hard as some of the straight-A students just to earn a C.

And you know that often, no one notices.

I’m not here to detract from the straight-A students’ accomplishments or say they are undeserving. These kids absolutely deserve recognition for their hard work. What I am here to say is this:

To the parent of the kid who is trying really hard but not quite measuring up, I see you. I see your kid. I see your struggle. I see how hard you’re working. I see you helicoptering over your child even though that is something you promised yourself you would never do, but you have no choice but to hover because your kid would utterly, abysmally fail if you didn’t. You are trying so hard, and so is your child, and I see you.

Your kid might not get a fancy certificate with a signature stamp from the president of United States, but you sure as hell have my respect and admiration. And so does your kid." Scary Mommy❤️

05/13/2026

AuDHD is a new term that’s being used to describe people who have both autism andADHD. It’s not an officialdiagnosis but is meant to draw attention to the combined effect of having the two disorders.

Having both autism and ADHD is very common — studies estimate that 50 to 70 percent of people with autism spectrum disorder also have ADHD (though most people with ADHD do not also have autism).

It’s only since 2013 that the possibility of having both was recognized in the DSM-5, the guide to mental health disorders. Before that the two diagnoses were considered mutually exclusive. But mounting evidence of how common it is to have symptoms of both, and more recognition of the frequency with which people have several related developmental disorders, led to a change in the guidance.

Since the combination has only been recognized so recently, there is a limited amount of research on how people are affected by having both disorders, says Conner Black, PhD, associate director of the Autism Center at the Child Mind Institute. The term AuDHD was coined by autism advocates to highlight the experience of having symptoms of both, because they can interact in confusing ways. (Child Mind Institute ❤️)

Image credit unknown.

05/11/2026

No Magic Wand UK ❤️