Audrey Selemela Speech-Language Therapy

03/08/2025

03/08/2025

Autism in girls (and AFAB) often presents in non-stereotypical ways which can make it difficult for them to access a diagnosis.

HOWEVER, it’s also super common for girls to have the *same* traits as boys and still go un-diagnosed because of how their actions are interpreted.

All genders can be Autistic and it’s important to look for *patterns of differences* which can range from subtle to clear ❤️♾️🌈

31/07/2025

🩷❤️💚🩵🧡

30/07/2025

19/07/2025

All the supports lead to more positive outcomes ….

I think this one speaks for itself.

Em 🌈

19/07/2025

17/07/2025

He’s nonverbal, but he hears you.

When you’re around someone who doesn’t speak, remember: just because they can’t respond doesn’t mean they aren’t listening. And just because they don’t react the way you’d expect doesn’t mean they don’t understand.

I can’t claim to know exactly what goes on in Charlie’s mind, but I do know this, he picks up on more than he lets on. He doesn’t respond in words, but he hears us. He watches. He absorbs.

No, we don’t have back-and-forth conversations. Not yet. Maybe not ever. But I believe that what he hears doesn’t just disappear. It stays with him, even if we don’t always see how.

Maybe someday more of it will find a way out. Or maybe it won’t. Either way, it matters.

11/07/2025

👌🏽👌🏾👌🏾👌🏾👌🏾

I recently saw a post where a therapist stated she was “viscously attacked” by a student and went on to question if child-lead therapy is to blame.

It broke my heart because it highlights how so many people don’t truly understand what child lead therapy truly means- and also, what it DOESN’T mean.

Now. Aggression can be a serious problem. I’ve worked with many children that were extremely aggressive and it was super freaking hard- for everyone (including the child). Looking back, there are many things I could have changed (oh hindsight is so helpful, right?!) - and I think a huge thing would have been involving the child’s interests more, being less “demanding” than I was, and also putting more time into recognizing early signs of dysregulation. Doing those things wouldn’t have ended the aggression completely- but they could have reduced it quite a bit. I also think if I could have looked at the situation as “a dysregulated child in need of support” vs “being viscously attacked” (because I’m pretty sure there’s no viciousness actually intended) would have been a huge game changer for relationship building and empathy. But yes, autonomy is important for EVERYONE and nobody should be injured.

And with that said- child lead does not mean “free for all.” Nobody is saying to let kids injure other people or that there are no consequences for their actions. And I think more people need to understand this.

I’d love to do more posts to help people better understand this, so let me know in the comments, what questions do you have? ⤵️