From the outside, you seem to have it all together. But you have managed this long and been fine, why all of a sudden does it feel so hard and exhausting to keep it up? If you are connecting with this post, you are likely in the category of the high-achieving professionals who meet deadlines,
People pleasing is a common trait among our autistic clients as they mask their needs to adjust to more neurotypical norms. If you consider yourself a people-pleaser and have a diagnosis of autism, you may put the needs and wants of others above your own more often than not. While there’s nothing wrong with doing
Autism is often used to describe a range of conditions that fall under the larger umbrella of a neurodevelopmental disorder called autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A person with ASD may display symptoms like communication difficulties, repetitive behaviors, and delayed onset of skills like language, movement, and learning. There is no cure for ASD, and at
Social anxiety casts a wide net. It’s a type of anxiety that can practically paralyze you in social situations or even make you fearful when you think about social settings. But, for people living with autism, ADHD, and/or another form of neurodivergence, social anxiety can feel even more overwhelming. Unfortunately, anxiety is fairly common in
In a perfect world, no one would have to experience traumatic situations. However, they’re more common than we’d like to admit. Traumatic experiences can include everything from child or domestic abuse, to emotional abuse, witnessing a tragic event, or anything that essentially is too much, too fast, or too soon for our nervous system to
Raising a child on the autism spectrum can be a wonderful, educational, and incredible journey for a parent. But, there’s no denying it also comes with challenges. No doubt, parenting in general, is difficult. When you’re raising a child with autism, there are even more potential obstacles to overcome. Some potential challenges may include managing
It’s often hard enough to understand the differences between an anxiety attack and a panic attack. But when you or someone you care for has autism, understanding the differences between an autism meltdown and a panic attack is a whole different ballgame. There’s no question that autism can often cause distress and dysregulation. Sometimes, it
When someone does not make eye contact with you, you’ll likely make some unhelpful and harmful assumptions. For starters, you might think they’re not interested in what you have to say or, at the very least, distracted. On another level, limiting eye contact might signal a lack of empathy to you. In fact, many neurotypical
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder can often co-occur with the Autism Spectrum Condition. In fact, 17.4-37 % of autistic individuals also can have OCD at the same time (vanSteensal, et., al 2011; Zabowski & Storch, 2018). For the purpose of this blog post, I will refer to autism in identity first language. It’s important to remember to
Aril is autism awareness and acceptance month. So in honor of this, and to highlight the neurodiversity-affirming and trauma-informed work we do at Spectrum Connections Therapy, we will share some more resources and blogs this month related to autism. At Spectrum Connections Therapy, we specialize in both Autism and OCD and this post will focus