How nervous system freeze hijacks executive function. TL;DR The Gap: Task paralysis in neurodivergent adults is routinely misdiagnosed as laziness, poor time management, or a lack of discipline. The Mechanism: What looks like hesitation from the outside is often...
Choosing a counsellor, consultant, or other professional to work with can involve a lot of questions. This can be especially true if you are neurodivergent, have had difficult experiences with therapy in the past, or are not quite sure what kind of support you need....
Why the usual classroom strategies backfire for demand-avoidant kids…and what actually works instead. TL;DR The gap: Refusal, shutdowns, and escape behaviour are typical autistic stress responses, but when a demand triggers them, they get read as defiance instead. Why...
Why nearly-equal custody time doesn’t mean nearly-equal impact on a PDA child’s nervous system TL;DR What’s happening: Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) is a profile within the autism spectrum where everyday demands can trigger a genuine fight, flight, or freeze...
Why fatigue, disengagement, and inconsistent output at work are often the visible edge of an invisible cost. TL;DR The reframe: When performance slips, most organizations ask “how do we fix this employee?” A more accurate question is how much of that employee’s energy...
Part 3 of 3: Neurodiversity at Work TL;DR Physical workplace adjustments, particularly around sound and light, have meaningful impact on neurodivergent employees’ performance, wellbeing, and occupational longevity, though the research base is still developing Employer...
Part 2 of 3: Neurodiversity at Work TL;DR The “business case” for neurodiversity, the argument that including neurodivergent employees benefits organizational performance, is a common and sometimes useful tool, but it has serious limitations. Relying on it exclusively...
Part 1 of 3: Neurodiversity at Work TL;DR The scale: Up to 17-22% of the workforce is neurodivergent, yet unemployment and underemployment among this group remain persistently high. The gap: Neurodiversity is increasingly recognized as a dimension of workplace...
TL;DR The problem: Most therapy for autistic and neurodivergent people was designed by and for neurotypical brains, and research now shows it frequently causes harm rather than healing. The shift: Neuroaffirming therapy starts from a fundamentally different premise,...
Understanding the PDA profile in children and adults TL;DR What it is: PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance) is a profile within the autism spectrum where everyday demands trigger a profound fight, flight, or freeze response in the nervous system; not a behavioural...