The preceding editorial, Sensory Overload, Attachment, and the Roots of Development, approached autism as a lived experience of sensory overload within a developing attachment system: it asked, What is happening inside the child? This second piece takes the next step and asks a different question: How do we create the conditions in which that child can rest, connect, […]
Sensory Overload, Attachment, and the Roots of Development
Throughout history, many attempts have been made to explain and understand autism — yet many of these approaches capture only fragments of a much more complex experience. This editorial explores autism through a relationship-based developmental lens, drawing on the work of Dr. Gordon Neufeld and Jule Epp. Making Sense of Autism Across history, there have […]
PDA: What If It’s Not What It Looks Like?
First Impressions Can Be Misleading: Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) – also known as a Pervasive Drive for Autonomy – is often misunderstood at first glance. What can look like stubbornness, refusal, or even manipulation is, in reality, something very different. PDA describes a pattern in which everyday demands are experienced not as manageable expectations, but […]
Moments of Meaning: Understanding Repetitive Behavior
From the outside, it can appear unsettling – sometimes even alarming: a child who spends hours tearing paper into the tiniest shreds, rhythmically knocking their head against the sofa, or watching the same YouTube clips over and over again. In both professional discourse and everyday life, these so-called stereotypes or repetitive behaviors are often dismissed […]