Racial Bias in #healthcare is a topic that needs much more attention, awareness, and discussion. I’ve recently been diving into the research (or lack of) on race and receiving an autism diagnosis. You are doing amazing work 👏 @joelbervell

“That’s why we need to pause before pressing the ‘share’ button. Just because something sounds like a good story doesn’t mean that it’s true, and misinformation hurts people in real time.” @naomicfisher

Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) can help people communicate effectively and independently. There are no prerequisites! Learn more about AAC options for children, and how an SLP can help. #nslhm #nslhmcontest sot.ag/pnDht

Many young children have difficulty eating, but it isn't always easy to differentiate between age-appropriate feeding challenges and those that could indicate a potential medical or developmental problem. Watch this video to learn more #nslhmcontest sot.ag/pnfJg

How do children find new things to learn? I'm sometimes asked if I don't worry that self-directed children will miss out on important learning. Here's why my worry is more for children who are at school. School-based education requires children to ignore their interests, in favour of an adult agenda. They are told that the things that fascinate them are less important than the things adults have chosen for them. This happens throughout their day. In order to keep them 'on-topic', schools limit their access to learning. Talking is restricted, they can't look things up or ask their friend, they can't quickly google a definition (perhaps of the fundamental theorem of algebra,as my son and I did yesterday following the Redactle puzzle). Schools do this in the deeply held belief that what they want children to learn is more important than what a child finds interesting. Space for children to follow their interests gets smaller and smaller as they grow older. With the result that by the time they are teenagers, the question 'Will it be on the test?' is more likely than 'Why does that happen?' or 'Can I find out more about that?'. Young people are told from early on that their interests don't matter, and they learn it well. We make so little time at school for children to practice the skill of following their interest. We dissuade them from seeing something fascinating and running with it. We tell them time and time again that we know best. But what if that process has side effects? What if following your interests is a really important skill to develop, one which often starts with diggers and dinosaurs, goes through Pokémon and Minecraft and then onto languages, coding, maths and all the other things we can learn? That's what I worry about, when I see children in art galleries with worksheets. I worry they miss out on the joy of sparking interest and following the trail. I worry that pulling them away has consequences for the future. I worry that they aren’t being allowed to see something and suddenly be so curious that they just have to know more. I worry they are learning that what interests them doesn't matter. So do I worry about self-directed children not finding new things to learn? No. The problem is more how to keep up with them as they find new and exciting things around every corner. The world is full of things to learn when you're interested. Nurture the interest, learning will follow. (with @_MissingTheMark)

Did you know cuddling or being in a loving relationship can literally change your gene expression? It activates repair genes and turns off inflammation. Love truly is medicine.

We have to have honest talks about the history of ABA and validate the experiences of Autistic adults if we want change in all therapy support youtu.be/q6qd5eQPnUU?si=pRAk…

Just what is so dangerous about the idea that young children learn best through play?

Red 40 is literally crude oil. We have completely lost the plot with “evidence based medicine” when the FDA is saying there’s not enough data to suggest mixing crude oil in our kid’s food is harmful. Evidence based medicine is killing us.

Are you unsure of the best ways to talk about augmentative and alternative communication (AAC)? Check out these recommendations from AssistiveWare based on the perspectives of AAC users: assistiveware.com/blog/aac-t…

If you are disabled and impacted by Hurricane Helene and need help, call or text the Disability and Disaster Hotline at 800-626-4959 or email hotline@disasterstrategies.org.

The real mental health crisis starts in the gut. If every daycare and school eliminated ultra processed food, we would see a completely different country.

My heart truly goes out to the families impacted by the devastation of #HurricaneHelene . In particular the families of disabled children. axios.com/local/charlotte/20…

October is #AACAwarenessMonth and these communications apps with be 50% off from the 9th-16th. @AssistiveWare

Awareness. 🔁 #educators #schools #students #appliededucationalneuroscience #connection #behavior #nervoussystem #awareness #stressawareness

Want happier, healthier kids? Offer them autonomy. Massive new meta-analysis makes it plain: In every culture, control leaves children worse off — but autonomy helps them people engage, learn, and grow.

Important Read for #SLPs before signing noncompete agreements. 👏 @ASHAleader

Not to mention speech and language delays. I hope these findings don’t shame parents but instead encourage more intentional use of devices as much as possible.

Tell CMS to Continue Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Telehealth Services in 2025 votervoice.net/Shares/BpD_9A… @ASHAAdvocacy @ASHAWeb