Category Archives: Behaviour

Meltdowns and the Lens of Ableism

Posted on December 14, 2015 by Leah Kelley, Ed.D.

Meltdowns – from the other side… Many, many months back Colin Bowman and I began a conversation in the comments section of one of my posts (Yours, Mine and Ours: Autism, Self-Advocacy and Setting Limits). This interaction has been resonating … Continue reading →

Posted in ableism, acceptance, Autism, Behaviour, Communicate, limits, Resiliency, Shame, support | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

Crossing the line: The Danger of Compliance

Posted on February 18, 2015 by Leah Kelley, Ed.D.

As Amy Sequenzia so eloquently states: “ABA is not only abusive to Autistic children, it makes ableism and abuse acceptable. “Experts” want 40 hours/week of this and parents who don’t comply can lose their children. ABA creates a culture of … Continue reading →

Posted in ABA, ableism, Autism, Behaviour, Compliance, family, Intervention, Parent | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 22 Comments

Dear Mr. Fassbender: Class Size, Composition, and Shame…

Posted on September 4, 2014 by Leah Kelley, Ed.D.

Dear Mr. Fassbender, Yesterday I was invited to speak at a rally outside of your MLA office. I was quite excited to have to opportunity to speak with you, the Minister of Education, in person and thought long and hard … Continue reading →

Posted in ableism, acceptance, Autism, autism stigma, BC Teachers Federation, BCTF, Behaviour | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

The Amazing Arizona TASH Adventure: A Roadtrip with H – Part 2

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Leah Kelley, Ed.D.

Two big days! H and I were met yesterday morning by Laura Nagle and Susan Marks, and together with Barb Trader: the National Director of TASH, we were driven to the conference location. H and Laura chatted about Star Trek … Continue reading →

Posted in acceptance, Anxiety, Arizona, Arizona TASH, Aspergers, Autism, Behaviour, Documentary, Laura Nagle, Purchase Vectors of Autism: Laura Nagle, Vectors of Autism | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

What is going on here?!? Autism, Uneven Development and Periods of Consolidation

Posted on May 27, 2012 by Leah Kelley, Ed.D.

Some time ago I was reading an article by a parent who was commenting on her surprise that her child was suddenly gaining a myriad of skills – seemingly out of the blue. This was not just happening in one … Continue reading →

Posted in Autism, Behaviour, Communicate, Handling Change, Parent, Resiliency | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 26 Comments

Autism Positivity… and the motivation to reframe “tragedy”

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Leah Kelley, Ed.D.

I will begin with the words of my son, H: “I am not a tragedy and autism is a part of who I am. Mom – autism means I think differently… and that is a good thing. Isn’t it?!?” I … Continue reading →

Posted in acceptance, Anxiety, Autism, Autism Positivity, Behaviour, diversity, Shame, The Gap, worry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 37 Comments

Autism and Poetry: The restorative power of language, mindfulness, and a sensory break

Posted on April 6, 2012 by Leah Kelley, Ed.D.

For the past 3 years H has been involved in a 6-8 week Art/Science program held at the nearby Blue Heron Reserve. This is a wonderful hands-on enrichment opportunity that is offered annually by his DL school, and for a … Continue reading →

Posted in acceptance, Anxiety, Aspergers, Autism, Behaviour, Communicate, Distance Education, Distributed Learning, Parent, Resiliency, Sensory Processing Disorder, SPD | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Yours, Mine and Ours: autism, self-advocacy, and setting limits

Posted on January 27, 2012 by Leah Kelley, Ed.D.

I have been thinking about limits: the edges of ourselves… that place where we interface with the world. Our limits and where we set them are the control valves for our emotional, social, physical, cognitive, and sensory experience. These boundaries … Continue reading →

Posted in Aspergers, Autism, Behaviour, Parent, Resiliency, Teacher, visual strategies, visual strategies and supports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 33 Comments

If and When Strategies: the power of language in parenting

Posted on November 2, 2011 by Leah Kelley, Ed.D.

I want to change something, sometimes I notice the littlest changes have the biggest impact. In this post I am sharing my consideration of the significance and implication of the words “if” and “when”. Many years ago I stumbled upon … Continue reading →

Posted in Aspergers, Autism, Behaviour, Communicate, Parent | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Autism, Social Cognition and Embarrassment: It’s Not a Bad Thing…

Posted on October 1, 2011 by Leah Kelley, Ed.D.

A couple of weeks back, I was asked to write something on the theme Embarrassing Moments. This has been rattling around in my head for a while now as I have been considering a couple of different ways that I … Continue reading →

Posted in Autism, Behaviour, discomfort avoidance, Parent, Social Thinking | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments