Support

Resilience

We hear a lot about resilience, the ability to bounce back from adversity whether it is a devastating loss or the many smaller stresses we live with each day. TIME (Bounce Back, Mandy Oaklander, June 1, 2015) cites the work of two psychiatrists, Dennis Charney, dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City and Steven Southwick, a professor of psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine. “Resilient people seem to have the capacity to appropriately regulate the subcortical fear circuits under conditions of stress,” says Charney. The article cites research in the area including recent studies on the effect of mindfulness practices on building resilience.

Expert Tips for Resilience (from TIME Bounce Back)

1. Develop a core set of values that nothing can shake.
2. Try to find meaning in whatever stressful or traumatic thing has happened.
3. Try to maintain a positive outlook.
4. Take cues from someone who is especially resilient.
5. Don’t run from things that scare you. Face them.
6. Be quick to reach out for support when things go haywire.
7. Learn new things as often as you can.
8. Find an exercise regimen you’ll stick to.
9. Don’t beat yourself up or dwell on the past.
10. Recognize what makes you uniquely strong. And own it.

Quote of the week:

“Very few highly resilient individuals are strong in and by themselves. You need support.”  ~Steven Southwick, MD

I’m so confused.

As the parent of someone with autism, being confused is not new to me. Autism is confounding for the best and brightest among us. Just ask the top researchers and providers in the field. And with few solid answers, questions abound.

Old questions persist about what causes autism and what the best-fitting treatment is for each child. It seems we’ve moved past some of the early controversy about what causes autism and have separated the “wheat from the chaff” when it comes to evidence-based treatment. With advances in genetics, we’re getting closer to being able to target treatment to a child’s unique profile.

With broadening of diagnostic criteria to include those “on the milder end of the spectrum” came new questions about whether autism is a disability or a personality difference. Some self-advocates declared themselves “autistics” and turned people-first language upside down while others voiced that their Read full post »

This month’s Autism 200 Series lecture “Autism 211: “If I Had Known Then What I Know Now” – A Panel of Parents of Older Children and Young Adults with ASD” will be held next Thursday, November 19th at Seattle Children’s Hospital in Wright Auditorium from 7 to 8:30 p.m. and led by Katrina Davis, family advocate, at Seattle Children’s Autism Center.

Join Seattle Children’s Autism Center’s family advocate, Katrina Davis, and a panel of veteran parents who will offer an intimate and personal look into their journey raising a child with autism. Parents will share their perspectives, experiences, challenges and joys. What helped? What did not help? What would you do differently? What advice do you have for new parents? Audience participation will be encouraged.

There is no need to register in advance to attend. These classes are designed for parents, teachers and Read full post »

Welcome to the October edition of Ask Dr. Emily! We often receive questions that we want to share with all our readers. To help with this, Dr. Emily Rastall, a clinical psychologist at Seattle Children’s Autism Center, will share insights here, on the last Friday of each month, in a question and answer format. We welcome you to send us your questions and Dr. Rastall will do her best to answer them each month. Send your questions to theautismblog@seattlechildrens.org. 

Q: Do adults with autism experience the same traits as children with autism? For example, will an adult with autism take two hours to eat a pop tart while sitting at a table? Are they slow eaters?

A: Symptoms of autism that are identified in childhood often persist into adulthood. They may shift and change in presentation and/or intensity. It is not uncommon for individuals with autism (from childhood Read full post »

A few nights ago I had the chance to attend the Seattle premier of the documentary film How to Dance in Ohio. What a treat! The film, set in Columbus, Ohio, follows three young women with autism as they prepare for an upcoming spring formal. The formal is a planned opportunity for the girls and other group members to practice everything they have learned throughout a 12-week social skills therapy group. The film takes us through some celebrated rites of passage many young people encounter as well as a look at what transitioning to adulthood looks like for these young women. I was invited to meet the director, Alexandra Shiva and producer, Bari Pearlman, to find out more about the making of this lovely film that is sure to leave you feeling close to the characters as they navigate their fears and worries of the unknown bag that is ‘growing up’.

When asked why make a documentary about autism, what impressed me most, was the filmmakers’ ability to see that this was a film about one slice of autism. The documentary very clearly marks that the social skills group the film follows is made up of individuals with high functioning autism. The clients in Read full post »