How professionals can help empower parents of a newly diagnosed child with Autism Spectrum Disorder

“Professionals need to feel comfortable as facilitators of parents’ learning and engagement with their child at home, rather than seeing themselves as therapist experts who work one-on-one with children. While the latter is sometimes necessary, the former is where we can have the biggest long-term impact on helping parents realise their full potential and assisting them to maximise their daily interactions with their child so that they become more responsive to their child’s needs and communicative attempts. This builds positive parent-child relationships.”

Using occupational therapy techniques to help your child with autism live life to the full – An interview with Debra Jacobs and Dion Betts

“It is important for children to participate in ‘activities of daily living’ which are essential for good health. The more he is involved in the process and has some sense of control, the less he will see it as a chore and the more he will be willing to participate… When approaching these activities, parents need to ask themselves what they are attempting to accomplish. For example, if the goal is for the child to be clean, then does it really matter if bath time is 7PM or 3PM, as long as the time fits with the flow of the family?”

Compassionate care through touch – An interview with Niamh van Meines

“Touch is one of the most fundamental ways to offer support and caring and is often underestimated or disregarded in healthcare settings… A hand massage is a wonderful, easy introduction to using touch. From a caregiver’s perspective, they often feel disconnected from the person who is ill or weary of touching them, so it’s a wonderful way to approach the ill person and provide care in a manner that is satisfying to the ill person and to the caregiver, and safe.”

Touch as a way to share the radiant energy of care

“It was an exciting time, because it felt like a real movement in personal well-being was taking place. It wasn’t being led by doctors, but by ordinary people who were looking for more than symptom relief. They wanted therapies that were natural and non-toxic, and a way to be involved in the healing process. That was a key—becoming an active participant in wellness and illness instead of being a passive recipient of care. The quest for ways to be involved in the healing process, and for tangible ways to share it, became the continuing thread of my studies, writing and teaching.”

Transformative Supervision for the Helping Professions – An Interview with Nicki Weld

“As I talk about in the book, my best transformative moments in supervision both as a supervisor and supervisee have come from boldness and braveness. They’ve also come from courage and creativity, where the supervisor has brought their knowledge and understanding of a person into the room and made a connection, or asked a question that takes the supervisee on a new direction. It’s also when a supervisee has said, “I want to go further, I want to look deeper, not just ‘debrief'”.

Misunderstood “Misbehaviour” – Understanding Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) Syndrome in Children

“Many parents tell us that they have struggled to find a diagnosis that ‘makes sense’ of their child’s development and behaviour. Often they have read the descriptions of PDA and comment on how it is ‘like reading my child’s life story’. These parents don’t just want a label for their child – although they are often criticised for just that – but they want a way of understanding him or her. With understanding, they can then move forward knowing the best ways in which to manage their children, encourage them to be less anxious and reduce some of the outbursts that are having an impact on all of the family.”

Dramatherapy Approaches for People with Profound or Severe Multiple Disabilities – An Interview with Mary Booker

“I have so many memorable experiences of using Developmental Drama: Someone’s face full of laughter and sheer joy when their name is ‘drummed’ to a climax in the warm-up…The sudden, unexpected and totally right response to a new event in the story…A whole group of children with multi-sensory impairment huddled together, looking upwards in wonder at a new and bright ‘hole in the sky!’ It goes on and on. I am a very lucky person.”