Tag: neurodiversity

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Is CBT good for Autistic people?

This is a question that until recently would have been a “yes!” from experts. Newer research has suggested that that may not be the case.

“We fundamentally need to ask ourselves: If it’s working, then whom is it working for?” says study lead Shivani Sharma, head of the psychology division at the University of Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom. “Because it’s really odd that there’s such a difference between the clinician ratings, the parent ratings, and then the person themselves, their own rating.”

I have read in books, forums, and articles about CBT not being as effective for autistics but haven’t come across an easy to digest explanation. Now there is one! This is a great video about CBT and WHY it’s not always good for us, from someone I consider a great Actually Autistic advocate. Seriously go check out is youTube channel: Autism From The Inside

AbleTo

Not long ago I was contacted about AbleTo, an online mental health & coaching services my insurance is contracted with. I humored the woman on the line and let her go through her spiel while I did a little research. On their website I saw that it mainly utilizes CBT.

After explaining that I am recently diagnosed autistic and that CBT is not always helpful for us, I asked her if CBT was the only method employed. This was a question she was not prepared for. She put me on hold to talk to her supervisors and came back with the non-answer that the therapists were trained in multiple methods. Though she could not answer the question on if other modalities were actually employed. I thanked her for her time and said that I would do my own research and call back if I felt like AbleTo would be good for me.

For those interested, AbleTo does not seem to be any more effective than other online therapy services, like Better Help, but it is covered by some insurances. Nothing I saw in my very quick research suggested that it was good for autistics. I won’t be calling them back as I am more than satisfied with my current therapist. There do seem to be plenty of people out there who feel satisfied by virtual therapy and I am not against using these services. Especially if obtaining quality professional help in-person is challenging.

*Disclaimer* I have never used an online/virtual therapy service. I would be curious to hear from #actuallyautistic people that have used these services. If you have used them please share your experiences!

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It’s Neurodiversity Week!

Welcome! I did a thing! I have my own website now! Which I am still trying to figure out, so bear with me a bit. Neurodiversity Week made me do it…

I have typically shared through Instagram and sometimes Facebook. But recently I’ve been sharing these long posts that don’t really fit with those platforms.

I decided to finally start a blog. Like an actual blog, not the dabbling I’ve done in the past. I wanted a place that I could share whatever I wanted, in a way that I wanted, without feeling the pressure to censure myself, or feel constrained by the platform, or worry about offending contacts on my friends list. I want to share my journey through life in a way that feels authentic to me. I wanted to be able to info dump and use any “foul” language that comes to mind.

So why the name “Life Organized by Chaos”?

I have always loved the phrase “organized chaos.” As a teen I used it to describe the way I decorated my room and the collage art I did. As I got older and life became more complex I realized that my life, the lens I saw it through, had so much chaos; for a few reasons, that I will get into here at some point. I have always been trying to organize the chaos of my life, with varying degrees of success.

So what the heck does all this have to do with Neurodiversity Week?

Well, myself, my husband, and both of our kids, have all recently been diagnosed with ADHD, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. As a person with ADHD, a partner, and a parent of people with ADHD, our brains are wired and behave very differently than the typical person. We are neurodivergent, and I kinda like it. Knowing why we behave or think in certain ways has been liberating.

BTW ADHD is a horrible name for this condition, which I can explore another time.

Now that we know we have ADHD, we now know that we are part of the neurodivergent crowd! And oh boy! Does it feel good to have a clearer understanding of how my brain works.

Some of you might not know what neurodiversity is, or what it means to live with a condition that falls under the neurodivergent umbrella. For this welcome post I’ll share a couple definitions with links to help you understand some neurodiversity basics, as I now understand them. As the mood strikes me I’ll explore some of the deeper aspects of it all.

Neurodiversity – ND: Is the variation in the human brain regarding mental functions like attention, learning, and mood. The main point of using this label is that these are simply different ways of being versus conditions that needs to be cured. For instance left handedness is now understood to be a difference, and we no longer try to force left handers to use their right hand. It is now just a difference that can be accommodated. Understood.org shares that “Neurodiversity is a viewpoint that brain differences are normal, rather than deficits…. That’s the basic idea of neurodiversity — that differences don’t have to only be looked at as weaknesses.” Conditions that fall under neurodivergent are Autism, ADHD, and learning disabilities like dyslexia, dyspraxia, etc.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder – ADHD: is a neurodevelopmental disorder “that impacts the parts of the brain that help us plan, focus on, and execute tasks. ADHD symptoms vary by sub-type — inattentive, hyperactive, or combined — and are often more difficult to diagnose in girls and adults.” As defined by ADDitude.com

Autism Spectrum Disorder – ASD: From Autismsociety.org “Autism… is a complex, lifelong developmental condition that typically appears during early childhood and can impact a person’s social skills, communication, relationships, and self-regulation. The Autism experience is different for everyone. It is defined by a certain set of behaviors and is often referred to as a “spectrum condition” that affects people differently and to varying degrees.” And like ADHD, it can be very difficult to get a diagnosis if you are female and/or an adult.

This is the barebones of what neurodiversity is. There are other conditions that fall under the umbrella of Neurodiversity broadly, and there many other syndromes or conditions that fall under the categories of ADHD & ASD. There are so many fantastic websites, blogs, YouTube channels, Podcasts, and everything in between that have amazing content that can give you any and all of the information you might want. I’ve just linked just a few that I’ve come across. Take a look!

I hope that you will stick around while I give you a glimpse of a neurodivergent life through my lens.