Blog - Autism Chrysalis

An adult and a child sitting near a wooden table. The adult is holding two cards, one with a smile and one with a frown. The child is staring off to the side.

Social

Social Skills, the Autistic Way

Social skills can be learned. Yes, even by autistic people. But they aren’t often taught to us autistics in the way that autistics learn them.

A child sitting in a high chair, crossing their arms and frowning.

Self-Reg

Hidden Stressors at Home

When your senses tell you that everything hurts, even home can be a minefield. Here’s some tips to help your sensory defensive child be happier in your home.

Child and adult sitting at a table. The kid has their head on their hand and is pointing to a box on a sheet of paper.

ABA

Why I don’t recommend ABA

ABA is one of the most common interventions for Autistic kids, yet among Autistic adults it is one of the most reviled. The important question, though, is why.

Close-up on a child with ponytails, staring towards the ground. They are standing in front of a pine bush.

Social

On Shyness and Social Anxiety

Social anxiety, or what is often called shyness, is extremely common among autistic kids and adults. Here’s the short version of how it develops.

An adult looking at a child, who's trying to eat a card with the number seven on it.

ABA

A Quick Q&A on Behavior Therapy

Behavior therapies have been the standard “treatment” for autism for a long time, but are losing popularity. Here’s a little on my position in this regard.

Close-up on a child spinning in a teacup amusement park ride.

Self-Reg

What’s stimming really about?

Stimming is a bit different from other challenging behaviors because it’s both a result of stress and a strategy to calm down. It is one of the effective strategies we develop naturally.

Adult and child sitting on the floor with a multiple stacks of books nearby. The child is staring forward, and the adult is looking at the child while holding an open book.

Self-Reg

On Autistic Stress

Autistics get stressed out by a lot more things than most people, and what stresses us, and why, is often surprising to others. Here’s the critical first step to helping.

A list of strengths written out with simplistic yellow drawings above them. They are as listed "clear passions, self-soothing, good memory, special reasoning, sense of justice, entertains self, predictable, problem solving, consistent, outside the box thinking, keeping tidy, super focus, curious, attention to detail, academic success, honest, direct, logical reasoning."

Autism

Autistic Strengths

Autism isn’t just challenges. There are some wonderful strengths and attributes as well.

A list of behaviours written out with simplistic yellow drawings above them. They are as listed "socializing, stimming, not listening, meltdowns, school, not coming out of bedroom, pointing instead of talking, tummy troubles, transitions, brushing teeth, bedtime, body awareness, picky eating, rigid thinking, attention and distraction, going shopping, excessive video games, anger issues."

Autism

What’s Behind Challenging Behaviors?

Do you find autistic meltdowns challenging? Or rigid thinking, hiding in the bedroom, excessive video gaming, anger issues, etc.? Want to know what’s really going on?