Holding it Together Psychotherapy
120 Carlton street Toronto, ON, Canada

It's easy to believe our friends are on the same page when it comes to safer socializing practises during COVID-19. But there is a lot of misinformation, a lack of information about risk assessment, and anxiety around alienating each other. Check out the articles below on assessing risk, and how to talk with friends about a no-mask hangout.... https://www.businessinsider.com/6-foot-distancing-rule-is-o https://www.vice.com//talk-about-friends-safely-hang-out-w

@sravya_attaluri

A rare opportunity to learn from Loree Erickson about disability & care collective organizing!

Dyscalculia is like dyslexia but with numbers. From @chronic couple on Instagram Dyscalculia is a term used for a wide range of life-long learning disabilities involving maths, numbers, and arithmetic skills. It’s generally seen as the mathematical equivalent of dyslexia. Autistics have a higher risk of having dyscalculia as a co-morbid condition. And after a lifetime of feeling stupid despite being gifted in most other subjects, I was diagnosed with dyscalculia at 39.... It’s a brain-related condition that makes basic arithmetic hard to learn, and up to 10% of people have dyscalculia. It can also be associated with ADHD, and up to 60% of people who have ADHD also have a learning disorder, like dyscalculia. People with dyscalculia may lose track when counting and may count on their fingers long after kids the same age have stopped doing it. To this day, I still count on my fingers. Because of being embarrassed, I would hide my hand under the table and mentally feel my fingers through the numbers so no one would notice. I also find it hard to know at a glance how many things are in a group a skill called Subitizing that helps you see a five and a three after you roll the dice, without really counting. This causes a lot of anxiety when playing family games that involve dice. Luckily I have a nephew on the spectrum who is gifted in math, and he gladly comes to my rescue. So much more awareness is needed for learning disabilities like dyscalculia. I can tell you from experience that living with an undiagnosed learning disability is maddening. Because of my good grades in other subjects, I was called lazy and told to try harder every time I voiced my frustrations; from elementary school all the way up to college when I was crying in the counselor's office sobbing about how I could be such a smart dumb person. It made me feel like a fraud and diminished my other accomplishments. I never want anyone else to feel like that. So please share and let’s raise more awareness for this unrecognized very real learning disability. #actuallyautistic #hsp #spoonie #spoonielife #autism #aspie #autistic #autisticadults #autismawareness #neurodiversity #autismcommunity #autismproud #mentalhealthadvocate #neurodiverse #aspielife #aspergers #EDS #mentalhealthrmatters #autisticpride #autismadvocate #neurodivergent #mentalhealth #ADHD #OCD #anxietyrelief #ADHDproblems #dyscalculia Image ID: A purple and orange ombre background with the word dyscalculia at the top. Underneath reads number dyslexia with numbers one through eight. Signs below are, trouble with mental math. Needs a calculator to figure out tips. May count with fingers. Frequently late. Slow telling time on an analog clock. Difficulty with remembering names and number related dates and facts. Struggles to keep scoring games often losing track of who’s turn it is. Gets lost easily. Misplaces objects frequently. Misjudges how long it will take to drive somewhere.

Cancel culture is not part of Transformative Justice. Transformative Justice facilitates accountability instead of kicking people out. Cancel culture sends people away, where they end up doing harm to others.... (Image description in comments)

An autistic take on ‘zoom fatigue’: We Autists live with these discomforts all our lives. In any situation where one group is freshly experiencing what another group lives with every day, there is an obvious emotional advantage to the group with a history of those experiences. http://www.thinkingautismguide.com//zoom-fatigue-taste-of- -SR... [image: Exasperated person grabbing their head in frustruatoon, sitting at a computer keyboard. They are wearing glasses and are read as a white cis guy by this image description writer.

Refusal is not Laziness. It takes a lot of effort! http://www.thinkingautismguide.com//when-adaptation-looks-

While we already know that autistic (and other neurodivergent) people are at a higher risk for PTSD, a new study shows that autistic people can develop PTSD from events that are (according to neurotypical standards) not traumatizing at all. https://annsautism.blogspot.com//autism-bullying-post-trau

On why we can’t address disablism without addressing racialization: https://www.learnplaythrive.com/single-post/Racism

People with Intellectual Disabilities enrich the Neurodiversity movement, but (how) will the Neurodiversity movement enrich the lives of Intellectual disabled people? http://www.thinkingautismguide.com//you-cant-have-neurodiv

Dreaming possibilities for the future is difficult. Even in the best of times. Artist Ezra Claytan Daniels helps us envision what alternatives to violent policing could look like. https://thenib.com/after-the-cops/

Learning anti-racism involves multiple stages. This document outlines key learnings and resources that correspond with each stage, followed by the emotional and experiential work involved in building into the next stage. https://docs.google.com//1PrAq4iBNb4nVIcTsLcNl/mobilebasic

The pressure to be normal can make us sick: https://www.cbc.ca//sarah-kurchak-talks-about-overcoming-a

For some neurodivergent folks, answering a casual social question is much harder than writing an essay:

Non-binary trans therapist and supervisor of therapists, Sly Sarkisova talks about trans health: https://www.rawtalkpodcast.com/episode/77

Toxic positivity is psychologically damaging: Positive vibes only Focus on the good things Just let it go... Everything is fine! Someone who is experiencing overwhelming feelings of sadness can’t flip a switch or jolly their own way out of it, she said. Toxic positivity refuses to acknowledge their challenges. If we ask others to be inauthentic, that doesn’t build resiliency and relationships.

The D&D for Beginners session for RPG for ASD is scheduled! We had a lot of fun last time, so I'm looking forward to the next one. Best of all, you don't have to have been at the last game to attend this one! Email me at [email protected] or check us out on Facebook at RPG for ASD if you have any questions. (Image Description - Cover of Player's Handbook for Dungeons and Dragons version 3.5. Text reads "RPG for ASD Presents Autistic-Only D&D. Learn tabletop role playing i...n an autistic-friendly environment. Ages 18+, May 9, 2020, 7pm EST. No experience required! Everything needed to play will be provided. We'll play entirely online, so you can safely play from anywhere! Sign up at RPG for ASD) https://facebook.com/events/s/beginners-dd-session-ages-18/720109028733156/?ti=icl

TO SUMMARIZE THE EVILS OF ABA SHORT & SUCCINCTLY: (Credit:Ask An Autistic) Links are in comment section ... ABA is child abuse. ABA uses aversives such as verbal disapproval, planned ignoring, spanking, withholding of toys/comfort items/food, slaps, restraints, and even electric shocks. ABA ignores a child's consent, which can lead to lifelong issues with comprehending consent- which can lead children to ignore another person's bodily autonomy, and more importantly can lead them to become victims of sexual or other forms of abuse. ABA is conversion therapy, founded on the same principles as gay conversion therapy but with more torturous methods. Autistics who have been in ABA are 86% more likely to develop PTSD than their peers that never experienced ABA. ABA is usually extremely intensive, most children are forced to participate 25-40 hrs per week, sometimes on top of school and sometimes in place of an education (meaning the child gets no actual education). ABA is an expensive scam. The creator of ABA intended for children to be afraid of the therapists and their parents, which he actually said in one of his published journal articles. The Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI), who oversees the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) endorses torturing autistic children with electric shocks, which have been denounced and called torture tactics by the United Nations (UN) and the US Food Drug Administration (FDA). ABA therapy worsens any possible volatility in children and makes them unable to handle stimuli, causing more and more unpredictable meltdowns. Behavior Technicians/Analysts/Therapists certified by BACB do not have any training. They are typically hired with only a GED or diploma, no college, and get no formal training of any kind. They are then encouraged to directly harm children and lie to parents about it. Your child's ABA does not have to tick all of these boxes to be abusive. If even one of these applies to the care your children are getting (and if they are in ABA, at least one of them does) they are enrolled in an abusive program that will traumatize them.

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If you are considering psych meds, finding the right ones is more an art than a science - especially if you are autistic. Symptoms of depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, ADHD and other conditions in people with autism seem similar to those that people without autism may experience. But because the underlying cause is different, the biochemistry may be different overall and also highly variable from person to person. https://www.spectrumnews.org//deep-d/autisms-drug-problem/