Little Life Development

Here's a flyer for a discount if anyone wishes to order the book ❤️

https://www.facebook.com/share/1LFsxm4diV/

I'm incredibly pleased to have supported a parent in securing the right school placement for their child.

These processes can be stressful and emotionally draining for families, so achieving a positive outcome is always worth celebrating.

The best part is knowing that a child will now have access to an educational environment that better meets their needs and gives them the opportunity to thrive.

A huge well done to the parent for their determination and commitment throughout the process. It was a privilege to be part of the journey.

A great article for anyone working in education settings or if you suppprt someone in your family who has intermittent access to speech/is diagnosed selective mute. Kim has taught me so much and I can't wait to recieve my copy of the book! https://jadefarrington.substack.com/p/spotlight-on-semi-speaking-as-a-communication?r=4s59bv&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action&fbclid=IwdGRzaASrH3ljbGNrBKsfdGV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHslqQQqqUamVlIHk9uqaKYmAryQeGaKMikZywVn0D5hDqDGE1qAYjDPdaA6E_aem_FI93apmdxPAsQVH8Y946mg&utm_id=97757_v0_s00_e0_tv2_a1dennhb5gfdu7&sfnsn=scwspmo

Spotlight on Semi-Speaking as a Communication Identity with Speech & Language Therapists Harriet Richardson (Hat) and Kim Mears When mouth words don't come easily

Working on a project with a child in caseload. He has a question for you all. What decade would you guess this pictures was taken in?

60's
70's
80's
90's
2000's
2010's
2020's

And a question from me. What do feel/think of when you see this picture?

We'll reveal more next week! 🌳❤️ 📸

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18oU6SYXSB/

When people hear the word "attention," they often think of it as something you have, or you don't have. We "pay" attention, but it's not just about the quantity of attention we have, it's also about the distribution of attention.

One theory that helps explain this is called Monotropism. The theory was developed by autistic researchers Dinah Murray and Wenn Lawson along with Mike Lesser, who published "Attention, Monotropism and the Diagnostic Criteria for Autism" in the journal Autism in 2005. So it's not a new concept, but it is one that you don't hear about every day.

Monotropic attention is the tendency to concentrate deeply on a small number of interests, tasks, or sources of information at a time rather than spreading across many things. A monotropic mind puts most of its available processing into a few channels, with a lot of depth and intensity in those channels.

That can make it easier to notice patterns, make connections, learn deeply, develop expertise, or become fully immersed in an activity. However, shifting attention from one thing to another may require more time and energy. Disruptions and transitions can feel frustrating, overwhelming, or difficult, and it might take longer to disengage from the thing that has your attention and re-engage with something else.

Polytropic attention is the opposite distribution, where attention is spread more thinly across many channels at the same time. A polytropic mind tracks lots of things at once, which can make it easier to shift between tasks, monitor the broader environment, or keep track of several things at the same time. However, when attention is spread across many channels at once, you may be more likely to miss important details, and things requiring sustained focus may take more effort, especially if attention is divided among many competing sources of information.

Monotropism is particularly relevant to discussions about autism because the theory proposes that many autistic individuals naturally tend toward a more monotropic pattern of attention.

From this perspective, things often described as separate autistic traits or labeled as deficits may actually be connected. Special interests, deep expertise, struggling with transitions, "rigidity," and becoming fully absorbed in an activity may all reflect the same underlying pattern of distributing attention.

Rather than viewing these traits as unrelated or as deficits, monotropism suggests they may be different expressions of how attention, as a mental resource, is allocated.

This doesn't mean every autistic person experiences attention in exactly the same way, nor does it mean non-autistic people can't experience monotropic attention or that autistic people can't experience polytropic attention. Attention exists on a spectrum, and we all sit somewhere on that continuum, with most people likely moving between more monotropic and more polytropic states depending on the situation. But monotropism offers a framework for understanding why many autistic experiences may cluster together in the ways they do, and for reframing some deficit-based thinking.

Instead of "Why can't this child switch tasks?" or "they have restricted interests," the theory of monotropism invites us to be curious about how attention is currently being distributed.

That shift in perspective can change how we think about learning, motivation, transitions, accommodations, special interests, and support.

One attention style isn't inherently better than the other. Different people simply allocate their mental resources differently, and those differences can shape how they experience the world.

Big shout out to this amazing football mad, train loving, body sock and theraputty loving young person, who I've had the pleasure to work with for regular Therapy sessions for the past 18 months! 🙏 ⚽ 🧠

Jake (pseudonym) has completed
🧠 The Interoception Curriculum by Kelly Mahler and
✍️ The Speed up Programme by Lois Addy

In amongst working on goals around gross and fine motor skills, sensory processing, social-emotional development and self-advocacy.

We have played, jumped, created, explored, reflected and had lots of fun 🧸🏃 🤸 🧠 . I am super proud of you Jake! On to pastures new to secondary school soon, which will be a new challenge but I feel sure that you, and those around you, are armed with an understanding of your needs and who you are as a person, in order to get those needs met 🌟

It's not goodbye. It's see you later! ❤️



-advocacy

POV: Use the book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar to talk about and support interoception needs. Interoception Resource: https://www.theottoolbox.com/what-you-need-to-know-about-interoception/)

More book-related activities we do in OT sessions to support skills: https://www.theottoolbox.com/preschool-books-and-activities/

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1HetigeH5j/

“The issue wasn’t that people were imagining symptoms—it’s that science hadn’t caught up to the body.” 🎤

For a long time, many people were told their symptoms were exaggerated, psychological, or “all in their head.” But history shows us something important: our understanding of the body is always evolving.

Symptoms once labeled “psychosomatic” like stomach ulcers, chronic pain, migraine, endometriosis, POTS and IBS, are now understood as real medical diagnoses. Mechanisms once misunderstood are now studied. And experiences once questioned are now validated.

The body has always been communicating. Sometimes science needed more time to learn how to listen.

When someone shares what they are feeling in their body, curiosity and respect matter. Listening doesn’t mean we have every answer yet, it means we acknowledge that the experience is real and we work hard to support it..

Because progress in science often begins with believing the signal before we fully understand it.

Read more in our free blog:
https://www.kelly-mahler.com/resources/blog/intense-interoception-when-body-signals-feel-strong-overwhelming-or-hard-to-trust/

Image Description: Light pink tile with a border of small shapes surrounds a pink square. Blue lettering reads, ““The issue wasn’t that people were imagining symptoms—it’s that science hadn’t caught up to the body.”

https://www.facebook.com/share/1CtAG5EuCx/

“The issue wasn’t that people were imagining symptoms—it’s that science hadn’t caught up to the body.” 🎤

For a long time, many people were told their symptoms were exaggerated, psychological, or “all in their head.” But history shows us something important: our understanding of the body is always evolving.

Symptoms once labeled “psychosomatic” like stomach ulcers, chronic pain, migraine, endometriosis, POTS and IBS, are now understood as real medical diagnoses. Mechanisms once misunderstood are now studied. And experiences once questioned are now validated.

The body has always been communicating. Sometimes science needed more time to learn how to listen.

When someone shares what they are feeling in their body, curiosity and respect matter. Listening doesn’t mean we have every answer yet, it means we acknowledge that the experience is real and we work hard to support it..

Because progress in science often begins with believing the signal before we fully understand it.

Read more in our free blog:
https://www.kelly-mahler.com/resources/blog/intense-interoception-when-body-signals-feel-strong-overwhelming-or-hard-to-trust/

Image Description: Light pink tile with a border of small shapes surrounds a pink square. Blue lettering reads, ““The issue wasn’t that people were imagining symptoms—it’s that science hadn’t caught up to the body.”