AUTISTIC THERAPIST PUSHES FOR BETTER FAMILY SUPPORT

In the spring of 2023, the CDC announced that the autism prevalence rate jumped to one in 36. This increase can be partially attributed to the large number of adults seeking and receiving an autism diagnosis.

Supporting this fast-growing population can provide both significant challenges and great rewards. Some find working with an autistic therapist can make a difference.

Amelia Slama, a Northeast Ohio-based licensed professional clinical counselor, also happens to have autism.

“I do notice a lot of clients seem to seek me out for that reason, especially people who are diagnosed late or think they may be autistic,” Slama says.

Like many of her clients, she received her own diagnosis as an adult, at the age of 29, after she moved in with her husband.

“I had quirks and differences my whole life, but he began to see how these things really affected me,” Slama says.”It was a very weird experience because I am a therapist and I have a lot of experience with assessments and understanding development in children and adults. I thought, ‘How did I not know this my entire life?’”

That unknown would play a role in shaping Slama’s own practice, though she says it took some adjusting.

“In our field, sharing lived experience is a very new thing,” she says. “This is not something I was taught is appropriate in school. But [my clients] feel more comfortable knowing the person understands their experiences, they can relate to them, and that seems to help clients to be more open about what they’re going through.”

What she didn’t anticipate was the way her own vulnerability would change everything.

“It’s been more rewarding,” she explains. “Once I started to bring my lived experience into it, the work changed significantly. I started to notice a lot of positive things that my clients were experiencing very quickly, whereas before change would take a very long time.”

Slama attributes these changes to neurodiversity affirming practices.

“It basically means that all people have differences in how their brain works and functions, and how they interact with the world. Instead of shaming or pathologizing those differences, we honor them and understand how that impacts the person, and what strengths and differences they experience from that.”

Slama says her field is now in a period of growth when it comes to recognizing and honoring neurodiversity — an umbrella term that refers to anyone who experiences differences covered in the the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, including autism, ADHD, OCD, and mental illnesses.

She says the timing couldn’t be more important.

“We’re starting to see that, unfortunately, a lot of autistic people have trauma because of how society views us differently,” she says. “The biggest thing that I see is clients who don’t trust themselves, and have a hard time advocating for themselves or knowing how they can support themselves.”

That’s something Slama wants neurotypical therapists to understand, so that they can better support their own clients. Her biggest advice: remain open-minded.

“When you’re working with autistic people, do not make assumptions,” she says. “As therapists, we have all this professional knowledge, and we think we know how people might be experiencing something or what they need, but I think you have to be really careful with autistic people and following their lead.”

Slama now serves clients throughout Ohio and Kentucky through her telehealth practice. She often refers clients to Milestones Autism Resources for its online Resource Center, Milestones Autism Planning (MAP) Tool, and national conference. She also started an autistic provider directory in 2021 to help meet the growing need.

What started with five autistic therapists has now grown to hundreds across the United States, and seven internationally. She continues to get dozens of emails from providers every week.

“There’s a lot of people in our field who realize they’re neurodivergent, and understand how important it is to be open about it,” she says. “People want someone who can understand their experience, who won’t shame them for those differences.”

The Milestones Autism Planning (MAP) Tool is your online guide for life. It is a one-stop, easy-to-navigate resource to help you plan and prioritize, and can be customized to any age, ability and interest. Check it out at milestones.org/map. To reach Amelia Slama, fill out an intake form through the Milestones free autism HelpDesk at milestones.org/helpdesk.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MUSIC & ART THERAPY PROGRAMS AND ADAPTED LESSONS

By Ann Marie Raddell, Director of Creative Arts Therapies at The Fine Arts Association

If you or someone you love are looking to experience music therapy, art therapy and adapted programming in dance, drama, music and visual arts in centers, you will likely have questions about which one best fits you and your family’s needs.

Any music and art experiences in these creative therapy departments at centers like The Fine Arts Association in Willoughby are facilitated by a therapist to meet the needs of individuals of all ages and abilities. However, for clients, parents and caregivers, the most common question regarding programming is about the difference between going into a therapy program vs. an adapted lesson. Here is what you need to know about both to help with the decisionmaking process.

Therapy Programs

Music and art therapy services use music and art experiences to achieve non-music and visual arts related goals, such as attention to task, motor development, appropriate social interaction, language development, communication, positive self-worth and emotional expression, among others. The focus of the sessions is not the art and/or music-making, but the effects of being immersed in art and music-making.

Adapted Programs

For adapted programming, the primary goal is growing in the skill of the chosen arts experience. Adapted dance, drama, music and visual arts classes and lessons provide students with additional support, such as adapted equipment and/or teaching techniques to be successful within the learning environment.

The added bonus of adapted programming is that students still naturally gain improvements in those non-artistic goals just through participating in that specific arts experience.

For info, Ann Marie Raddell, director of Creative Arts Therapies, at The Fine Arts Association at araddell@ fineartsassociation.org or at 440-9517500 ext. 124.