My guest this week is autism and neurodiversity support specialist Kristy Forbes of In Tune Pathways. Kristy is the parent of four autistic children, and has an abundance of emotional, practical, and lived experience both working with and raising children who are neurodivergent. She has an extensive background in early childhood education and psychology, and as you’ll hear from our conversation, is passionate about radical acceptance without the need or intention to fix, change or cure, particularly in regard to children.
Kristy was diagnosed as autistic at age thirty-three herself, and has committed herself to working with children and adults on the autism spectrum, with a special interest on people who, like her, have a PDA expression. In this episode, we share a deep conversation about how parents can truly tune in to who their children are and show up for them in a way that reflects true respect for their children’s neurodivergence. We cover a lot of ground, including the PDA profile of autism, how parents can get clear about their intentions when exploring interventions for their children on the spectrum, how to support families through periods of intensity and very difficult behavior, and the trauma that can result when children are perpetually in fight, flight, freeze or fawn mode because they’re being forced to conform to a way of being that isn’t true to who they are.
Kristy is a wise and genuine spirit who is doing healing work for so many families… I’m grateful to be able to share this conversation with you.
About Kristy: Kristy Forbes is the Founder & Director of InTune Pathways, and the creator of inTune Families, a 12-week online program for families raising autistic children. She is an autism and neurodiversity support specialist, working closely with families to create joyous, thriving, unconventionally extraordinary lives. She is the parent of four autistic children and is an autistic person herself. She has an extensive background as an early childhood educator, P-12 educator, an early childhood behavioural and family specialist before recognising a gap in what we THINK and what we KNOW about autistic people. Kristy is passionate about social change, and the recognition of the value of autistic people and their luminous qualities. She advocates for autism acceptance and has written, spoken and presented internationally on many topics associated with autism.
THINGS YOU’LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:
- What the PDA profile of autism looks like
- What Kristy sees as the biggest challenges for families raising autistic and neurodiverse children
- The reason so many neurodivergent families are in crisis
- The role of intention behind the supports and accommodations parents seek for their children
- Why Kristy believes it’s critical that parents stay connected with their intuition when making decisions about interventions
- The ways in which fear can interfere with our making the best decisions for our children
- Strategies for parents to better tune in with what their child needs
- The trauma cycle for differently wired kids, and what recovery looks like
- How Kristy works with parents to help them see and embrace who their children are
- Kristy’s suggestions for how parents can handle big, aggressive, and violent behavior
RESOURCES MENTIONED:
THANKS SO MUCH FOR LISTENING!
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