Episode #191: Autism in Girls- A Conversation with Cindy and MC

Today we welcome returning guest, Cindy Watson. Be sure to check out episode 115, where we discuss Early Intervention Speech Therapy. Along with Cindy, we are joined by MC, Cindy’s youngest daughter. MC shares about her story, autism diagnosis, and her perspective as a middle schooler.

Cindy shares about MC’s life pre-diagnosis and the concerns she noticed along the way. Labeled often as “the easy kid”, MC shied away from social settings and talking with peers. And her mom fought judgment as a provider; everyone saw her as a mom and thought “everyone has autism”. But parents should trust their instincts!

We hear straight from MC about her preferences in therapy, like focusing on topics that highlight her interests. As well as her struggles and dislikes from group therapy to handling unkind words from kids her age. An important piece of therapy for older learners is to emphasize naturalistic and discrete therapy styles. Therapy is nothing to be ashamed of, but the reality is that middle and high schoolers do face a stigma when it comes to their peers.

This is a great chat opening up about autism in girls, therapy for older learners, and how we can best serve our middle schoolers in therapy!

#autism #speechtherapy

Today’s Guest:

Cindy Watson holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Speech-Language Pathology / Audiology from the University of Arkansas (1994) and a Master’s of Education Degree in Speech Language Pathology from Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma (1995). She is currently serving as the Vice President of Speech Pathology for the Arkansas Speech-Language-Hearing Association. With her husband Ray by her side, Cindy has been a vanguard for pediatric speech-language pathology treatment in Northwest Arkansas for nearly 30 decades. Cindy draws from her life experiences as a mother of two beautiful daughters, Hannah and Mary Claire, in her work as a Speech-Language Pathologist.

What’s Inside:

• Autism in girls, what does it mean to be “the easy kid”?
• Middle school therapy: What works? What doesn’t?
• Helping older learners with the stigma of therapy and services.
• Using likes and interests to create motivating, engaging therapy.

Mentioned In This Episode

• Episode #115: Early Intervention Speech Therapy Services – A Talk With Cindy Watson
• Join us in the ABA SPEECH Connection for Parents 
• Join us in the ABA SPEECH Connection for Professionals 
• Rose Griffin (@abaspeechbyrose) on Instagram

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