There are many wonderful practices, practitioners, and teachers out there who have very helpful approaches for creating lives of fulfillment for spectrum individuals and all. These are people I have talked with, read about, and even met who have very effective and compassionate programs. Enjoy reading about them here, and contacting them if you are interested.
1) Person Centered Planning
Passions as a Way Out of the House and into the Community
Raymond Darwin
Peggy: Person-centered is so important in all of our work. Here in this domain, passions are so often the way forward, building on each individual’s intuitive and inspired yearnings that can generate enthused outward energy.
Ray: “My long career expertise is life skills training in community settings, basically including most anything an adult would or should know, with Person Centered Planning very powerful for moving someone toward what they would like to do, and all with the involvement of family. The advantage of community- based instruction and activity is, if a person is on the couch all day, once on their feet, people stay more energetic when motivated, upright and moving.”
An example, specifically, of Person Centered Planning:
- Meeting with the individual and their family and friends
- Listing what they are good at and what is hard. The “Good” list is always longer.
- Next question to individual: What would you like to be doing a year from now?
- Example answer: “I would like to be on a desert island.”
- Guided steps forward: “Do you know the name of such an island. No?
- Well, let’s find one, and learn about it. Oh, they do implement making and painting, or herbal healing remedies, or protect the wildlife, and do they welcome new and talented people?”
- What do you know or would like to learn how to do that they are doing on the island? Let’s find out where you can learn that….
- Now trained, you can write them telling about yourself and your skills, and your strong desire to live and contribute there.
- Etc., moving the individual forward, with each doable step, their enthusiasm building.
- If the individual really finds a path too difficult, then they have tried that and look now for something more easily attained, yet still exciting, with stepping stones laid out to get there.
- This then is an on-going process that modulates and shifts as circumstances change, all the way into adulthood.
I am now working with Ray, and all of his expertise and this approach are incorporated in my latest paper: “Changing Public Education,” and are a part of my public presentations regarding Autism Spectrum Differences and Changing Public Education.
2) The Pleasure Principle of Public Speaking/Through Relational Presence Lee Glickstein
Peggy: Lee is an Asperger’s individual who found it nearly impossible to look into peoples’ eyes. Suffering from public speaking anxiety most of his life, he developed Relational Presence practice in Speaking Circles as the way to work around the challenge. Since 1990, he has been helping people on the spectrum and others in general to be calm and in the moment, for private and public speaking.
Lee: “The radical practice of Relational Presence will help you transform your public speaking anxiety into a naturally potent, effortless expression. Imagine standing in front of any audience, feeling absolutely at ease and enjoying the pleasure of their rapt attention.”
Lee’s contact info: Phone: (415) 302-3526; Email: lee@speakingcircles.com Website: SpeakingCirclesInternational.com (SCI, founded in 1989).
