Interview between Speaker 1 (Meg Ferrell) and Speaker 2 (Christina Schmidt)
Episode 105: Practices that Center Regulation, Cultural Identity, Authentic Communication, and Dignity
[Introductory music]
Welcome to the Two Sides of the Spectrum podcast, a place where we explore research, amplify Autistic voices, and change the way we think about autism in life and in our professional therapy practices. I’m Meg Ferrell from learnplaythrive.com, broadcasting to you today from unceded Tsalagi territory.
Meg:
Welcome to Episode 105. You are in for a treat. In this conversation, I talked to Christina Schmidt about her work as a speech-language therapist. She shared how she works in a way that centers a client’s regulation, their identity, and their dignity. We talked in detail about how we can support cultural safety, especially for clients who don’t share our identities. We talked about how we can best support our clients with communication needs, our AAC users, non-speakers, kids who communicate through delayed echolalia in ways that are both neuro-affirming and culturally responsive. And she shared with us her BRIDGE model for centering the needs of multiply marginalized clients in our work. In this conversation, Christina helped me understand the BRIDGE model more deeply by applying it to a case study, and it was so interesting to hear about how exactly she supported a young Autistic client who was in what she described as ‘therapy burnout’ from being subjected to a lot of compliance-based practices prior to coming to her.
I’ll tell you a little bit about our guest. Christina Schmidt is a Black, African-American Australian, multicultural, and multi-dialectal AuDHD woman who proudly embraces her identity across all facets of her work and advocacy. She’s the founder of Free to Be Me Speech Therapy where she provides neuro-affirming support to both kids and adults in a way that honors each person’s unique communication needs, strengths, and ways of being. Her work is rooted in justice, joy, and the ongoing commitment to amplifying diverse voices and stories, always with the belief that we deserve to be seen, heard, and free to be. Here’s the interview with Christina Schmidt.
Hi, Christina. Welcome to the podcast.
Christina:
Hello, Meg. Thank you so much for having me. I am ecstatic about being on the podcast and having a chat about, yeah, what we’re going to explore today together. So, let’s do it.
Meg:
I am really excited to talk to you too. Let’s do it. I wanna start with you. Can you share with us a little bit about your personal and your professional story? How did you get here?
Christina:
Oh, my gosh. Well, firstly, I am such a multifaceted person and it can be a little difficult for me to grab the quintessential parts of me and put it together, but I’m gonna, I’m gonna do my best with this. So, professionally, I’m a speech pathologist. I also see myself as an educator, a storyteller, and advocate. And I am based in Narrm, which is the traditional name for Melbourne in Australia. And also a bit about who I am and my identity, I am Autistic, I’m an ADHD-er. So, together that makes me a very proud AuDHD-er and Black woman. And my lived experience really, well, it deeply informs how I practice. It’s just really ingrained in everything that I do. And I’m the founder of Free to Be Me Speech Therapy and the name really speaks for itself. I have been doing Free to Be Me Speech Therapy for about, well, it’s just been over a year now, and. What I really wanna bring the message, the essence, of Free to Be Me Speech therapy is to be a neurodiversity-affirming and culturally responsive practice that supports both children and adults. So, it’s quite an age range. I used to only work with children before when I first started as a speech pathologist, but slowly I started to add adults to my caseload, and it’s really been just the best thing.
A bit about my journey as a speech pathologist. I started out in a more traditional — I suppose what’s seen and known to be more traditional and compliance-based. Those were the sort of settings that I started out in. And that’s where I, even before I started working as a speech pathologist, going back to my placement days as a student, I noticed how the systems often asked neurodivergent clients to do all of the adapting. Like, that responsibility was on them. And for me, there’s always that discomfort that I felt that I knew. And over time, I started my unlearning journey and I still am, I don’t think that is ever over. And rebuilding my practice as a speech pathologist and what I want to be able to do and put out into the world, and really what I’ve found is it’s about centering regulation, and dignity, and identity rather than in compliance.
So, now jumping forward to where I am now and my work really blends my clinical experience and my lived experience and social justice advocacy as well. So, I’m supporting people to communicate and exist in the ways that they feel safe and true to be them. And just on that, with the safety factor, when I’m working with clients, I’m really, really individualizing and supporting them to know what safety means for them. Because depending on who they are, the intersections they have that make them who they are, it can look different. So, we explore that too. I think that’s really a key component.
Meg:
I love that you said centering regulation, identity, and dignity instead of compliance, and supporting them to know what safety means to them. I’m going to ask you to go a little bit deeper into what your values are that you center in your work with your Autistic clients, and practically speaking, what does that look like?
Christina:
Well, the values — and these are the sort of values that I have written down and recorded somewhere, and also probably have kept here inside, in my head. But the values that help support and guide my work are autonomy. Really upholding, honoring an individual or people’s autonomy. Connection. The connection we have with the other people around us, with our environment. Regulation; in our nervous system. Oftentimes being, yeah, an AuDHD-er, my regulation, it’s constantly fluctuating. So, that is definitely a value. And cultural safety as well.
And when it comes to practical matters, it really means that when I’m in session with a client, I am always starting with checking in on their regulation and supporting them to be able to understand what that means for them. So, it’s not just jumping straight into our activities that we might do and following their lead, of course. It’s more so that person, and particularly thinking some of my child clients at the moment, you know, I usually ask them, “Where do you feel most comfortable for us to be together today?” And if they’re not sure, I might say, “Well, might that be outside? Might that be in the room next door?” Especially if I’m out of school.
And already there, I’m honoring their autonomy and their choice. And I feel like that is a really quite great way to start us out. I’m following their lead. They’re letting me know what they’re needing in that moment. So, perhaps if they’re needing to move, or stim, or draw instead of talking, ’cause that’s communicating too, that’s very much — I welcome that, always. So, I’m following their lead and I’m not forcing mine.
Meg:
Yeah. That’s lovely. I think one thing that’s come up a lot on the podcast is this theme of providers, teachers, everyone in a child’s life asking them their entire childhood to comply, just to do the thing, just to behave in the way that is convenient for those around them. And then, at some point, some of us are coming in and trying to teach around interoception to people who have been taught not to feel into their experience, like, that really hasn’t been nurtured.
Christina:
Yeah, to ignore.
Meg:
Yeah. They’ve been taught to ignore it. So, I love the way you described asking a child, “Where do you feel the safest to be together with me today?” Because often, children don’t get any opportunity to explore how do I feel, what do I need, what do I want to feel safe and in connection at the same time.
Christina:
Yeah. And I think about my adult clients that they, unfortunately, they didn’t get that. So, yeah, I’m asking that question to them as well, which may even come as a surprise to them. But it’s very much welcomed. And, yeah, so we can start out asking people at any age but ideally, let’s start asking them when they’re young. I don’t think there’s ever too young of an age. It’s more so how are we — what language are we using to help them to understand it? Or maybe what visuals are we bringing in to support them in understanding? Like, what can we do with our communication to support their understanding?
And, you know, speaking of regulation and nervous system interoception, just yesterday I was with a client and they were with their class and they’re outside playing a game. And it was actually quite a lovely day. They’ve been doing a lot of math work together. So, the teacher decided, you know, let’s get outside, let’s move our bodies. And my client has a hard time, it’s really difficult — the win/lose, well, the losing, the concept of losing, it’s really a difficult thing. And their nervous system told them, they went right into flight. They ran away. And I walked after them and intended to give them their space and their time. Another staff member saw them running away and immediately got into — they got into their bubble. Like, really close to them saying, “Use your words. You have such beautiful words,” reached out to them, grabbed their arm, and they, you know, I could just see that they were backing up into a fence and they were so uncomfortable. And already, they’re in that, like, they’re running away; they needed to get away. That is how their nervous system can respond to what they experienced, right? That’s how it responds.
So, I just came over, still leaving a bit of space, crouched down and I said, “I know. I know that was really hard. I know you need space; you need time. I know your power pack or your battery is, you know, that was a big drainer that took away a lot of energy.” And what was really great in that moment is it was also a learning experience for that staff member. They stopped and I noticed they were listening and just watching to see how I was interacting with my client. And they stepped back a bit and we walked together. And they offered, and said, “Oh, I’m pushing this shelf. I need to get it upstairs. Would you like to help me?” And my client was like, “Oh, yeah. Like, we could take the lift together. Oh, yeah,” which was awesome. That was heavy work that they were able to do. I was like, oh, how amazing is this?
And I said to my client, “I know that talking and using words right now is hard. That’s really tricky.” And the most beautiful thing that that staff, the school staff member said is, “Oh, yeah, that’s right. I’m really sorry. I pressured you to use your words.” And I was like, ah, that’s what it’s about. Like, it’s about even that act of learning in the moment and going, yeah, I suppose what I did just there wasn’t what that person needed and may have actually added a bit more harm to the situation or just didn’t help. But immediately, I can turn that around and go, “Oh, gosh, yeah. I’m sorry about that. That’s not what was helping you.” So, I thought that was really just such a highlight of my day.
Meg:
That’s so beautiful. I love that you were able to model that and that other staff member was able to learn. And we have a whole episode coming up on this, I think in January, on the Patreon series, but talking about how important rupture and repair is especially when supporting our Autistic PDA-ers, that it’s not something to skirt around or avoid but something to really move through with intention.
Christina:
Yeah. Completely. That’s exciting that that’s coming up.
Meg:
Yeah. It’s a really good conversation. So, one of the things that you mentioned when you were talking about your values was cultural safety. And in your work, this is something that you teach on. And we often see — I’ve said it before on the podcast, like, our episodes where we talk about intersectionality, or systemic racism, or anything highlighting the experiences of multiply marginalized groups, more people skip those and it’s alarming. So, I wanna ask you, what’s at stake if white providers aren’t learning about the experiences of their multiply marginalized clients who they don’t share identities with, especially centering here in this question our Black Autistic clients.
Christina:
Yeah, well there is a lot at stake, you know, even detrimentally. At many times, there’s so much at stake. Back to my values, just quickly, culturally, what I am looking at and wanting to support my clients with and really ensure is that every person’s community language, their communication style that comes with their culture, their family values are recognized as assets and that they’re not seen as barriers. And the work that, especially if you belong to a majority culture, if you are white, there’s a lot of unlearning that needs to be done, that unlearning journey. So, yeah. Well, let’s center Black Autistic people, right. There is so much at stake. There’s trust that’s at stake. There’s access and safety, most of all.
You know, Black Autistic people already are at a disadvantage when it comes to accessing the care that they need for being recognized as being Autistic — that they too can be Autistic — rather than, you know, a lot of mixed misdiagnoses happens to this day, and still, very often. Frequently. So, trust needs to be built because there’s a lot of mistrust when it comes to care, allied health, and medical providers. There’s the triple empathy problem where you do not just have the double empathy problem. On top of that, the triple effect is when it comes to the medical side of things and there’s a miscommunication that happens there. So, a lot of times, like, leaving a house and unfortunately maybe even within the house, like, there’s not that safety that’s there. So, yeah, there’s gonna be a lot of suspicion and just, it takes time.
And I think someone who’s a white provider coming into a situation where they’re supporting a Black Autistic client, there’s a lot of biases, implicit internal biases, that need to be addressed first and foremost before going and supporting someone who has a different culture than themselves. And oftentimes, that person, or people, have a different culture, but they understand the majority culture. So, they’re doing a lot of work, actually, knowing their own culture and knowing the culture of those around them. But the thing is, it doesn’t — the same can’t be said in reverse. It’s not reciprocal; it’s not reciprocated. So, when white providers don’t actively listen or learn from Black Autistic experiences, you know, really listening, not adding on to or questioning, but listening and taking it for what it is, whatever’s been said or expressed, just taking that for what it is. What happens is there — what’s at risk is replicating harm. Replicating harm. The harm’s already there. It’s replicating it.
So, again, through misdiagnoses, invalidation, erasure. And like I said, like, Black Autistic clients, they often don’t just experience the double empathy problem, there’s also the double marginalization, right? There’s multiple intersectionality that they hold, so where we have both race and neurodivergence, and both of them end up being pathologized. And without awareness of this and without the ability to be responsive to this, then, really, what we have is you might be well-meaning coming into this situation and supporting a Black Autistic client, but what ends up happening is reinforcing systemic bias. So, what we really need is that cultural humility. And it’s an ongoing process of reflection and accountability.
So, this means learning from not — well, yeah, learning from, and not just about. It’s not just reading in books and everything, it’s actually learning from Black Autistic people, advocating within your own spheres of influence and networks, and really ensuring that the work of multiply marginalized people, and creators, and clinicians, fellow clinicians, that it’s credited and it’s compensated and that it’s amplified. There’s so much to it, but that’s kind of, like, at the root of it. That’s fundamentally what we’re looking at.
Meg:
Yeah. Thank you so much. And I really appreciate your emphasis on approaching our learning and our listening with humility and without adding on, and that we’re both learning from our clients and their experiences about their experiences, and we are learning from people who have different identities from the populations that we serve. Even if we don’t serve those populations, we’re still taking the time to learn. When I asked you what’s at stake, you said ‘Trust, access, and safety’. And what we know is that when those are ruptured, it’s often silent. We don’t always even know that there’s been a rupture as a provider, right. It can just happen and the entire burden of it falls on our client and we don’t know what we’ve just lost.
Christina:
Yes. And that client already holds so much burden. So, that’s what I mean by that, replicating harm. And from a cultural sense as well, right, this is why it’s important. Of course, reading and gathering your information from multiple sources, but not only just reading from books and research articles. Learning from the people themselves, and firsthand. Because another risk, right, is you might know something, okay, like a fact that’s widely known about a particular cultural group, but that individual may, in their own home, may not, that may not apply to them, and for multiple reasons. Maybe they have been separated for whatever reason from their culture, so it may not apply to them. So, if we’re going into a situation with the client, we’re thinking, “Oh, well I know this about my client’s culture,” and you’re assuming that and applying that to that client and never really asking that client in an appropriate way or finding out an appropriate way, again, what’s at risk is further harm to them ’cause it doesn’t apply to them.
So, we might come into something and go, “Oh, okay, well this client belongs to this particular cultural group or perhaps have these cultural characteristics,” but that might not apply to them. So, that’s what it means to be person-centered, having a person centered approach, you know. Everyone has individual experiences. So, yeah, actually talking with the client and knowing how to appropriately do so, not putting any work, any extra unnecessary work, on them and expectations, but working together to co-create goals, and helping to explore things with them within the means that are appropriate.
Meg:
Yeah. Thank you so much for sharing that. I wanna dive a little bit more into your work as a speech-language therapist. For folks who are supporting Autistic kids with communication needs — so, non-speakers, AAC users, kids who communicate through scripting — what are some examples of how our work can be both neuro-affirming and culturally inclusive?
Christina:
Well, it most definitely starts with presuming competence with everyone that we encounter and honoring all forms of communication. And so, that might be, like you said, scripting, gestures, through art, through video clips that they share. I have a client that absolutely loves, like, I can see the glimmers that my client experiences when they share video clips with me. I can tell how much that means to them, how huge of an interest and how significant it is to them, through AAC (augmentative alternative communication), through spoken word, and also through silence.
And yeah, I suppose, you know, I have seen other speech therapists say that they’ve caught themselves when they’re supporting their clients and their client may be predominantly an AAC user, and their client then speaks and says a word, using — or like speaking, they say a word and they have a big reaction to it, “Wow!” And they reflect on that and go, well, what am I actually communicating to my client? I’ve just communicated to them that there’s a hierarchy in communication and that speech, spoken word, spoken language, is at the top. So, really, it’s reflecting, it’s constantly reflecting what honoring all forms of communication actually is. That, yeah, it can be even just silence and like how we can do parallel play. Well, even just being with someone and gesture, and art, whatever it might be, that it is honored and it’s not — and that certain communication is not celebrated more than others. Like, they’re all celebrated and really trying to come about it equally in that celebration. So, yeah, I just wanted to make sure I really mentioned that and expanded on that a little bit more.
And being culturally inclusive means that we are recognizing that communication norms, they’re going to differ across cultures. So, what might be labeled as ‘delayed’ or — I hesitate to say it — ‘non-compliant’, may actually reflect a cultural or even a linguistic difference, like a community language difference. I do a lot of advocacy with the use of dialect and how that’s a community language and that it is a very valid form of a language. So, for example, I will use community-specific vocabulary when it comes to AAC and making sure that is accessible in people’s AAC, not just their speech generating devices, but also in their light-tech. So, that might be boards, like word language boards that they use. Across the board, really, if it’s mid-tech and they’re using like a button with recorded phrases, that it’s there, that it is accessible so they can use the same language that is surrounding them, that others are using around them. So, that’s gonna be words that reflect how a family communicates at home and in a community, like in the neighborhood. And it’s going to include the dialectal and the cultural expressions.
And along with that, because we are not just putting the responsibility on the person that is communicating and using AAC or whatever form of communication that they’re using, it’s also vital to support and coach communication partners, right? Because it’s a shared responsibility. It’s not just on the person themselves, it’s a shared responsibility. So, whether that’s the parents, or the carers, the caregivers, teachers or educators, and also peers too, to support them in listening before cueing or like some sort of a prompt to help the person, validating the communicator’s message, like, “Oh, yeah, that’s right,” or, “I agree,” or, “That’s, yeah, that’s cool,” even when it doesn’t fit traditional expectations. And of course, embedding joy. I’m so big on joy. I’m surprised I haven’t really mentioned it or highlighted it yet. Humor, and identity, and specifically now I’m speaking of AAC use, because communication, it’s not just — yeah, again, like I’m putting in air quotes, like, ‘functional’, it’s human. That’s what we do, there’s so many beautiful ways that we communicate.
And back to what I said before about sharing video clips, I had a client just yesterday and I see them through telehealth and we started a trial with an AAC app, a communication app called TD Snap. And the page set that we use — so, the way that it looks is the text version, which means it doesn’t have the symbols, it’s just the text — feature matching and recognizing what my client really takes away from previous apps is the keyboard, is the predictive text, is the stored phrases. And immediately, like, the mom and I were so excited to see, they just went right into it. They were typing, and they were typing some of their favorite videos, and animations, and movies. And I interpreted it as like a request, like, my client wanted me to play that and wanted to share that joy that we could watch those video clips together. And then, my client, who is a gestalt language processor, said — I’m trying to remember what they, what gestalt they used. It was something like — or no, I know what it was, “I knew I could count on you!” And I was like, oh, my gosh. Like, yes! This is what it’s about right here. So, oh, that was another, like, joyful moment of my day yesterday.
Meg:
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Meg:
I love that story so much. That’s so good. And people might be thinking, oh, but what if you had gotten it wrong? And that’s okay too, right? It goes back to what we were talking about, that that would be a moment for repair.
Christine:
Yeah. Yeah.
Meg:
Thank you so much. There were so many good examples and principles and practices in that, and you have this model that you’ve come up with. I love a good acronym, Christina, your BRIDGE model, which is Bridge, Reflect, Interdependence, Dignity, Grow Together, and Embody. Can you talk us through your model, what does it mean, how can it guide us? And also, share with us a de-identified case study of what it looks like to put the BRIDGE model into practice.
Christina:
Sure. So, the Free to Be Me BRIDGE Model, it was sparked by my story that I shared at the Yellow Ladybugs Conference earlier this year, and it was about centering Black Autistic voices. So, I really wanted to put something together that can be used to center multiply marginalized clients. So, really, this model was born from my desire to guide clinicians — really, anyone — in building cultural and neurodiversity-affirming bridges. So, not just between a client and the clinician, but really just across systems. So, it really can be used by more than just, you don’t have to be a clinician. So, breaking down the acronym, you know, BRIDGE, what we’re looking at is we’re wanting, we’re aiming to build a genuine connection, and that’s through curiosity, and building that safety together, and that trust. And when it comes to reflecting, we’re wanting to engage in critical self-reflection about privilege, power, bias, and practice. You know, how is our own practice right now?
Interdependence is recognizing that we grow through relationships and not isolation. I thought that was a really important component because oftentimes, and even in goals, there’s the independence, independence over and over again, but what about for people —? And interdependence is okay. That is, you know, it really supports me and that there’s some of my lived experience, but it’s okay. Some people do not desire — that their goal isn’t for complete independence, and that’s okay. It’s recognizing that difference is okay. Now, it comes to dignity. We are honoring each person’s autonomy, their identity, and lived experience. Grow together is learning with. So, again, here we are, like, we’re with that person and it’s not about there’s such a significant difference when we’re learning with someone and not about them. So, we’re learning with our clients and their communities, and our communities too. And embody, we’re putting the reflection into daily practice, not just theory.
So, bringing the BRIDGE, taking the BRIDGE model and applying it to, yeah, a de-identified case, I think about a school-aged client I started working with, I think it was late last year, who was a handover. And they were experiencing therapy burnout, and they are a multiply marginalized child. So, yeah, they were experiencing therapy burnout, and maybe just overall Autistic burnout due to prior, a buildup of compliance-based therapy sessions, demands, all of it. And what I did coming into it as I went, okay, well, let me get to understand further where this client is at and why, and let me have a chat with the mom and understand the family and the home structure. The grandmother lives at home. The mom is the carer for the grandmother. The older brother, who’s an adult, lives at home and the dad. And just trying to get like a sense of within the home, what is cultural like for them; and then, overall, what is it like for them. And so, I knew with this client, I needed to really prioritize their agency, their regulation first. And I immediately realized that this client had never really gotten to the opportunity to begin to understand what even that is. Like, what are they needing across different situations? How does their energy fluctuate and change, and what impacts it? They had no — they just didn’t know. And no fault of their own. They just didn’t know.
So, I started with building trust through their special interest. And it’s a video game. And it’s a video game that I think a lot of people would come with a lot of bias about. And I think I will respect, you know, because it is like a thriller/horror sort of game, Poppy Playtime, I think it’s Poppy Playtime. it’s one of those ones where, yes, I’ve seen other Autistic children really gravitate towards it because it’s like the, it looks scary. Like, it has the jump scares and, yeah, but they really loved it. They really — that’s something that they were really into. So, I didn’t wanna ignore that. Mom was okay with it. So, I went, okay, let’s do it. So, together, what ended up happening, and it took the time that it needed to take, we started to co-create a chapter story about the world of the game. And naturally, we were able to integrate, like, language and literacy and self-expression.
And first, that client, they wanted me to type the whole story as they told me, and I was like, “Yeah, sure.” And after a while, I invited them, like, “Do you wanna type a sentence, and I’ll type of sentence,” so we were sharing it. After a while, they were typing the whole thing. They were locked in. And over time, their engagement just started to blossom. Like, I just noticed it. And not because of any sort of rigid program or like what I had planned; no, not at all. But because his sense of safety was met, sense of intrinsic motivation were finally honored. So, that is me bridging, like, my curiosity and addressing my bias and building that trust and reflecting, you know, what do they need? What do they really enjoy? Where can we find that joy together? That interdependence of doing the, of co-creating the story together, honoring their autonomy, and lived experience, and burnout; through dignity, we were growing together. They were teaching me about this game. And the whole time, I’m constant reflecting each time I saw them and coming away from it and liaising with the team. So, I was embodying the whole experience too.
Meg:
That is so cool. Thank you for sharing that story. I think our frameworks really can guide us. I don’t know about speech therapy, in OT school, we learned a lot of practice frameworks, but most of them weren’t very helpful or useful, or I think they could be used in affirming ways but didn’t necessarily guide us directly towards affirming practice in specific ways. And so, it’s really, it feels really good to learn about models that can give us more guidance, especially in these sort of tricky situations when you have a client who’s in or nearing burnout who you want to approach with all of this care and respect, what do you do? So, thank you so much for sharing. Christina, what do you hope that providers listening will take from this conversation?
Christina:
Ah, well — oh, you know, what I forgot to mention with the BRIDGE model is it leaves room for nuances. So, nuances are honored. So, it’s okay to not follow it to the tee because there needs to be that space for nuances. And also, there are — I included, like, in the illustration bit — like, there are two bubbles on the other side of the bridge, and that’s to really honor that. Sometimes we need to go into, like, our bubbles and people might need to come to us, like that’s where our safety is. But yeah, there’s a free download on my website for the BRIDGE model and there’s a paid version as well, which really supports me. And it goes a bit further in some guiding questions and the whole reflective aspect of it, which I think really amplifies it. So, that could be something that I hope can help those listening.
Meg:
So cool. Yeah. And we’ll link to that in the show notes so people can find it easily.
Christina:
Yeah. But really, what I hope for listeners to be able to take away is that neurodiversity-affirming practice is it’s more than just a framework. It’s more than just a model. It’s a mindset shift. And it’s moving away from, like, how do I fix this? Because it’s not about fixing, it’s moving. It’s shifting towards how do I understand, and connect, and support people, like, neurodivergent people? How do I do that? I also hope that providers feel inspired to slow down and to prioritize regulation and relationships. Also, with families too, not just if their clients are children, but also with their families. And to recognize that cultural safety and neurodiversity affirmation are inseparable. So, they are very much intertwined. And ultimately, I want listeners to see that our work isn’t about teaching people to fit in, it’s about creating spaces where they already belong. And that difference is okay, and we can let difference be, yeah, be different. Let different be different.
Meg:
I love all of that so much. I couldn’t write it down fast enough. I’m so excited. Thank you so much. Where can we find you and your work online?
Christina:
Oh, it’s such a pleasure. Thank you again for having me. So, you can find me at Free to Be Me Speech Therapy. Follow along on my Instagram, and Facebook, website. I do have a newsletter, so you can subscribe to that and keep up to date. They’re all under the same name. A Linktree that I have in my bio of my Instagram, I keep that up to date too with podcasts that I do and conferences around the world. And, yeah, my newsletter is called Free to Be Me Expressions, and that’s where I share resources and reflections and updates about all the upcoming collabs, advocacy work that I do, presentations, just everything I get up to really.
Meg:
Yeah. Very cool. We will put links to things like your social media and your website and your BRIDGE model in the show notes at learnplaythrive.com/podcast. Thank you so much, Christina, for your work and for this conversation today.
Christina:
Such a pleasure. Thank you, Meg, again, for having me.
[Ending note]
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