A Strengths-Based Approach to Autism Interventions
with Dr. Kristie Patten

07/01/2020

Kristie Patten is the chair of the Department of Occupational Therapy at New York University whose cutting-edge work focuses on using strength-based approaches in autism. Join us in this episode as we delve into:
– How most OTs wound up using a deficits-based model with autistic kids and why this is not serving our clients well
– Why we should move away from withholding kids’ interests from them. We’ll also talk about how first-then schedules and even limiting screen time may fall into this category
– How we can support autistic clients to build from their strengths to support their joy and participation in life, leisure, and work
– What we should be doing instead of social skills groups
– Why it’s really easy to be a bad therapist and really hard to be a good one (plus some concrete steps to take to help get us there!)
Listen

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Two Sides of the Spectrum…
Show Notes

- View links at learnplaythrive.com/podcast
- Find Kristie Patten at https://steinhardt.nyu.edu/people/kristie-patten
- Read Kristie’s article, Authentic Strength-Based Practice: Can Neurotypical Professionals Make a Paradigm Shift?
- Learn more about Kristie’s work and the programs she’s involved in:
- Occupational Therapy Practice Guidelines for Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder
- NYU Steinhardt’s ASD Nest Program
- NESTCON 2020
- IDEAS: Inventing, Designing, and Engineering on the Autism Spectrum
- Keeping it Real
- Check out the film Life Animated, based on the story of Owen Suskind
- Join in the conversation about this episode on Facebook at Learn Play & Thrive: Autism Resources for Professionals