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Reflections

Essays from Kristy Forbes exploring PDA, autistic experience, parenting, identity, care, systems and the ordinary moments that shape family life.

This is not about our children

Jun 20, 2022

I'm a person. I'm just like everyone else and I don't have all the answers for every situation for every family.

What I might implement in my home with my family might be detrimental to yours and really unhelpful.

What...

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We're diagnosing autistic folks, then pretending they're not autistic.

Jun 04, 2022

I have families emailing me often, to share with me about how brilliant their autistic child is, including their adult autistic child. They share about how their child works, studies, is an artist or a musician or enjoys...

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I activated their threat response

Jun 01, 2022

Yesterday, we had someone come to our home to carry out an appraisal on the house (valuing the home).

When I got out of bed, the house was absolutely trashed. Our home is pretty much always messy first thing in the morn...

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When 'healing' from trauma is the new self imposed pressure

May 15, 2022

Sometimes I think we need to take stock of the ways in which we place undue pressure onto ourselves around who we are.


So many of us in the neurodivergent community are in the process of 'healing'. Healing from trauma, ...

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I rise between 4-6am.

Apr 25, 2022
 
 
Every morning, I rise from my slumber anywhere between 4-6 am.
 
I know this isn’t a commonly shared experience, my love for the dawn.
 
Growing up in a sole parent family, my parent, having worked as
...
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My children won't get the same Mother

Apr 16, 2022

In our home, we have an open and ongoing dialogue around equity, equality and how this might look within our family.

We teach our children through examples and conversations about broader societal inequities they’re abl...

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Celebrating when clients move on

Apr 10, 2022

Around six months ago, an email was forwarded to me by our company manager from a client, letting me know that after just over a year with me, they were moving on.

I felt a pang of panic, and a touch of sadness that I’d...

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Healing the child behind the parent

Apr 08, 2022

This morning in therapy I took a deep dive, head first into some pretty challenging work on myself.

As many will know, I’m transparent in the ways in which I share particular aspects of my life.

Currently, my husband a...

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Raising ourselves and our children in neurodivergent culture

Feb 04, 2022
Autistic family culture; neurodivergent family culture is whatever works for you in alignment with your neurobiology collectively as a unit.
 
Sounds impossible sometimes, right? Feels impossible when our needs,
...
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Awareness is not a cure for disability: PDA

Jan 06, 2022
Kristy Forbes
Awareness is not a cure for disability: PDA
7:15
 

I woke up this morning with ‘that’ feeling. The one where I’m already anxious before my eyes open and my brain boots up.

My feet are rubbing together furiously and I’m rocking on my side, my organic autistic movement for ...

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