Reframe Your Thinking Around Autism: How the Polyvagal Theory and Brain Plasticity Help Us Make Sense of Autism Paperback – August 21, 2015

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I was able to absorb some of the new science behind autism in a way that was easy for me to understand. Along the way I also learnt more about myself and my own behaviours.This book is enlightening reading for anyone interested in the puzzle that is autism.I work with families and young children and am looking forward to applying some of the insights in my own working life.

for the last 20 years have worked as an educator, advocate, case-manager, and now also counselor with neuro-diverse students and their families, those classified with many varieties of societally-unrecognized multiple intelligences, those academically labeled or psychologically diagnosed with trauma-based, behavioral, environmental, physiological, or psychosocial diversities; and including those recognized, self-identified, or determined to be on the autism spectrum.I have autism myself, and these very rigid ideas of frameworks-for-learning and being have affected my own as well as my family’s (past, present, and future) learning, development, and ultimate outcomes in the world. Over the last couple decades, I have seen children and families consistently and structurally (both in present and generations past) either get brutalized by or "fall through the cracks" of these kinds of diagnostic systems because of systemic racism and white supremacy, heterosexism and trans+phobia, numerous flavors of societal inequity, both implicit and explicit bias regarding citizenship status, indigeneity, and many other forms of erasure of both identities and lived experience.This all takes it's toll on the body, the mind, and accessibility to the societally lauded idea of “resilience"Primarily -- On a holistic level and on a community level, Holly has taken out the “concrete-thinking” and “doing,” the idea of “fixing,” the “normal vs. abnormal”and she has subverted the requirement of a societally proven, evidence-based, and data-driven "mandated-outcome" from every "technique" out there today: cognitive, behavioral, acceptance, poly-vagal, sensory, body-based somatics, psychotherapy, etc… and on and on…Instead she works with trusting the body itself to know what it needs in order to find and create equilibrium.— No thinking needed,— No “solution-oriented step-taking”— No executive-function mandated to succeed and heal and learn and practice all the multitudes of ways we are human Instead, the outcomes of Holly's work:(on the body's continuous metabolization of numerous, pervasive, and societal epigenetic traumas, ongoing sensory and extra-sensory challenges, and the hardships and stress of consistently not meeting societal-expectations) — are focused on feeling better— on having more margin between feeling and being— on letting the body create the space it needs in order to feel safe and in charge of itself— so that when it's ready it can know what it needs next— and how to get there from here.From this, we can all finally have the peace to remember our own Senses of Self, we can know who we are, both on a collective level and individually, — and even in the context of those same societal expectations that have previously been insurmountable, traumatizing and violent, and excruciatingly painful to exist within.Holly's work allows us to be ourselves in the most basic of ways— and it also -- without reservation-- respects and acknowledges each and every cellular fiber of what that looks like and who we are, towards healing ourselves, each other, and the global community of our species.

This book was exactly what I needed! I left off one star for the exact reason some of the other reviews reference, but I for one am not bothered by the lack of science, and backup examples. I was looking to understand spectrums of Aspergers and this book was an eye opener for me. As I am looking to understand some family dynamics that have been treated in numerous ways, yet no sense of relief has been found. Years of counseling and struggle have been in our family for decades. Without our knowing God I know the picture would be much uglier than it has been, and I know he can use all things for my good. Therefore I have never lost all hope. We have been diagnosised ADHD, ADD, Depression, Chronic Fatigue, IBS, Lupus, (and found relief and healing from numerous treatments one being a year on Plaquinel. and many more. But the mental side of all of this is definately connected to a spectrum of Aspergers. I am so thankful for finding the avenue and look forward to where it will take our family with healing broken hearts because of our inability to communicate with each other and the world around us in a healthy personal way.

A very easy to understand concept that explains issues that persons with Autism can experience. I found the concept attractive, the line drawings instructive and helpful. I really appreciated the language used. The idea that youReframe Your Thinking Around Autism: How the Polyvagal Theory and Brain Plasticity Help Us Make Sense of Autism can retrain the input to help our autistic people is phenomenal. Thank you Holly Bridges.

Lovely book! A wonderful perspective on autism backed by science. I have read this book several times and every time found it inspiring. The best thing about this book is that it has so much valuable information and packed in a small book. It is easy to read. It makes you think of autism as a gift and an opportunity rather than something to worry about.