SLP 326: Guest Author Kate Swenson shares Choosing Joy Over Fear: One Family's Journey with Nonverbal Autism
Sue Larkey Podcast - Autism (ASD), ADHD, ODD and PDA education
Release Date: 12/15/2025
SLP 353: Why Autistic Girls Mask at School and Meltdown at Home
Sue Larkey Podcast - Autism (ASD), ADHD, ODD and PDA education
Join Sue for an upcoming where you will learn from Sue practical tips & strategies to make a difference. ✅ Masking: Girls mimic peers, appearing fine while exhausted inside. ✅ After-School Meltdowns: Held-in stress erupts at home, not school. ✅ Perfectionism: Small mistakes trigger distress; girls avoid asking help. ✅ Playground Fatigue: Breaks drain autistic girls rather than energise them. ✅ Diagnosis Timing: Earlier understanding eases the transition into high school. ✅ Teacher Signs: Watch anxiety, possessive friendships, and end-of-day unravelling. ✅ Special Interests:...
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SLP 352: Behaviour Is Communication: What Neurodiverse Students Are Really Telling You
Sue Larkey Podcast - Autism (ASD), ADHD, ODD and PDA education
Join Sue for an upcoming where you will learn from Sue practical tips & strategies to make a difference. ✅ Behavior: Reflects unmet needs, not choice. ✅ Mistakes: Fear of errors triggers refusals, meltdowns. ✅ Support: Change structure, not the child. ✅ Being First: Often signals safety, not defiance. ✅ Rewards: Praise completion, not finishing first. ✅ Peer Play: Neurotypical kids can include neurodivergent peers. ✅ Reframe: Ask what support is missing. Read more about this podcast in the show notes found via the link below Join the Facebook group specifically for this...
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SLP 351: Setting Up a Calm Corner: How to Go From Overwhelm to Regulated
Sue Larkey Podcast - Autism (ASD), ADHD, ODD and PDA education
Join Sue for an upcoming where you will learn from Sue practical tips & strategies to make a difference. ✅ Individual Needs: Every child needs different calming tools. ✅ Teach Usage: Model and practice breaks when calm. ✅ Energy Breaks: Some kids need high-energy activities instead. ✅ Sensory Tools: Weighted blankets, fidgets, and body socks help. ✅ Space Setup: Avoid overload; keep areas simple, tailored. ✅ Non-Verbal Requests: Use tokens or cards to avoid talking. ✅ Returning Routine: Teach timed check-ins to exit calmly. Read more about this podcast in the show notes...
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SLP 350: PDA & Supporting the Drive for Autonomy with Expert Guests Laura Kerby & Eliza Flicker
Sue Larkey Podcast - Autism (ASD), ADHD, ODD and PDA education
Join Sue for an upcoming where you will learn from Sue practical tips & strategies to make a difference. ✅ PDA Definition: Drive for autonomy, not pathological demand avoidance. ✅ Demand Types: Internal and external demands create cumulative pressure. ✅ Boiling Kettle: Anxiety builds quietly, small triggers cause big crises. ✅ Crisis Recovery: Children need time and space after overwhelm. ✅ School Environment: Flexible schools with strong relationships make huge difference. ✅ Safe Relationships: Authentic connections reduce anxiety and increase coping. ✅ Perfectionism:...
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SLP 349: A Whole-Body Approach to Handwriting for Neurodiverse Learners
Sue Larkey Podcast - Autism (ASD), ADHD, ODD and PDA education
Join Sue for an upcoming where you will learn from Sue practical tips & strategies to make a difference. ✅ Handwriting: Complex skill involving pencil grip and eye tracking simultaneously. ✅ Dysgraphia: Child knows what to write but cannot execute. ✅ Fine Motor: Spinning tops and squeeze balls strengthen children's grip. ✅ Accommodations: Pencil grips, shorter pencils, and color choice support students. ✅ Short Breaks: Alternate five minutes writing with gross motor activity. ✅ Visual Supports: Use topic sentences and mind mapping for structure. ✅ Whole Body: Posture, core...
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SLP 348: Understanding OCD and Autism with Guest Dean Beadle
Sue Larkey Podcast - Autism (ASD), ADHD, ODD and PDA education
Join Sue for an upcoming where you will learn from Sue practical tips & strategies to make a difference. ✅ OCD vs Autism: autism celebrates identity, OCD only causes distress. ✅ Real Event OCD: invents false narratives around dim memories. ✅ The OCD Cycle: obsession, anxiety, compulsion, relief, then repeat. ✅ Breaking Compulsions: not doing them weakens the entire cycle. ✅ Compulsions vs Rituals: compulsions fear-based, rituals come from joy. ✅ Repetition Source: joy means encourage, fear means co-regulate. ✅ Living Around OCD: continue normal life despite intrusive...
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SLP 347: Understanding Perfectionism: The Hidden Fear of Failure in Neurodiverse Students (AS, ADHD, ODD, PDA, OCD)
Sue Larkey Podcast - Autism (ASD), ADHD, ODD and PDA education
Join Sue for an upcoming where you will learn from Sue practical tips & strategies to make a difference. ✅ Core Understanding: Perfectionism in neurodivergent kids stems from anxiety, not standards. ✅ ADHD Perfectionism: Won't start, gives up quickly, fears failure intensely. ✅ ODD Perfectionism: Refusal and arguing mask deep vulnerability and control needs. ✅ PDA Perfectionism: Loss of control drives anxiety-driven demand avoidance. ✅ Autism Perfectionism: Rigidity and repetition needed for predictability and rightness. ✅ OCD Perfectionism: Checking behaviors prevent feared...
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SLP 346: Why Telling a Child to Calm Down Never Works: The Case for Teaching Emotional Regulation
Sue Larkey Podcast - Autism (ASD), ADHD, ODD and PDA education
Join Sue for an upcoming where you will learn from Sue practical tips & strategies to make a difference. ✅ Emotional Regulation: Teach children to recognize and manage their emotions daily. ✅ Device Dependency: Screens prevent kids from learning to regulate emotions naturally. ✅ Developmental Gap: Kids with autism/ADHD are three years behind developmentally. ✅ Replace Behavior: Behavior serves a purpose; you can only replace it. ✅ Meltdown Stages: Understand buildup, survival, and meltdown/shutdown phases to intervene. ✅ Executive Function: Emotional control is a muscle...
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SLP 345: Medication Insights from Families: What works for their Neurodiverse Children (AS, ADHD)
Sue Larkey Podcast - Autism (ASD), ADHD, ODD and PDA education
Join Sue for an upcoming where you will learn from Sue practical tips & strategies to make a difference. In this episode, we will discuss: ✅ Medication Discovery: Different medications affect each child uniquely and require trial. ✅ Documentation Practice: Keep diary or voice memos tracking behavior and dosage changes. ✅ Team Approach: Collaborate with parents, teachers, and doctors for best outcomes. ✅ School Impact: Right medication enables children to concentrate and access therapies. ✅ Parental Alignment: Partners may need education to understand medication benefits clearly....
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SLP 344: Supporting Neurodiverse Children in the Early Years - Mini-training and Ebook
Sue Larkey Podcast - Autism (ASD), ADHD, ODD and PDA education
Join Sue for an upcoming where you will learn from Sue practical tips & strategies to make a difference. In this episode, we will discuss: ✅ Staff Training: Workshops help preschools engage neurodiverse children effectively. ✅ Teaching Methods: Direct, engineered, and incidental strategies adapt learning. ✅ Backward Chaining: Children succeed by completing only the final step. ✅ Visuals & Communication: Picture exchange supports nonverbal and limited-speech children. ✅ Now-Next-Later: Visual schedules clarify activities and reduce child anxiety. ✅ Self-Regulation:...
info_outlineJoin Sue for an upcoming Live Virtual Workshop where you will learn from Sue practical tips & strategies to make a difference.
In this episode, we will discuss:
✅ Forever Boy: celebrates positive aspects of nonverbal autism diagnosis.
✅ Cooper's Journey: severe autism, happy, social, communicative, thriving life.
✅ Strategy Selection: one strategy works for one in ten.
✅ Breaking Down: big goals require tiny steps over years.
✅ Behavior Tracking: data reveals what child actually communicates.
✅ Consistency: all caregivers must reinforce same communication methods.
✅ Joy and Purpose: The More Than Project supports special-needs moms.
Read more about this podcast in the show notes found via the link below
suelarkey.com.au/nonverbal-autism-communication-strategies
Join the Facebook group specifically for this podcast
www.facebook.com/groups/suelarkeypodcastcommunity/
Join my Neurodiversity Network
suelarkey.com.au/neurodiversity-network/