Liz Lucy Robillard

(Assisted by Ai) Tips for Eating & Sleeping in Autism As both a therapist and a parent, I’ve learned that positive reinforcement, when used thoughtfully and without reliance on negative “aversives” (something I personally experienced with ABA therapy), can be incredibly effective. However, the most valuable advice I ever received about sleep actually came from a traditional child psychologist rather than ABA specialists. Picky eating, on the other hand, can be a major concern for caregivers of children with learning challenges—it certainly was for me. Over time, I found some practical strategies that worked, and I hope they’ll be helpful for you too. Encouraging New Foods: A Tailored Reward System Creating a reward system tailored to your child’s needs can help make trying new foods less stressful and more achievable. Step 1: Identify Motivators Take note of what your child loves most—this could be toys, screen time, sensory activities, stickers, or verbal praise. Use these motivat...

 Psychopath ex used to say to people 'I'm a really nice guy, ask anyone'  'What you're describing is a common behavior among abusive individuals who use manipulation and charm to maintain a positive public image. This tactic, sometimes referred to as "image management," allows them to avoid accountability and discredit their victims if they speak out. Here are some points to consider about this behavior: 1. Dual Persona: Abusers often cultivate a "nice guy" persona in public to mask their abusive behavior in private. This makes it harder for victims to be believed when they share their experiences. 2. Gaslighting: By insisting they are "nice" and pointing to others who can vouch for them, they may try to make you doubt your reality or feel isolated in your experiences. 3. Manipulation: Building social alliances is another way for them to exert control. If others see them as kind and friendly, it can discourage people from supporting you...

 Why You Shouldn’t Care About Looks The obsession with appearances is the most insidious form of subjugation that women have ever faced. It is not the chains of patriarchy that bind us most tightly, but the corsets of conformity, the lipsticks of distraction, and the constant compulsion to please the male gaze. To care deeply about how you look is to relinquish power to forces that see you not as a human being, but as an object to be assessed, admired, or dismissed.  And here’s the blunt truth: you are not a pork chop. You are not a slab of meat to be measured, weighed, and found wanting. The cultural machinery that tells you otherwise is vast and relentless.  From magazines that prescribe the perfect nose to social media filters that obliterate individuality, the world insists that a woman’s worth resides in the smoothness of her skin, the symmetry of her face, the slenderness of her body. But such standards are arbitrary and cruel, designed to keep you distracted from y...

 (I've written an edited version at 'Medium') A note to providers in mainstream mental health services: As a sufferer and as a behaviour therapist, I have strong views here. In my view, force of any kind, including sectioning (locking people in a secure psychiatric facility) is often emotionally damaging and traumatising. Removing a persons liberty can cause profound trauma thus adding to the clients' problems which can be generally and acutely counterptoductive, especially where anxiety and/trauma are an issue! I've noted from groups online, a lot of people in the mental health community seem to want urgent 'rescuing' at times. A better emergency telephone and or internet service could work really well (Zoom is an easy option) Generous Time spent on helping a client to create healthy habits (probably over extended periods) is the way of limiting negative behaviours and outcomes. Compassion combined with positive reinforcement works (being careful not t...

  We are, in my opinion, exceptionally fortunate to be alive in the internet age.  There is simply no need to feel alone if you’re a little internet savvy. For example, you could consider joining 'Oddfellows'  https://www.oddfellows.co.uk / a low cost organisation that offers meetings, help and support, that has local groups but also online Zoom (great app) meetings for all.  There is 'Meetup' https://www.meetup.com/find/united-kingdom/ where you can meet with people that share your interests. There is Age-UK https://www.ageuk.org.uk/ events.  There is Silverline for support https://www.thesilverline.org.uk/ .  If you can’t get out and about it’s worth searching your local 'befriending' schemes for that as they will visit you. You can keep up with neighbourhood events at nextdoor.co.uk.  There is 'Discord' https://discord.com/ for good chats and Reddit.com (or the app)  for enlightening discussions.  There’s some good quiz chatrooms there...

 The Complexity of Autism: A Spectrum Beyond Simplistic Narratives Autism is not a singular disease, nor should it be understood through a reductive lens.  Rather, autism is an umbrella term encompassing a diverse spectrum of human behaviors, developmental differences, genetic mutations and neurological patterns.  To attempt to reduce this complexity to a single cause or narrative is to do a profound disservice to our understanding of the human mind and its many variations. What we call autism is influenced by a staggering array of biological and environmental factors.  At the neurophysiological level, variations in white matter—those tracts of connective tissue in the brain responsible for communication between different regions—play a significant role as reported by experts decades ago (see Tony Monaco)  Intriguingly, white matter irregularities can sometimes be traced to maternal MTHFR gene mutations, which influence folate metabolism during pregnancy accordi...

From my upcoming memoir: 'My son suffers from severe autism or possibly Angelman syndrome (which wasn't definitively excluded when he underwent genetic testing). As a concerned parent, I reached out to several specialists in the field of autism, desperate to know how best to support him. In 1994, when my son was two, I started an information service called Autistic Information Matters to seek answers, provide support, and share facts. After much difficulty with professionals—including a Professor Ben Sacks who cruelly suggested I send my two-year-old to an institution (I told him to get out)—I discovered Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA). At the time, I believed it might be a miracle cure that could help my son begin speaking. However, after extensive research and insights from other parents, I came to realize that autism is an umbrella term, encompassing a variety of conditions rather than a single disorder. (I have written more about this elsewhere.) During this time, I wa...