Apara Autism Centers’ Post

𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲’𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬: There are a lot of unhelpful myths and misconceptions out there about disabilities. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥. 𝘊𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘦𝘥. 𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭: How can I help others understand more about my life? 𝐓𝐫𝐲: 1. Asking people questions which help them reflect and think for themselves. 2. Sharing a few everyday things about your life, that they may not know. 3. Inviting trusted individuals into your world for a few hours, or even share via social media – like I’m doing right now. 𝘛𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴, 𝘮𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘔𝘺 𝘍𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 1𝘴𝘵 2024. 𝘎𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭-𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦-𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘯𝘰𝘸: https://lnkd.in/ebNDfhts Get your book launch tickets now: https://lnkd.in/dyhCssWf Harvard Ink #KMotivationSA #KerryWalsh #ChampioningChange #SMAWarrior #powerful #Hope #Happiness #Disabilityawareness #rarewarrior #speaker #bekind #equality #accessibility #SMA #awareness #positivevibes #warrior #FindingMyFeet #kerrywalshtrust #disability #resilience #harvardink #goodreads

Cracking the Code on Trolls: A 2-Part Series Part 2 👿 To the trolls: consider a different path. Instead of spreading negativity, join us in fostering a culture of positivity online. It's not about fixing you—it's about empowering ourselves to rise above.☝️ ✨Together, let's choose kindness over chaos and make trolls a thing of the past. 🌸 #ChooseKindness #PositiveOnlineCommunity #Empowerment #PoisedProper

Todays post for #neurodiversityweek I want to focus on WHO YOU ARE. Outside of work, outside of your business, who are you? What are your likes, dislikes, passions, hobbies, interests etc. Let’s celebrate not just your neurodiversity but also what other things make you, YOU! Because we are more than the business we have or are the company we are part of. So today think about: What brings you joy What makes you tick What gets you out of bed in the mornings (or afternoons if you’re lucky!) My joys: My preverbal son telling me he loves me 💙 Watching my daughter flip over and over at gymnastic practice 🩷 My toddler creeping into my bed at 1am (ok not so much joyful but cute still) 💙 Rewatching episodes of Friends and Grays Anotomy over and over ❤️ What makes me tick: Helping people Organising events Lunch with my mum A full diary My kids get me out of bed with the school run - I hate it so much but love them being at school 🤣 Let’s celebrate ALL of you including the parts that people don’t see. #neurodiversity #inclusion #virtualassistantservices #virtualassistant #whoareyou #businesssuppprt #neurodivergent #inclusiveworking

We are all too aware of the cost of superficial social interaction, which can leave us feeling depleted and in my case like a wet dishrag. Being introvert we are more inclined towards introspection which is often a source of profound ideas and innovations. However we are often painted with a broad brush approach, typified as reserved, detached and lonely individuals. For us it is about navigating the paradox between the necessity to share and the intrinsic challenges that it brings forth. As intentionally flourishing introverts this is a paradox we mis-navigate as sharing is both a pathway to opportunities and a journey laden with challenges. - Watch full video 'Harvest - Time to Share, Intentionally' on my YouTube channel for deeper understanding. I'd love to know how do you relate to this nugget and your own experience. - Joanna . . . #FlourishingIntroverts #Introverts #Sharing #Harvest #ExtravertBias #IntrovertsVsExtroverts #Inclusivity #WorkplaceDiversity #Neurodiversity

Most people on the Spectrum have problems reading other peoples's body language or emotions. This does not mean we do not have empathy. If someone tells me something they are going through, I feel sadness or anger, or happiness an joy. You can share things with us and make us part of your social circle. We may not laugh at every joke, but we like to know that you put in the effort to tell it to us. Things that always eluded me as an employee of organizations past and present are insincerity and gaslighting. To some of people with Autism, if you ask us how we are doing, we feel obligated to tell you, so please do not make an excuse and walk away, Instead, please share something about your life, so we feel like we belong. Also, we get upset if you have no recollection of a conversation we had about a work issue when we tell you where and when we recently discussed it. Please make an effort to listen to us and really hear what we are saying, like you would anyone else telling you something. Do not tell anyone you are going to do something to improve something for them and then avoid discussing it in the future or fail to follow through with what you said. We find this very confusing behavior. Lastly, if your Autistic employee has a work issue and has asked someone for help, do not tell them their issue is not important, or tell the person who is helping them to stop. Their issue was important to them to feel the need to seek assistance. Being dismissed makes us feel like you do not value us as an employee. We have the same desire for belonging, wanting to be heard, respected, and need to feel like we matter. Always use inclusive thinking at work. It is similar to mindful thinking but it includes your behavior towards everyone in the work place. #autism #inclusivity #disability #employeerelations #companyculture #behavior #kindnessmatters #respect #workculture #albanynewyork #hudsonvalley

Happy Sunday, y'all! 🍁 Let's remember that self-forgiveness is the key to learning and growing process. 🌱 What are you forgiving yourself for today? #SelfForgiveness #Inclusive #MistakesHappen #2ndChanceInc #MotivationalSpeaker #Empowerment #PersonalDevelopment

Aristotle once said that happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence. In this 8th episode of "The Science of Happiness," Mark touches on a bit of interesting research about what 9500 people in 47 countries consider to be most important in life. Let's chat - https://www.mygrow.me/#! #emotionalintelligence #eq #mentalhealth #mentalhealthmatters #powerskills #development #personaldevelopment

How many of us hide our true selves just to fit in at work? Jens Larsen shares his personal experience of masking neurodivergent traits throughout his career. Masking, while sometimes effective, is incredibly draining and can lead to confusion about workplace norms. Jens highlights the power of self-acceptance and the courage it takes to reveal our authentic selves. Click the link in the comments section to join the conversation and learn how embracing neurodiversity can transform workplaces into more inclusive and supportive environments. #Neurodiversity #Autism #WorkplaceInclusion #DiversityandInclusion #SixteenFifty

THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX… What box is that? We can all be a bit narrow minded at times as we get used to doing certain things in certain way. But what if the thing that we are used to doing doesn’t work for whatever reason? What if something is stopping us from achieving the things that we want to do? Do we give up? OR do we take on the challenge of finding another way? The problem is that the answer doesn’t always stare us in the face, sometimes we need to be creative and sometimes trust in a ‘less conventional’ way of doing something. Living with a disability I spend my life ‘thinking outside the box’ if I didn’t, I probably wouldn’t have achieved everything that I have. For me, living outside the box is about problem solving, it’s about finding a way, whatever it takes! Whether we have a disability or not, self-belief matters! It is that belief that we have in ourselves that determines whether we choose to stay in that box or whether we choose to burst out and make whatever it is that we want to achieve, happen WHATEVER it takes! I love thinking outside the box… I love the process of turning something that I “can’t” do into something that I absolutely CAN do! When was the last time that you BURST out of *your* box? #mindset #mindsetmatters #disabilityinclusion