TPP 411: The Evolution of "Whole Body Listening Larry" & Why it Matters, with Elizabeth Sautter
episode
Full-Tilt Parenting: Strategies, Insights, and Connection for Parents Raising Neurodivergent Children
36 min
1 speaker
8 chapters
transcribed 15 hours ago
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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
What is Whole Body Listening Larry and why does it matter for neurodivergent kids?
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The challenge is is that when you're talking about listening in the way that we were talking about it with whole body listening, it's performative. It's not about really focusing on the listener, it's about focusing on the speaker. And it becomes then compliance and conformity based on a nor majority model and creating a standard for maybe what we consider typical, what works for you know, some people. I don't think that that type of listening probably works for the majority of people, but that's where our mind goes in terms of creating some of these standards. And when we think about it, focusing on looking at the speaker and sitting still and mouth quiet can actually really hinder listening.
I'm Debbie Rieber and welcome to Tilt Parenting, a podcast featuring interviews and conversations aimed at inspiring, informing, and supporting parents raising differently wired kids. Over the years, countless strategies have been created to help differently wired kids succeed in school and life. But as the neurodiversity movement grows, there's increasing awareness that many of these approaches focus on fitting neurodivergent kids into neurotypical environments and norms rather than embracing and respecting their unique ways of experiencing the world. Today's guest, Elizabeth Sauter, is a speaker. Speech language pathologist and social emotional learning specialist, and she was initially trained in a more traditional medical model focused on diagnosing and fixing behaviors to promote conformity to neurotypical standards.
She co authored the popular Whole Body Listening Larry series, which aimed to help kids improve listening skills and attention by engaging their whole body. While intended to support neurodivergent students, Elizabeth. Elizabeth later recognized that the series was actually reinforcing ableist concepts. Today, Elizabeth is on a mission to promote a neurodiversity-affirming, strengths-based approach that emphasizes acceptance and advocating for individualized support. She's been instrumental in updating that book series with a new neurodiversity-affirming title, Listen, Learn, and Grow: A Whole Body Listening Larry Story. To help kids regulate, listen, and engage. As the publisher notes, Listening Larry is back and he's learned a few things about neurodiversity.
Elizabeth, who's also the author of Make Social and Emotional Learning Stick, co-author of The Zones of Regulation Children's Books, Card Decks and Games, and part of the Everyday Regulation team, joins me to talk about her journey from traditional speech pathology to embrace. Replacing a neurodiversity-affirming approach. So we'll dive into the story of the Whole Body Listening Larry series, how she responded to critical feedback from the neurodivergent community, and the development of new resources that promote inclusivity and understanding. Plus, we'll also explore what it really means to be a good listener. And as we discuss, Elizabeth's big goal is to replace the original and very popular Whole body listening, Larry books with the updated neurodiversity affirming version.
So if you see those original books in libraries or classrooms or maybe even on your own bookshelf, we encourage you to swap it out. What I love most about this conversation is how Elizabeth shares her own transformation. Despite years of training in one model, she shifted her thinking. This to me is the paradigm shift in action. and I hope you find it as inspiring and motivating as I did. So here is my conversation with Elizabeth Sauter. Hey Elizabeth, welcome to the podcast. Thank you for having me,
Debbie. I'm really excited to be here.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is Whole Body Listening Larry and why does it matter for neurodivergent kids?
0:00–5:34
2
How did Elizabeth Sautter’s training in the medical model shape the original series?
5:34–10:22
3
What feedback did the neurodivergent community give about the original books?
10:22–14:17
4
How did Elizabeth transition to a neurodiversity‑affirming, strengths‑based approach?
14:17–19:27
5
What changes were made in the new “Listen, Learn, and Grow” edition and poster?
19:27–23:02
6
How can parents model and discuss their own listening styles with children?
23:02–27:33
7
What practical tools (posters, books, activities) support whole‑body listening for all learners?
27:33–32:08
8
Where can listeners find more resources and support for neurodiversity‑affirming SEL?
32:08–36:16
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from Full-Tilt Parenting: Strategies, Insights, and Connection for Parents Raising Neurodivergent Children
TPP 266a: A Conversation with Poet and Advocate LeDerick Horne
TPP 522: A Whole Child Approach to ADHD with Phil Boucher, M.D.
TPP 091a: A Conversation With Steve Silberman About His Book “Neurotribes”
TPP 521: A Conversation with Dr. Peter Gray About Restoring Childhood
TPP 253a: Advocate and Author Jonathan Mooney on Why Normal Sucks
TPP 520: Dr. Özgür Bolat on Why Rewards Backfire and the Real Science of Motivating Kids