Ep. 109 Go From Survival Mode to Learning Mode with a Trauma-Informed Approach
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What are the core principles of trauma‑informed therapy for autistic children?
Hello, neurofirmation. Okay, I said that last week, you guys. I think it might stick. So I think we need to go with this neurofirmation. Here we go. Okay, last week we talked all about a trauma informed approach. We talked about why it is so important for autistic kids, why it is non negotiable for autistic kids. We talked about why autistic kids have more of a chance of having had trauma in their lives and current practices that they may be going through that are not. trauma informed and could possibly be re-traumatizing them. So if you have not yet caught last week's episode, make sure you do. But even if you haven't caught up on that one yet, this one's gonna be beneficial for you because what we are talking about today is how we can use a trauma-informed approach.
So what a trauma-informed approach actually looks like. And then I'm gonna be teaching you our neurofirm system for creating, for taking any session and shifting it into an approach that is trauma-informed. So let's get into it today. Today, the first thing that we are going to go through is our neurofirm SAFE system. Okay, and you probably see the acronym SAFE coming up a lot. It's not uncommon in trauma for informed approaches, but I figured it was perfect for what we were trying to do as well, because we know how important safety is to working with kids and coming up with a trauma-informed approach. So the This is the NeuroFirm SAFE System. It is an acronym. And this is something where we will have a mini training within the NeuroFirm Academy as well in how to use this system.
And today we're gonna be talking through the principles of it and then we're gonna be talking about four different shifts that you can make now in order to help you with your autistic kids. So here we go. Our neurofirm safe system. The S is who can guess? Safety. Yes. The S stands for safety. So when we are working with kids who have experienced trauma, and I think I mentioned last episode, I have had an autistic colleague tell me that. We probably Most of our kids have probably experienced trauma just th because they have grown up in a world meant for neurotypical people. There are just inherent trauma in that.
How does the NeuroFirm SAFE system define safety for kids in therapy?
So Making sure the child feels safe is always our top priority. Okay. And have you ever had a kid where they come in for therapy and They're just really hesitant to engage. They don't seem that interested. You almost just feel like they have a wall up, like they're not letting themselves get close to you. They're not letting themselves get excited about being there. I've seen so many kids come into our clinic because they have been through so much very rigid compliance-based therapy. That they come into our clinic? And it's like they're just waiting for us to be like, Okay, well let's go work and then you can have five stars and then you could play with the toy that you want. It's like they're just waiting for that.
to be implemented because that's what they're used to in their previous therapies. So It can take time for kids to really be able to feel safe in an environment. And I have this boy I've been working with for quite some time. And I just remember when he started coming in and how I just felt like, does he wanna be here? He should be more excited than this. I don't know. And another therapist was working with him at the time and she was like, I just don't know what he wants to do because he'll say yes to doing anything. And remember that Fawn. is one of the survival states. So fawn is essentially people pleasing. It's saying yes and being agreeable because you have been trained that the only way to get through it or the least painful way to get through it.
is just to go along with it. Like you have exhausted all of your other options. You can't get away from it. You can't run away. You can't fight the person. You know you're gonna lose. So you're just gonna say yes so that you can get through with it. And we have a lot of kids who will come into therapy and we will see that fond state come out as soon as they get into the therapy room because they remember, oh
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What are the core principles of trauma‑informed therapy for autistic children?
0:08–2:40
2
How does the NeuroFirm SAFE system define safety for kids in therapy?
2:40–4:51
3
Why is autonomy essential for intrinsic motivation in autistic learners?
4:51–7:24
4
How can therapists create familiar, predictable environments that reduce anxiety?
7:24–10:27
5
What relational shifts help balance power between therapist and child?
10:27–12:42
6
How should therapy goals be reframed to avoid compliance‑based approaches?
12:42–15:18
7
What practical language‑reframing techniques support a trauma‑informed stance?
15:18–18:09
8
What resources does the NeuroAffirm Academy offer for implementing trauma‑informed care?
18:09–20:12
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from The NeuroAffirm Podcast
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Ep. 123 Not Seeing Progress in Speech Therapy? Start Here.
Ep. 122 Screen Time Considerations for Autistic Kids
Ep. 121 The Biggest Sensory Mistakes SLPs Make
Ep. 120 Why Anxiety is So Common in Autism (And What Actually Helps)