Welcome to my Brainy Lady blog! This is where I get to take off the doctor’s coat (it's not mine--yet), tie it around my waist and share autism tips, surprising brain science, funny personal stories and painful doctorate program homework complaints… okay, maybe I'll avoid that last one. Regardless, I hope to offer insights and invite the same while enjoying a cup of coffee with the autism, neuroscience, psycophysiology, parenting, spiritual, thinking, comedic, curious community! If that leaves you out, I'm sorry and suggest you try on one of the many hats. One is bound to fit!
This Mother’s Day grab a hold of it and be true to your wants.
My son takes great pleasure in music. He is asking everyone to play music for their moms or, better yet, buy her her favorite musical and watch as a family. (We watched Grease, though my favorite is actually Moulin Rouge.)
So far my son hasn’t managed to understand that his autism may create different interests than the autism in another. Even more he is challenged to consider any possibility that a person may not dig music at all or see why we all work so hard and don’t just chillax with the tunes a blaring.
He doesn’t mind a dirty house or even living in a tent as we had to do on occasion when he and his siblings were young. Though he does like lots of food, he is okay if it’s only one or two staples delivered in gargantuan amounts. In fact, he doesn’t mind most of what most people mind.
He minds working hard at things he isn’t interested in though. I mind that to.
In this way we are the same.
Do what you love and smell the flower that causes your soul to salivate today.
I am smelling the coffee.
Welcome to my Brainy Lady blog! This is where I get to take off the doctor’s coat (it's not mine--yet), tie it around my waist and share autism tips, surprising brain science, funny personal stories and painful doctorate program homework complaints… okay, maybe I'll avoid that last one. Regardless, I hope to offer insights and invite the same while enjoying a cup of coffee with the autism, neuroscience, psycophysiology, parenting, spiritual, thinking, comedic, curious community! If that leaves you out, I'm sorry and suggest you try on one of the many hats. One is bound to fit!
A friend of mine asked a question which led to an answer that I have refined for this post. I hope it helps someone.
Love alone isn’t enough to heal brains and bodies.
Love alone isn’t enough because some people’s idea of a loving act is incorrect for the circumstance and is actually going to further the problem or condition. That is how we end up with co-dependencies between people, etc.- It is love with direction, and not just any direction but an “independence building self love and appreciation” type of direction, that heals.
Love in the direction of healing.
Most people don’t know how to love this way. So, someone has to direct them to give the correct direction. And so it is that we become a society of health or ill-health promoting beliefs. The leaders in media religion and politics propagate… the state of things.
Unless we choose for ourselves.
This statement also applies to therapies and medicines.
In the end, its not the therapy or the concept of love that heals but the knowledge and intention of the leader, the therapist, the lover and the client culminating in chaos or coalescing into health.
Many medicines and therapies are just there to keep us alive and hopeful until we figure this out.
~Dr. Lynette Louise
The Brain Broad
Welcome to my Brainy Lady blog! This is where I get to take off the doctor’s coat (it's not mine--yet), tie it around my waist and share autism tips, surprising brain science, funny personal stories and painful doctorate program homework complaints… okay, maybe I'll avoid that last one. Regardless, I hope to offer insights and invite the same while enjoying a cup of coffee with the autism, neuroscience, psycophysiology, parenting, spiritual, thinking, comedic, curious community! If that leaves you out, I'm sorry and suggest you try on one of the many hats. One is bound to fit!
Music entrains the brain and, as such, can make a huge difference during a much needed moment, easing the ups and downs of life by reinforcing and then shifting the person’s emotional state. So let it roll!
And while rolling, note that…
If your child plays the same song repeatedly it may be a great indicator of whether they need stimulation or calming.
So let your child choose the song, but don’t then walk away. Instead, seek alternative means of creating a similar effect in order that they might have more opportunity to grow instead become music dependent.
Example: seekers of music with slow, low, bass-like sounds, chants and oms, could find the ocean beach comforting but not enjoy the lake. Pay attention, discover similar song sounds together, help them help themselves while using music to shift states. The music of songs and the music of your environment.
Additionally, music can be used to modify monotone speech. Which, in turn, can help modify moods.
When I am helping a child who has no vocal control, especially if they speak loudly more ‘at’ than ‘with’ me, I suggest they put music in their voice.
I then model speaking in a singing voice, and we practice different types of ‘mood’ speaking.
Then whenever they are speaking ‘at’ someone I simply prompt them with: “Remember to put music in your voice.”
I have many adorable, wonderful, hilarious, tender memories of many adorable, wonderful, hilarious, tender children with monotone speech as they put a song in their voice in uniquely varied ways!
Please, instead of speaking loudly back, join me in the creation of this wonderful choir of souls!
That’s the music I choose.
Dr. Lynette Louise (“The Brain Broad”)
Welcome to my Brainy Lady blog! This is where I get to take off the doctor’s coat (it's not mine--yet), tie it around my waist and share autism tips, surprising brain science, funny personal stories and painful doctorate program homework complaints… okay, maybe I'll avoid that last one. Regardless, I hope to offer insights and invite the same while enjoying a cup of coffee with the autism, neuroscience, psycophysiology, parenting, spiritual, thinking, comedic, curious community! If that leaves you out, I'm sorry and suggest you try on one of the many hats. One is bound to fit!
Sometimes the people doing a job make things harder. Sometimes it is the job itself.
Yesterday I had to sit on my son and hold him by the hair to get his COVID test done. (One of the downsides to traveling.) Dar is super cooperative with the deep nasal test but in Canada they swirl the cotton tip near the edge of the nostril which, for most, people is easier. Dar has a different sensory system. The front of his face has always been a challenging spot to touch gently. It hurts him. He understands that he needs the test and we have to comply. He knows I have no control over how the country does the test. He means to cooperate. But it hurts. So if the person doing the test acts in anyway like Dar is just a baby with no IQ to speak of, the emotional anguish increases the pain and he cannot do it. At this point I have to step in and manhandle him.
I hate this! He trusts and loves me enough not to throw me off his lap but he still fights it. So I have to grab his hair and shove the thing in his nose. Five long seconds for each nostril.
Of course this then means his hormones (adrenaline, cortisol etc) flow profusely (and they take longer for him to ‘turn off’ and recuperate from than a more flexibly brained person would require) and cause physical symptoms.
He had diarrhea, headache and numbness for 24 hours after the event. We were with extended family so he really tried to be his best self. But he could barely eat (his usual comfort creator) and needed to hit the numb spots on his face just to feel anything other than fire-like tingles. 7 hours after the test, food finally helped. He was happier, more relaxed but still had diarrhea all night long.
It is 24 hours later. He is well.
All of this could have been avoided if the woman just hadn’t treated him like an idiot child.
Please people, don’t judge a person by their presentation.
There is no harm in acting as if the person you are speaking to is smart. You can always simplify verbiage and reduce the number of words you use without talking down to them.
I can’t do anything about the test (yes, it was negative) but I can ask you to think and talk up.
Important: Act as if, then simplify. Act as if you will be understood and if you are not, simplify. Do not talk down, simply simplify.
Welcome to my Brainy Lady blog! This is where I get to take off the doctor’s coat (it's not mine--yet), tie it around my waist and share autism tips, surprising brain science, funny personal stories and painful doctorate program homework complaints… okay, maybe I'll avoid that last one. Regardless, I hope to offer insights and invite the same while enjoying a cup of coffee with the autism, neuroscience, psycophysiology, parenting, spiritual, thinking, comedic, curious community! If that leaves you out, I'm sorry and suggest you try on one of the many hats. One is bound to fit!
The problem with speech therapy and autism is speech therapy is generally aimed at teaching sound production to the muscles and building one sound upon another in a predetermined pattern of progression. However, autism and speech is more about communication than word formation.
Teaching communication, as opposed to speech, requires a greater level of sophistication from the teacher.
Unfortunately, too often the child is taught in a fashion that, when mirrored, looks like scripted talking and planned responses. This is not usually because the child can’t learn to speak in a more fluid way. (Made obvious by the fact that most ASD individuals do speak with great fluidity and a huge variance in tone when speaking within their perseverative self-talk.) The difficulty for these folks in learning to communicate often has to do with turn taking and the brain’s ability to transition between the processing of receptive to expressive, then back again, at a user friendly speed.
Thus the fluid self-talker should be encouraged to maintain their beautiful flowing dissertation of ideas while responding to our similarly shaped suggestions. Once they get used to ‘communicating’ then we ask them to show an interest in our things.
This works very well.
Unfortunately, what is usually done is the child is asked to STOP TALKING LIKE THAT (in his or her fluid way) and start repeating according to our robotic requests. A real-life example: Say “CAR” not ‘hello Steve …a clue a clue that’s hysterical!’
TEACH WHAT YOU WANT THEM TO LEARN AND IF WHAT YOU ARE WANTING IS SENTENCES THEN RESPOND TO AND ENCOURAGE SENTENCES!
If what you are wanting is communication, that is done by responding.
Practice the skill of responding to, and encouraging, sentences.
Welcome to my Brainy Lady blog! This is where I get to take off the doctor’s coat (it's not mine--yet), tie it around my waist and share autism tips, surprising brain science, funny personal stories and painful doctorate program homework complaints… okay, maybe I'll avoid that last one. Regardless, I hope to offer insights and invite the same while enjoying a cup of coffee with the autism, neuroscience, psycophysiology, parenting, spiritual, thinking, comedic, curious community! If that leaves you out, I'm sorry and suggest you try on one of the many hats. One is bound to fit!
When a person is in a state of depression, and any other mental illness that has depression included, one of the things happening in the brain is brain wave activity is moving at slower pace – firing at a lower frequency.
The response to early childhood trauma, or trauma of any kind really, is often an excess of low frequency activity in the brain.
This preponderance of slow moving brain wave activity results in less information being able to process. Thus even muscle tone is affected by the brain not being able to send enough messages to keep the body firm. This is why you will see a lax expression on a depressed person’s face. As well as less color, due to less circulation.
I mention this to explain how just running your body is a job, and adding self-help skills is extra. If you are dealing with slower brain wave activity then it is a big burdensome overwhelming job.
Additionally, these slow moving waves attract a type of daydreaming mental state within which time simply disappears and the opportunity to take care of tasks goes with it.
There’s more to depression of course, but I can say from personal experience – having been a person that suffered from extreme depression before doing neurofeedback – that even the act of wearing underwear was more than I could handle. So I reduced all necessary tasks to only the ones needed in order to survive.
There are things that can make a difference. Neurofeedback can make a difference. Neurofeedback is a wonderful tool for finding those lower frequencies and encouraging them to speed up appropriately. However, at this very moment regardless of what tools you have at your disposal, simply understanding what is happening in the depressed brain can make a difference. Note that your habits show you how you’re operating. (For example: Falling in love a lot in order to increase dopamine in the reward center, effectively speeding up brain wave activity.)
Pay attention to responses and reactions. Pay attention to habits and feelings associated with them, while keeping this information at the forefront. Notice. Assess. Be thoughtful. Then make intentional changes or choices. This will make a difference.
If you are unable to find something that is making a positive difference for the depression in your life, whether it is yours or a loved ones, begin with understanding the brain and body. Validate the challenge by knowing it is real; brain wave activity is affecting you. Make intentional shifts in that activity by paying attention to reactions and changes. Chew ice, tap your toes, talk in a sing song voice. Pay attention, be curious, and be patient.
And, as always, feel free to reach out to me with any questions. Don’t even hesitate.
Your brain is part of my world and I want to help you in order to help me. 😉
~Dr. Lynette Louise aka “The Brain Broad
Email: crazy2sane@gmail.com
Welcome to my Brainy Lady blog! This is where I get to take off the doctor’s coat (it's not mine--yet), tie it around my waist and share autism tips, surprising brain science, funny personal stories and painful doctorate program homework complaints… okay, maybe I'll avoid that last one. Regardless, I hope to offer insights and invite the same while enjoying a cup of coffee with the autism, neuroscience, psycophysiology, parenting, spiritual, thinking, comedic, curious community! If that leaves you out, I'm sorry and suggest you try on one of the many hats. One is bound to fit!
Q: How can parents model patience to children while we wait out this pandemic?
I am often posed this question, by parents and reporters, with phrasing that is some version of “while we wait this out.”
Here’s the thing: The solution, the answer to this question, is buried in the question itself. Children of all ages are very grounded in the present, so implying to them that they are “waiting it out” also implies to them (and the parents) they are missing out; that now is not as good as then or later. The question itself tells us that staying home is difficult.
But, is it?
By seeing everything as a phase opportunity you shift the focus back into the present and the stress automatically lessens.
Dr. Lynette Louise with playing on a blanket in the grass with one of her toddler granddaughters.
While you’re in this phase, tell jokes and laugh about not having to hug people with bad breath or scratchy beards. Talk about it at the child’s level, make it relatable, make it a gift. Remote schooling means sleeping till the last minute and eating breakfast while you work. YAHOO! Wearing masks hides pimples and stained teeth, makes you look mysterious and is easier to play ‘guess who’ when you meet up with old friends. Teach about understanding people using body language and eye expressions.
Most of all, make it a special year or two with opportunities like learning social media etiquette and focusing on the benefits of the moment. These are skills you and your child need. They will benefit you for life.
Bonus: There’s no better time than the present to put home economics and shop class back into the curriculum. No better time to teach what you know (and learn what they know) rather than abdicating to academics.
Let’s model patience during this pandemic. We can help ourselves do so by recognizing this as an opportunity to be explored and exploited rather than waited out.
Welcome to my Brainy Lady blog! This is where I get to take off the doctor’s coat (it's not mine--yet), tie it around my waist and share autism tips, surprising brain science, funny personal stories and painful doctorate program homework complaints… okay, maybe I'll avoid that last one. Regardless, I hope to offer insights and invite the same while enjoying a cup of coffee with the autism, neuroscience, psycophysiology, parenting, spiritual, thinking, comedic, curious community! If that leaves you out, I'm sorry and suggest you try on one of the many hats. One is bound to fit!
Lynette Louise aka THE BRAIN BROAD dances with her son, Dar.
It’s important to move.
For some, waking up, getting motivated, and meeting a brand new day with intention isn’t as much of a challenge as staying motivated and clear on goals and intentions throughout the day is. Particularly for folks finding themselves at home and entirely responsible for keeping themselves motivated and clear on their intentions throughout the days, weeks, and months.
I want to step in here and offer a simple but important tip: move.
It will increase blood flow and hence oxygen, as well as the flow of hormones and electrolytes, through your brain and body. Also, movement can help interrupt your perseverative thoughts and bring about a state of emotional/physiological balance.
If you’re sitting all day you will likely become steeped in anxiety or depression which you will crave alleviating with food, sleep, emotional outbursts, or mood altering substances.
But if you move – often and with purpose – you probably won’t swing so dysfunctionally out of balance. In fact, you may fully reset back into comfort every time you move. And even if you don’t you will at least be closer to a state of balance then you are without physical action. So when you feel yourself struggling to focus, when you experience a dip in motivation, or begin to feel anxious leading to a state of overwhelm, take breaks and move. Eat an apple, take a walk, sing a song, dance.
If movement doesn’t solve the problem something else may be going on.
It’s important to know the difference between being stressed due to a psychological issue or a belief-driven psychological one. Knowing your own brain and body is important. If you’re working and you hear or see a piece of news that frightens you, that’s belief-driven. If you’re working and there’s simply a downturn in your mood, maybe you need to eat. Know the difference between your physiology and your psychology. Even though they beget each other, if you practice paying attention to yourself you should come to know what the core issue is.
So, move your body, stop and think about the problem, assess if you’re in an emergency right now – if so, deal with the emergency. If not, let it go and dance a happy jig, get some skin to skin time with a loved one or take a nap.To be honest, most problems are easier to solve than we tend to realize.
It’s important to move.
Move and behave in a balanced way full of social joy, good sleep, healthy food and physical movement. Your brain and body will follow.
Looking for something to dance and sing along to? Let’s sing about finding balance. 😉
Welcome to my Brainy Lady blog! This is where I get to take off the doctor’s coat (it's not mine--yet), tie it around my waist and share autism tips, surprising brain science, funny personal stories and painful doctorate program homework complaints… okay, maybe I'll avoid that last one. Regardless, I hope to offer insights and invite the same while enjoying a cup of coffee with the autism, neuroscience, psycophysiology, parenting, spiritual, thinking, comedic, curious community! If that leaves you out, I'm sorry and suggest you try on one of the many hats. One is bound to fit!
I never wanted to be a whiner but I was. He asked me to breathe from the diaphragm and I laid out all my excuses. Complained of pain near my liver where scar tissue and adhesions glued my diaphragm to my rib cage. He smiled and said, “Let’s do Mee Meh Maw.” I felt silly but I was paying him so I tried to stay on pitch. My throat tightened and I whined about being sexually abused which left a psychological scarring that closed my throat whenever I was nervous. He listened sympathetically and said, “Let’s work with the lips. Sing b-b-b-b-b-b.” Again, I felt silly. This time embarrassed to be taking singing so seriously; as if I had any talent at all in that arena. With so many resistant thoughts in my head I couldn’t match the notes, let alone stay in key. Pitch and tone weren’t even a thing at that moment. I sighed to calm my rapid heartbeat and relax my tightened throat. The sigh had a tone and he said, “Good.”
And that is how it started.
Mitch and I have done a lot of projects and shows together. We have written music and recorded CDs as well as television scores. I always love working with him. He holds me up and makes me better. And until the coronavirus I had him come by whenever possible and work with me at my piano so that I might become better. My piano faces him towards the wall and I sing behind him mainly because my home has been overtaken by toys and children. The piano is nestled away for less exposure to toddler composers playing with their feet.
Mitch accepts whatever excuse I bring to the table. He allows for the challenge of teaching a great-grandmother with a babe in her arms and an autistic man child moaning along. But no matter what excuse I bring to the table he never lowers the bar. We pick up where we left off and he asks for more.
We begin with warmups. They have gone from being the worst part to my favorite part and when I am particular needy I do more vocal exercises than songs.
Here is how it works: During the exercises, he is the boss. I do whatever he says and we sing scales and arpeggios and make weird noises with mouth, lips, tongue etc. After every single run he says “good” or “excellent” or “fantastic” or “Ok” or “Great” mixed with the occasional, “Listen to your pitch on the top note,” and frequent “breath” “amazing” “wonderful!” Then we switch, and I am the boss. I sing my songs and tell him what I’m after, and he tells me how to get it. Some days I can’t get enough of the warm-ups. So we stay at it the whole time. With his face toward the wall I sometimes imagine that he is being insincere and rolling his eyes at my not quite perfect tone, vocal inflexibility, whining. So while I benefit from emotional support and a positive attitude while I oxygenate and warm-up and focus on the present, I still occasionally flinch with a slight echo of low self-esteem.
And then the pandemic hit and we had to shift to facetime lessons.
As it turns out, he means it when he compliments me. He enjoys my singing style and actually likes my voice. And since I think he is a musical genius his opinion feeds mine and my self-esteem has exploded and my whining stopped. Suddenly I can riff on pitch, hear tone, trill and dance about with the melody.
This is the recipe for success I use with brain challenged people. I trained and educated to get this knowledge. Worked hard to become a behavioral expert that understands and improves brain function. Mitch just did it out of his intrinsic love and passion for music.
_________________________
The Recipe
#1 The coach is the boss. The expert who teaches. (S)he shores you up by caring and complimenting. Looking for the successes and building on that. The compliments come at any point within which the student might wonder how they are doing. Sometimes that is every 5 seconds or so. The compliment eradicates the uncertainty and allows the person to refocus and go further. After enough of this (usually 45 min or so) the expert position is shifted to the student.
#2 Now it is the student who guides the use of time. With the student in the expert position choosing (in this case) the song, the style, the lyrics etc, the coach becomes the supporter. The coach brings their superior knowledge of the subject into the arrangement, guiding workable choices with an eye on supporting the student so that they can achieve their goal. Whatever that may be. The coach does not decide what holds value, for that is the student’s place. The coach just inserts enough accuracy to make execution possible.
_____________________________
I am nearly 65 and Mitch still does this for me. He shores me up. He tells me I’m great, fantastic, wonderful when I am. He tells me how to adjust and improve when I am not. Then we feel good while he tells me I am great, fantastic, amazing all over again. He never leaves me floundering in a state of uncertainty, he tells me every time I am right, and when I am not he tells me how to do it differently so that I can be right again. He does all of this from the perspective of someone who understands step by step learning. He solidifies my accomplishments at every step in the road. He asks for more but not for too much. He never withheld his compliments until I succeeded at singing in operatic tones when I was still struggling with folk music. Instead, he complimented every improvement I made in the direction of greater control and vocal range.
Mitch builds my confidence so that I can become and do what I want to become and do. He never tries to make me into anything other than what I ask to be. We collaborate often because we are equals. Even as each of us has our own expertise.
This simple rhythm is the recipe for leadership.
Teaching, parenting, governing, influencing anyone to become more of what they want to be requires trusting that what they choose for themself is what they should become. It requires stepping into the supporter position. It requires pointing them in the right direction, standing in the way of failure and giving them the companionship with which to practice. It does not require pushing. It requires that you stay on pitch and in key with a beautiful tone so that you might use your voice to stir emotions, rejuvenate, and inspire.
If you don’t understand how, perhaps Mitch Kaplan can teach you to sing.
Welcome to my Brainy Lady blog! This is where I get to take off the doctor’s coat (it's not mine--yet), tie it around my waist and share autism tips, surprising brain science, funny personal stories and painful doctorate program homework complaints… okay, maybe I'll avoid that last one. Regardless, I hope to offer insights and invite the same while enjoying a cup of coffee with the autism, neuroscience, psycophysiology, parenting, spiritual, thinking, comedic, curious community! If that leaves you out, I'm sorry and suggest you try on one of the many hats. One is bound to fit!
The weather is changing, family-oriented holidays are around the corner, our atmosphere and environment are charged with an assumption of happiness and supportive gatherings.
Yet for far too many this time of year, infused as it is with manipulative marketing campaigns and shifting weather patterns, can exacerbate or even create exactly the opposite feelings in generally comfortable people.
It can be even far worse for people who struggle at the best of times.
Truth be told, where my promise to clients of free phone calls and emails for life is concerned, this is my busiest time of the year. Also, where emergency appointments for clients and their close friends or family is concerned, again, this is my busiest time.
For those of you who are not my clients (or their close friends and family) and who are without a trustworthy and helpful therapist or counselor to call when things take a shift for the worse, I would like to offer a few tips for finding that perfect counselor. One who will help you not need them but also be available when you require a tune-up.
I suggest:
1) Pick a counselor that believes in firing their clients because they have grown healthy.
2) Go to a counselor for the purpose of becoming healthy, NOT for the purpose of coping or venting or being validated in your suffering.
3) Know that feeling better is better but that you need a little help in understanding how to do that.
4) NEVER see a counselor you do not like.
5) Imagine yourself happy, healthy and enjoying life. Make it believable by putting it in a context that matches you. If you are a waitress, imagine yourself as a happy comfortable waitress; not a movie star.
6) Choose a counselor you can afford.
7) Decide in advance how many sessions you will need. This can be revamped, but without believing in an endpoint you may never choose to be well.
I retired a few years ago from accepting new clients, but if you are struggling and want to reach out for a consult, don’t hesitate to use my contact info. Message me on social media or email me here: crazy2sane@gmail.com
Though I’m not accepting new clients, I always take time to help people.
This season is filled with joy for many.
I’d love for that to be true for you.
We all have a right and the ability to own that joy.
