PROGRAMS

Who are the programs for?

People that identify as autistic /ADHDers) AND people who do not but experience long-term difficulties with:

self-Identity, feeling unsure about who you are, what you want or need

chronic feelings of overwhelm, stress, unable to cope.

Feeling "stuck in your head" and disconnected from your body

asking for what you need, establishing healthy boundaries and relationships.

having difficulty sustaining focus and creating order to manage everyday life demands such as study, work, household.

feeling stuck, unable to move forward and make your life "happen", struggling with life's transitional stages.

How can the programs help ME?

Anticipated program outcomes include:

a stronger sense of knowing who you are and what you want, and importantly, do not want

improved executive functioning for organising and managing life's every day demands: sustaining focus, planning, problem solving, sequencing of tasks

reduced feelings of stress and overwhelm, increased awareness of & ability to regulate emotions & energy

enhanced capacity to become unstuck, to move forward and achieve your life goals

greater cognitive flexibility to cope with, adapt to and initiate change

improved capacity to form and maintain relationships and establish boundaries that serve you

Increased ability to create order, to reduce long-held negative patterns in daily life

Davis Concepts for Life℠

Provides a framework for self-understanding, and improved clarity of thinking about the world around you, supporting you to participate more fully in your life, in line with your values

1. Self -regulation tools: Introduction and in-session practice of tools to help you improve orientation/focus, release stress, and to monitor and adjust energy levels

2. Concepts for life: Gentle, participatory introduction (including clay modelling) of a series of sequential, essential , abstract, and foundational Life Concepts such as ME, Change, Emotion, Order, Time, Relationship.

3. Exploring the concepts: Tailored activities to explore and experience the concept in the environment around us

4. Applying the concepts: With a stronger sense of self and the concepts for life now part of your identity, you are ready to apply the concepts through exercises involving learning strategies to:

establish order in the physical environment

explore a more positive outcome to long held patterns that have led to undesired consequences for you

developing self-responsibility in areas of your life where you want to create meaningful change for yourself

DAVIS AUTISM APPROACH®

The Autism Approach program involves the same elements as the Concepts for Life program and is for people that identify as autistic

Autism Approach participants may benefit from additional time to complete the program

A support person such as a partner or family member may be involved in some way with the participant in the program. This can look different for different people and we can work that out together

What can I expect in the sessions?

We will work alongside each other one to one, usually one day a week,approx 10am - 3pm, in the peaceful surrounds of the SWell Centre in Hawthorn, Melbourne.

Meaningful change from inside out, takes time. Programs usually involve between 100- 120 hours (approximately 20-24 days) as they are gentle, tailored to you and progress at your pace.

I will introduce you to simple self-regulation tools, to help you perceive external stimuli more accurately and monitor and respond to your emotions and energy. Through experiencing the benefits of co-regulation, and actual practice of the tools in session together, you will build capacity for tuning in and responding to your body's cues and needs when you are out of sessions in your everyday life.

I will introduce each of the Life Concepts in sequential order, guiding you to make clay models to represent the abstract concept, providing you with the clarity of a mental picture to support mastery of the concept.

Next we spend time together exploring the concept. It is only with experiencing the concept they can become part of us, so that we can think with them in our everyday lives. As the concepts are truly for life, explorations involve experiencing the simple magic of everyday tasks in the room, around the SWell Centre and out in the community around us. I tailor explorations to your interests and preferences, for example we might pot a herb or head into the kitchen to make a snack to experience the concept of Time

With the life concepts established, you are ready to apply the concepts through a series of exercises introducing and practicing strategies in areas of your life where you want to create change for yourself

We welcome fidgeting (some fidgets provided), stimming, reduced or no eye contact, reduced/no chit-chat.

WHAT OUR WORK TOGETHER IS NOT

Behaviour training /social skills training:. I do not promote social norms or neurotypical expectations. Our work is for you, to develop your unique, authentic self in a safe space that meets you as you are.

Art class: you do not need any skill in clay work. The clay is simply used as an effective way to represent the "fuzzy" abstract ideas/concepts in a concrete visual way, so you can think clearly with the image of what you created.

Talk therapy: the programs are gentle, affirming, hands- on and often even fun!