The second part of a two part series. The first is here. While speaking different languages makes relationships difficult, invalidation makes relationships impossible. The med/psych system is losing or failing most neurodivergent people. This is the most common theme I am hearing from patients, parents, teachers, and therapists alike. And it’s not just that we are “falling through the cracks” in…

A measured response to the debate between Porges and Grossman I’ve been studying Polyvagal Theory (PVT) from primary sources and secondary summaries for about 5 years. This framework has allowed me to make sense of my own trauma symptoms and befriend my nervous system instead of working against it. …

An emotional response to Polyvagal Theory researchers My autistic social engagement system is not dysfunctional. My social engagement system hears every nuance in your voice, tracks your body language, and builds a complex editable picture of who you are as a person. My social engagement system easily attunes to animals…

If you’ve been reading my writing for a little while, you might have caught on to the fact that I comprehend autism as something entirely different from the stereotype many people have in their minds when someone says “autism.” …

From the perspective of a trauma-informed positive autistic identity Reader’s Note: Quotes from the DSM-5 appear in regular text. The neurodiversity paradigm perspective appears in italic text written by autistic trauma specialist Janae Elisabeth. The medical model of autism presented in the DSM may be particularly disturbing for autistics to…

What is vagal tone? Vagal tone is the ability of the ventral vagus nerve to regulate the heart beat. It is referred to in medical literature as “cardiac vagal tone.” Vagal tone is measured by tracking heart-rate and breathing rate at the same time. …

A set of graphics by Janae Elisabeth, informed by polyvagal theory —

“Reality simply consists of different points of view.” -Margaret Atwood We the neurodivergent are genetically different. We experience the world through a hypersensitive nervous system which informs every aspect of our thinking, our behavior, and our social values. The dominant social group labels our way of being in the world…