AUTISM IN POLYVAGAL TERMS

A vital new framework for working with clients on the spectrum.

By presenting the autism diagnosis through the lens of a disordered nervous system - that is, by applying Polyvagal Theory - this book opens new avenues for intervention and treatment, while challenging age-old assumptions of what autism means and how it presents itself. Here, Sean Inderbitzen - a therapist as well as someone living with autism - encourages clinicians to conceptualize their autistic clients' difficulties with social interactions and cognitive flexibility through a polyvagal lens. Inderbitzen argues that individuals with autism can be thought of as having deficits in accessing their ventral vagal nervous system - the system which promotes flexibility and connection to others. The book explores strategies to address these challenges through familiar tools such as motivational interviewing, clinical social work pedagogy, sensorimotor psychotherapy, mindfulness, biofeedback, and cultivating a sense of safety. Autism in Polyvagal Terms is an essential new text for anyone who works with individuals on the autism spectrum. Sean M. Inderbitzen, DSW, LCSW, an autistic psychotherapist and researcher through Mayo Clinic Health System, resides in Rice Lake, WI, with his two sons. He regularly trains healthcare professionals to be more confident when working with people on the spectrum. Stephen W. Porges, PhD, originator of Polyvagal Theory, is a Distinguished University Scientist and founding director of the Kinsey Institute Traumatic Stress Research Consortium at Indiana University, and a professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina. He lives in Atlantic Beach, Florida.