Mental health is often ignored and overlooked. For far too long, we’ve neglected to take care of ourselves in favor of meeting physical expectations. Let’s change that.
Thank you for taking care of yourself.
Let me describe someone to you. They’re smart — often very smart. Socially perceptive in ways that surprise people. Creative. Funny. When things are good, they’re genuinely magnetic. And then a demand enters the picture. Not a big demand. Sometimes the smallest thing — put your shoes on, it’s timeRead More »PDA Is Not a Behavior Problem. Stop Treating It Like One.
This presentation featured Tessa Watkins and Liz Peace, LPC, at the 13th annual Disability & Mental Health Summit. This talk was given in person on May 7, 2026, in Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
People keep asking me when the political climate is going to settle down. As if my existence is a weather pattern. As if what they’re describing as a political debate is not, for me and people like me, just… Tuesday. As if being at the intersection of multiple identities thatRead More »When Your Identity Is “Controversial”: Living at the Intersection of Being Queer, Neurodivergent, and Done With Explaining Yourself
Learn more about the physical changes of fight-or-flight. Before we were at the top of the food-chain, we relied on our sympathetic nervous system for survival. Now we don’t need it so much as a survival instinct, but we still have it and it is the basis for panic attacks,Read More »The physical bodily changes in Fight-or-Flight
“Diagnosed as an Autistic Adult” was a presentation featuring Tessa Watkins and Dr. Jessica Maher at Rep. Dan Miller’s 11th annual Disability & Mental Health Summit. This talk was given in person on April 19, 2024, in Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
The 11th annual Disability & Mental Health Summit will be April 18-19 and the we’re currently looking for speaker proposals! Deadline for submission is November 12, 2023!
Am I bad at parenting or do I have a challenging child? This question may be a sign you’re having an existential crisis.
The 10th annual Disability & Mental Health Summit will be Thursday, May 11, 2023, at the Beth El Synagogue. This year’s program will feature two keynote sessions, each of which will be followed by a legislative panel. A morning panel will focus on mental health, and an afternoon panel willRead More »Disability & Mental Health Summit 2023
My partner, 4-year-old autistic child, and I flew transatlantic to visit family and we had one of the worst meltdowns of our lives in the airport.
My mother, a single parent, couldn’t compete with the perfect father that lived in my head.
What better way to learn about autism than from an autistic person? Learn why autistics are unmasking for their mental health.
Learn about the Ring Theory created by Susan Silk and how it can mitigate harm caused by miscommunication in neurodiverse families.
