Unfiltered Autistic with Amanda McGuinness

What does meaningful support for a child or young person with a PDA profile actually look like, particularly when conventional approaches to parenting, teaching and education are not working?
In this episode of The Unfiltered Autistic Podcast, Amanda McGuinness is joined by Laura Kerbey, Autism and education consultant, author, trainer and specialist in supporting Autistic and PDA children and young people.
With almost 25 years of experience in education, Laura brings an extensive understanding of Autism, PDA, education and alternative approaches to learning. She began her career in Supported Learning within Further Education before becoming an Autism Champion, assistant headteacher and later headteacher of a specialist school for Autistic children and young people.
Laura is the founder of PAST, Positive Assessments Support and Training, and co-founder of Kite Therapeutic Learning, which provides individualised education for children and young people who are unable to access conventional school environments.
Laura is also neurodivergent herself and speaks openly during the episode about being identified as ADHD in adulthood, the self-understanding that followed and the importance of recognising self-identification as valid.
At the heart of this conversation is PDA, autonomy and the importance of understanding what may be happening beneath demand avoidance.
Laura explores the movement away from conceptualising PDA simply as an anxiety-driven need for control towards recognising the central importance of autonomy. Using her memorable car analogy, Laura explains how attempts to direct, control or take over can feel like somebody reaching across and taking the steering wheel.
Instead, she asks parents and professionals to consider how they can become the trusted passenger, supporting the individual while respecting their need for autonomy, agency and meaningful influence.
Amanda and Laura discuss:
• what PDA is and how our understanding of PDA continues to evolve
• Persistent Drive for Autonomy and the importance of autonomy
• why PDA is better understood as “can’t, not won’t”
• why demands can affect things a PDA person genuinely wants to do
• internal demands and expectations
• nervous system sensitivity and anxiety
• why trust and felt safety must come before learning
• becoming a facilitator rather than directing the individual
• building authentic, equal relationships with PDA children and young people
• language, tone of voice and reducing unnecessary pressure
• why PDA learners may need to understand the value and purpose of learning
• interest-led and child-led approaches to education
• perfectionism and the demand of having to finish work
• why reward and punishment approaches can be particularly problematic
• PDA and school distress or difficulty accessing education
• the transition from primary to secondary education
• alternative and individualised approaches to learning
• supporting a PDA learner to reconnect with school
• safe people and safe spaces
• flexible timetables, soft starts and adapted school days
• supporting autonomy while maintaining safety.
For educators, one of the most important messages from this episode is deceptively simple: relationship comes first.
Laura explains that a PDA learner needs to experience the adult as someone who is genuinely safe and trustworthy. Rather than positioning ourselves as the person controlling the journey, we can work alongside the young person, facilitate learning and demonstrate that we are on their team.
The conversation also challenges the misconception that PDA children and young people simply do not want to learn. Laura describes PDA learners who are deeply curious and motivated to learn when learning feels meaningful, relevant and accessible to them.

What happens when conventional parenting advice simply does not work for your Autistic child?
In this episode of The Unfiltered Autistic Podcast, Amanda McGuinness is joined by Lisa Galley, Autism consultant, author, speaker, former Speech and Language Therapist and founder of the Autism Parenting Revolution community.
Lisa is also the parent of three Autistic children, now adults, bringing together decades of parenting experience with her professional background supporting Autistic children and families.
At the heart of this conversation is Lisa’s powerful Permission to Parent Differently approach and her new book, Parenting Your Autistic Child: Permission to Do It Differently.
Amanda and Lisa explore what it can mean to raise an Autistic child in a world where much of the parenting advice families receive has been developed around neurotypical expectations.
They discuss the pressure parents can experience to follow conventional approaches, even when their instincts and their child’s responses are telling them that something different is needed.
The conversation explores:
• parenting Autistic children differently from neurotypical expectations
• nervous system regulation, connection and felt safety
• trusting your instincts as a parent
• matching expectations to an Autistic child’s capacity
• letting go of parental guilt, shame and comparison
• parental burnout and protecting your own nervous system
• maintaining your identity while parenting an Autistic child
• screen time, food and other areas where parents can experience judgement
• PDA and parenting children with a PDA profile
• changing communication and reducing unnecessary pressure
• declarative language and recognising how tone can communicate expectation
• parenting Autistic children into adolescence and adulthood
• loneliness, isolation and the importance of finding an Autism parenting community.
Lisa also speaks candidly about her own parenting journey, including recognising that approaches she encountered professionally did not always align with what her own Autistic children needed.
A particularly important theme throughout the episode is the difference between lowering expectations and matching expectations to capacity.
The conversation also explores PDA and Autism, with Lisa reflecting on what she has learned about parenting her PDA son and the importance of collaboration, communication, nervous system understanding and not interpreting protective responses as something personal.
For parents who have felt judged because their child eats the same foods, needs more screen time, cannot manage particular expectations, struggles with school, experiences distress around demands or simply needs life to look different, this conversation offers another perspective.
As Lisa describes her new book, it is a permission slip, a conversation and a toolkit, designed to help parents develop the confidence and courage to do things differently.
This episode will be particularly valuable for parents and carers of Autistic children, teenagers and adults, as well as teachers, SNAs, Speech and Language Therapists, Occupational Therapists, educators and other professionals seeking a deeper understanding of neuroaffirmative Autism parenting and family life.
About Lisa Galley
Lisa Galley is an Autism consultant, speaker, author and former Speech and Language Therapist. She is the founder of the Autism Parenting Revolution community and combines her professional expertise with her lived experience of raising three Autistic children into adulthood.
Her work supports families to understand Autism through nervous system regulation, connection and wellbeing, moving away from compliance-based approaches and helping parents develop greater confidence in parenting their Autistic child differently.
Lisa’s debut book, Parenting Your Autistic Child: Permission to Do It Differently, is published by Penguin Random House.

In this episode of The Unfiltered Autistic Podcast, Amanda McGuinness is joined by internationally recognised occupational therapist, researcher and interoception specialist Kelly Mahler OTD, OTR/L, FAOTA for an important conversation about Autism, interoception, toilet learning, regulation, bodily autonomy and felt safety.Kelly challenges us to think differently about what is happening when an Autistic child or adult experiences difficulties with toileting. Rather than beginning with the toilet itself, Kelly explains why we need to consider the whole person, including their nervous system, internal body signals, sensory experiences, previous experiences of pain and whether their body feels safe.One of the central messages of this conversation is that toilet learning begins with felt safety. Kelly discusses how stress can affect our connection with internal body signals and why supporting regulation and safety within the body and bathroom environment may need to come before expectations around using the toilet.Amanda and Kelly also explore how previous experiences of constipation, painful pooing or other distressing experiences can continue to influence the body's response. As Kelly explains, sometimes a past experience can still be “living in the body”, requiring patience, safety and opportunities to develop new experiences rather than increased pressure or compliance.The conversation explores:What interoception is and why it mattersInteroception and AutismInteroception within toilet learningWhy felt safety and regulation are foundationalConstipation, painful elimination and the body's memory of previous experiencesMoving away from compliance-based approachesSupporting bodily autonomy and trusting what the body communicatesWhy saying “no” can itself represent listening to the bodyUnderstanding and believing individual internal experiencesInteroception and non-speaking Autistic peopleRecognising communication beyond spoken languageSupporting people to develop curiosity about their own body signalsWhy different people can experience the same sensation very differentlyKelly also introduces her new children's book, Noticing My Body Signals: A Science Lab Adventure, co-authored with Madeline Mahler. The book is the first in a three-part journey reflecting Kelly's Notice, Connect, Regulate interoception framework and supports children to explore their individual body signals through curiosity and experimentation.About Kelly MahlerKelly Mahler, OTD, OTR/L, FAOTA is an occupational therapist, researcher, author and international speaker with 20 years of experience supporting school-aged children and adults.Kelly earned her Doctorate in Occupational Therapy from Misericordia University and is an adjunct faculty member at Elizabethtown College and Misericordia University. She is co-principal investigator on several research projects exploring areas including interoception, self-regulation, trauma and Autism.Kelly has received multiple awards for her work, including the 2020 American Occupational Therapy Association Emerging and Innovative Practice Award, and has authored numerous resources advancing understanding of interoception and regulation.This episode offers an important reframing for parents, Autistic people, occupational therapists, educators, SNAs, early years professionals and anyone supporting Autistic children or adults with interoception or toilet learning.Find out more about Kelly Mahler and her interoception resources:Kelly Mahler's official website

ACCESS THE FREE AUTISM CLASS RESOURCE LIBRARY: https://www.flourishautismconsultancyandtraining.com/autism-class-support
Welcome to Inside the Autism Classroom, a brand-new six-part podcast series on The Unfiltered Autistic Podcast, co-hosted by Amanda McGuinness, Autism & PDA Specialist, and Elaine Fitzgerald, experienced Autism Class teacher.
Created specifically for Autism Class teachers, this is the first podcast series of its kind dedicated to supporting educators with the practical realities of teaching in an Autism Class through a neuroaffirmative, evidence-informed lens.
Whether you're preparing to open your very first Autism Class or looking to strengthen your existing practice, this series combines professional expertise, lived experience, and practical classroom insight to support you every step of the way.
Across six episodes, we explore:
Planning your Autism Class
Regulation & Co-regulation
Working Together: Collaborating with Parents, SNAs and School Teams
Target Setting & Teaching Approaches
Training, Professional Learning & Resources
Assessment Challenges & Adaptations
Alongside the series, you'll gain access to our FREE Autism Class Resource Library, co-designed by Amanda and Elaine, featuring practical downloads, templates, classroom resources, and tools to support your teaching journey. The library forms part of Flourish Autism Consultancy & Training's commitment to providing evidence-informed, neuroaffirmative resources that strengthen inclusive educational practice.
If you're an Autism Class teacher, Special Needs Assistant (SNA), school leader, student teacher, or education professional, we hope this series becomes a trusted resource that supports you in creating classrooms where Autistic pupils feel safe, understood, and able to flourish.
Subscribe to The Unfiltered Autistic Podcast and join us for practical conversations that bridge research, lived experience, and everyday classroom practice.

ACCESS FREE AUTISM CLASS RESOURCE LIBRARY: https://www.flourishautismconsultancyandtraining.com/autism-class-supportEpisode 6: Assessment Challenges & Adaptations
Every Autistic learner deserves assessment that recognises their strengths, honours their communication, and accurately reflects what they know and can do.
In the final episode of Inside the Autism Classroom, Amanda McGuinness and experienced Autism Class teacher Elaine Fitzgerald explore one of the most challenging aspects of Autism Class teaching: assessment. Together, they examine the limitations of traditional assessment methods and discuss how teachers can adapt their practice to better recognise the strengths, abilities, and learning of Autistic pupils.
Designed for Autism Class teachers, SNAs, and education professionals, this practical conversation explores the realities of assessing children whose communication, regulation, sensory processing, or learning profiles may not be accurately represented through conventional assessment tools. Amanda and Elaine discuss why meaningful assessment should move beyond compliance and performance, focusing instead on authentic participation, teacher observation, and understanding each child's unique profile.
Elaine shares her experiences of using practical assessment approaches, including checklists, ongoing teacher observation, adapted literacy assessments, and creative ways to gather meaningful evidence of progress. The discussion also examines the need for more accessible, technology-based assessment tools that better reflect the strengths of many Autistic learners and reduce unnecessary barriers to participation.
Throughout the episode, Amanda and Elaine encourage teachers to remain curious, reflective, and flexible, recognising that assessment should guide teaching rather than define a child's potential. They also discuss the importance of advocating for appropriate resources, collaborating with multidisciplinary professionals, and ensuring that assessment always supports learning, wellbeing, and meaningful educational planning.
Whether you are new to an Autism Class or looking to strengthen your assessment practice, this episode offers practical ideas, honest reflections, and evidence-informed guidance to help you assess learning in ways that are strengths-based, neuroaffirmative, and truly centred on the individual Autistic learner.
Key topics include:
Assessment in Autism Classes

Strengths-based assessment approaches

Teacher observation and practical evidence gathering

Adapting literacy and classroom assessments

Checklists and meaningful progress monitoring

Technology and accessible assessment tools

Neuroaffirmative educational assessment

Individualised planning for Autistic learners

Working alongside multidisciplinary professionals

Practical strategies for Autism Class teachers