What are Non-Traditional Therapies? | Ep. 179

Samantha and Lauren discuss non-traditional, child-led approaches to therapy for kids diagnosed with autism, ADHD, and related needs, contrasting them with more compliance-based, clinical models and emphasizing that therapy should match the child. They highlight alternatives that can complement traditional services like OT, speech, and PT, including equine-assisted services, animal-assisted interventions, aquatic/swim therapy (including water safety), creative arts therapies (music, art, dance/movement, drama) provided by credentialed professionals, nature-based/outdoor therapy, and technology/gaming/special-interest-based approaches like Minecraft and GarageBand. They stress these therapies are not about reducing autistic traits but improving quality of life and participation, and they outline how to evaluate legitimacy by asking about evidence, risks, credentials, meaningful progress measurement, and goals, while warning against “cure,” “detox,” guarantees, and testimonial-only expensive programs.   00:00 Welcome and Topic Setup 00:22 Traditional Therapy Norms 02:10 Why Child-Led Matters 05:12 Equine Assisted Therapy 07:45 Animal Assisted Options 09:52 Aquatic Swim Therapy 13:19 Creative Arts Therapies 20:33 Nature-Based Outdoor Therapy 23:32 Tech Gaming Special Interests 27:44 Spotting Legit Therapies 29:18 Red Flags and Research 31:51 Final Takeaways and Wrap Up   Connect with Samantha Foote!Website: https://everybrainisdifferent.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everybrainisdifferentYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@everybrainisdifferent