The Concept
Creating meaningful relationships when accompanying
people on the autism spectrum
Through my scientific work and many years of exchange with families and professionals who accompany autistic people in everyday life, a concept has emerged that focusses on the quality of contact and relationship work.
Since the client's inner frame of reference is often difficult to comprehend due to the autistic disorder, it is important to establish a meaningful relationship and to develop the ability to react spontaneously to the client. It requires a special sensitivity for non-verbal experience and involves very subtle, almost imperceptible reactions that are often overlooked. For example: Change in facial expression, breathing rhythm or eye movements, body receding or barely audible sounds. Such reactions offer opportunities for contact.
A successful connection is the basis for all further therapeutic processes. Only when the communication channels are open can we accompany the autistic person out of the isolation and reduce challenging or auto-aggressive behaviour in the long term.
The concept teaches methods to successfully develop meaningful relationships with autistic clients. Elements from music and movement therapy serve as a bridge to initiate contact. The body's own resources such as voice, timbre, breathing and movement offer opportunities to express and regulate emotions. Through individual interventions, the client's experience can be stimulated and promoted, and his/her perception functions can be strengthened. At the same time, we reflect on our own interaction behaviour in order to develop competence for relationship building and to be able to support people with autism in a mindful and empathetic way.
Integral approaches are becoming increasingly important, especially in the accompaniment of people with contact disorders: The basis for a profound and sustainable relationship is a stable and at the same time dynamic environment, which we develop within the framework of the process work through workshops, supervision and case discussions.
Building bridges.
Offer
I accompany family members and professionals with the aim of promoting the quality of the relationship with their autistic child or client in a holistic and profound way.
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Through a systemic view of the environment, resources and stressors, as well as through methods of mindfulness, one's own self-efficacy and resilience are sustainably strengthened in personal and professional actions. Patterns of interaction, countertransference feelings and reactions are reflected upon in order to develop confidence in action.