About

Who benefits most from the work I do?

Folks who are missing some major connection in their lives.

Whether it’s parents whose children are disconnected from them due to Autism Spectrum Disorder or some similar social difference, adults who are having trouble connecting in their important relationships (social, professional, family, romantic), or professionals looking to boost their teaching or therapy in my areas of specialization, working with me is about finding practical and lasting solutions you can apply right away!

And by the way, no previous diagnosis is necessary; and I do not give a formal diagnosis. (However, if you are seeking a formal diagnosis for yourself or your child, I can help connect you with the right people.)

What’s it like to work with me?

So, first, let me tell you what it’s NOT like: There’re NO drilling skills and NO rote, out-of-context activities. (YUCK!) Everything we do together will flow in a natural, organic progression that comes from what’s most important to YOU in the long-term and every step of the way.

Otherwise, how does it help YOU to be constantly struggling to meet my benchmarks and my goals…? That just doesn’t make any sense.

So, how it goes is this:

First, I get to know you and your situation: what’s working, where things are hard, and where you want to be.

Then, I help you understand what’s going on – why certain things are going well and other things – not so much.

After that, we meet regularly (usually, every week at first, until we get a good flow going). These meetings follow kind of a spiral (upward) pattern that involves…

…reflection on what we decided to work on for the previous week. If it went well, we would celebrate. If not, we workshop it in the session.

Either way, we use most of the session time working through something that will take you to your “Edge+1.” That is, where things are already going well +1 step toward your goal. This will provide a manageable level of challenge, taking you from your current situation to where you want to be.

A lot of times, I’ll teach you new concepts that help you understand what isn’t working so well right now and how to make it better.

Then we come up with our plan moving forward, which is what you’re going to do during the week to help the shift stick (because changes don’t really stick if you only do them with me… it’s gotta happen in the real world, too). Also, we’ll get clear on what we want to do the next time we meet.

Between sessions, I usually give assignments on this nifty platform that includes: A VAST WORLD of information, always evolving, based on the latest research on autism and social differences. A global community of parents, individuals, and professionals are involved so you can connect, get feedback on your questions, and share your own experience and expertise with others.

We will also have our own private space with your area on the platform where we’ll communicate between sessions. This is also a great place to add other team members you’d like to include in our work together.

So, that’s it! The next session, we just start the process over again.

That sounds like a lot of work.

Yes and no. Change that lasts requires learning new things and doing things differently, and that can feel like work at times. However, I’ll always check in when planning for the coming week to see how much change you can handle.

Is this an easy-going week and you’re ready for big changes? Or do you have a zillion things flying, and it’s more of a maintenance, “one small thing,” kind of a week?

The more you clue me in, the more I can tailor our work for what you need. Also, remember, this is NOT a Stop-Life-and-Do-Drills-for-an-Hour-a-Day kind of intervention. This IS a Go-with-the-Flow, Fit-Your-Real-Life kind of thing.

Plus, whenever possible, I try to find hacks to make stuff easier and enlist partners to support you in your work. No worries. You got this.

What kind of changes can I expect?

Healthier connections –

• to self;
• in important relationships;
• even in not-so-important relationships (like the dude at the check-out counter at the grocery, so in that case not a deeper connection, but a more effective interaction and healthy boundaries… unless you like the guy at the grocery, then we can talk more about that…);
• between past-present-future (and therefore better planning and problem-solving ability);
• and between different ideas.

Developmental growth – Our work together will fill in a lot of developmental gaps you might have just figured were a fact of life.

More meaningful relationships – with family, friends… and I guess that guy at the grocery if that’s your thing… but we should probably talk about that first…

Feeling more secure – People are a big part of our world. People are also probably the most unpredictable part of our world. When we don’t *get* people, the world can be a pretty scary place. As we start to *get* people more, it becomes a much friendlier place.

More flow – Folks tend to contact me because something’s been out of sync. Working with me is about getting in sync.

No, not that. The other thing. Anyway, it might be a new experience for you, but once you get there, you’ll like it. I promise.

How long will it take?

That’s up to you. Near the beginning of our work together, we’ll take stock of where you are now and create a clear picture of where you want to be. We’ll check in periodically on how far you’ve come and how close you are to your goal.

My goal is to download into you all the stuff I know that can help you, then help you master it in everyday life. When you feel like you’ve got what you need to get you from where you are to where you’re going, I call that done.

My intention is that you’ll feel something like this:

So, who is this Julie Meyerowitz person?

The first thing you need to know about me is that I’m highly allergic to the phrase, “This child will never…” And I include in that not just kids but also adults (because even we adults are someone’s kids, and we get spoken about like that, too).

Wait a sec, let me get something…

I met a family once who told me they received their daughter’s autism diagnosis together with a long list of all the things their daughter would therefore never do. (WHAT?!?!?!)

And I’ve lost count of the folks who have told me their son/cousin/brother/aunt would never be able to (whatever) because they had AUTISM, and they were already 63, 35, 17, 10 (10?!?!) years old.

NO! Just no.

Lots of professionals will tell you stuff like that. Even folks that people call experts. I’m not that guy.

The latest research tells us that neuroplasticity exists throughout the lifespan. AKA,

Chant this to yourself:

neuroplasticity exists throughout the lifespan neuroplasticity exists throughout the lifespan neuroplasticity exists throughout the lifespan neuroplasticity exists throughout the lifespan neuroplasticity exists throughout the lifespan neuroplasticity exists throughout the lifespan

(Just in case you don’t believe me, check this out: brainsciencepodcast.com/…/153-dowling; and this: www.amazon.com/…/0393712575)

Your thoughts, not mine.

OH! And I’m not an EXPERT, and I hope never to be one. Because if I start thinking I’m an expert, then I’ll think I’ve *arrived*; and I’ll stop growing and moving and that’s like being dead. And if YOU start thinking I’m an expert, you might start letting me do some of your thinking for you and none of us want any of that nonsense.

Here are some of my favorites.

Another thing you should know about me is, this is my favorite mathematical concept:
as·ymp·tote
/ˈasəm(p)ˌtōt/

Learn to pronounce

noun
1. a line that continually approaches a given curve but does not meet it at any finite distance. https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/asymptote (4/29/20)

And while I don’t really have a favorite color (I pretty much love all colors equally), this is my favorite concept that’s represented by a color. Because a lot of things aren’t exactly anything, I think these shades of gray are what make the world interesting… more colorful, actually…

What I will and won’t do.

Knowing these things about me helps you get a sense of what it’s like to work with me. I’m not going to decide stuff for you. I’m not going to do stuff for you.

I won’t do stuff to you in order to get you to produce some exactly right response. And I probably won’t be with you until you’ve arrived all the way perfectly (though, when you get there, I’d love an update on what it’s like!).

I will teach you stuff and help you practice stuff, and I’ll do my human best to download all the stuff that’s in my brain that you need in your brain to get you from where you are to where you want to be, even if you want to (or must) change course. Cool.

If I must, here they are.

And it seems to be a thing for folks to put their creds on their About pages, so I guess I’ll do that here.

In 2000, I received my BA from Goucher College where I majored in Dramatherapy and minored in Russian.

I received an MS in Speech-Language Pathology from TC, Columbia University in 2008 and have been qualified to provide RDI services since 2017.

For fun, I like to hang out with my husband and two awesome daughters; garden, cook (especially maatar paneer), and sew; hikes; wildcrafting; swimming; yoga and pilates; watch tiny house videos.

And permaculture. OMG! Anything permaculture… in fact I’d love to combine that with this one day…