Antigone Oreopoulos: Rethinking Autism Through a Sensory-Motor Lens with Dr. Antigone Oreopoulos

Podcast: The David Kaufer Podcast: The Lighter Side of the Spectrum · David Kaufer

Opublikowano: 2026-07-31

David welcomes Dr. Antigone Oreopoulos, an Edmonton-based physiotherapist, researcher, and mom of an 11-year-old non-speaking autistic son who communicates via letter board, to discuss how communication for many non-speaking and unreliably speaking autistic people cannot be separated from movement. They explore the disconnect between intention and action, how motor planning challenges can be mislabeled as refusal or lack of comprehension, and why sensory-motor impairment should be recognized as a core autism feature in diagnostic frameworks. Antigone shares powerful descriptions from spellers about bodies that “daydream,” critiques behavior-focused approaches like ABA when volitional motor control is limited, and highlights research (incl...