Kate Kallonen Counselling and Psychotherapy

11/09/2025

11/08/2025

☁️

You’re Lucky She’s High Functioning

Am I?
As if this makes her “less autistic “
As if this means she won’t need support,
As if this means she should just be able to cope.

“You’re lucky,” they say.
“Lucky she can talk.
Lucky she’s smart.
Lucky it’s not worse.”

Lucky.
As if watching your child unravel
in a world that won’t slow down
is any kind of luck.

You didn’t see her in that classroom,
the way the lights stabbed at her eyes,
the noise clawed at her nerves,
the way she sat there holding it in
until it broke her from the inside out.

You see a girl who smiles.
I see a girl who masks so hard
she forgets who she is.

You call her “high functioning.”
I call her exhausted.
Fractured.
Trying so damn hard
to survive a world
that keeps calling her lucky.

She comes home and collapses,
every muscle heavy with pretending,
every thought loud with shame
for not being what they expect.

So no,
I’m not lucky.
She’s extraordinary.
But she shouldn’t have to fall apart in private
just to appear fine in public.

That’s not luck.
That’s survival.

For the ones who mask to survive, I see you.

With all My Love.
Michaela

11/07/2025

🌈 Why Novelty Works for PDA Brains

If you’ve ever noticed your PDA child light up when something new or different is introduced, you’ve witnessed the power of novelty.

It’s not about “keeping them entertained” or “rewarding avoidance.”
It’s about how their brain works.

For PDAers, demands trigger a threat response. The nervous system senses loss of autonomy, control, or predictability, and that can send the brain straight into fight, flight, freeze, or fawn.

BUT novelty can change the game.
When something feels new, interesting, or playful, it bypasses the usual “threat” pathways and activates curiosity instead. Curiosity and safety can’t exist in the same moment as threat, and that’s where regulation begins.

So when we:

Switch up the routine 💡

Turn a task into a game 🎲

Introduce a creative twist 🎨

Or simply say, “I wonder what would happen if…” 🤔

We’re not being inconsistent. We’re being neuro-affirming.
We’re helping the PDA brain find safety, flexibility, and engagement again.

🧠 Novelty = Safety through curiosity.
And curiosity opens the door to connection, learning, and growth.

11/07/2025

Sometimes what looks like defiance is really distress.

Children with neurodivergent brains often process information in unique ways. Their brains may struggle to filter or retain information, making it impossible for them to "just listen" in the way you hope. When we start seeing these moments not as willful disobedience, but as signs of overload, everything changes.

Learn more about how Brain First Parenting helps neurodivergent children. www.eileendevine.com

11/06/2025

🌿 🌿

Sometimes healing isn’t about doing more - it’s about softening into what’s already here.

You don’t have to fix every feeling or find all the answers at once.
You can simply notice.
Breathe.
Be with what’s present.

Growth often starts in the quiet moments when we give ourselves permission to slow down, listen inward, and trust the small shifts. 💚

11/06/2025

11/05/2025

💭

We’ve been told that “tough love” builds character — that hardship is what makes children strong.

But what it often builds instead is armour.

When love comes with fear or shame, a child’s nervous system learns to protect rather than trust. Stress hormones rise, safety fades, and love starts to feel like something that has to be earned.

That isn’t resilience — it’s survival.

True strength grows from safety, not fear.
From being guided, not shamed.
From being understood, not controlled.

Because love was never meant to harden us — it was meant to hold us steady while we learn to stand on our own. ❤️

Quote Credit: ❣️

Follow & for more

11/04/2025

Highly recommend!

🚨 CAREGIVER EDUCATION SERIES WITH LISA R. (Speech Language Pathologist/RDI Certified Consultant) 🚨

✅ All sessions are open to THRIVE Clients AND the public
✅ Daycare/School Staff/Teachers are welcome!
✅ Virtual or In-person options offered

SESSION 3 - Wednesday November 26 SUPPORTING CHALLENGING BEHAVIOUR

NOTE: Intended for any child who is struggling to stay connected to their caregiver (may have ASD or suspected ASD, ADHD or suspected ADHD, suspected developmental delay.

📞 Call Reception at (705) 759.1131 ext. 0 to register.

11/03/2025

✨

New Website now live!

11/03/2025

New Website now live!

11/03/2025

11/01/2025

🌟 “We’re bringing the Hub to YOU!” 🌟
Join us at Old Town Hall, St. Joseph Island on Nov 10, 2–6 PM for a day of connection, creativity, and support.
✅ Free for youth ages 12–25
🎨 Cool activities | 💬 Counselling | 🤝 Meet the team
📍 1211 Richards Street, Richards Landing
📲 Book your counselling appointment: (705) 945-5051