Mrs Speechie P

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Mrs Speechie P

Hi- My name is Andi Putt and I am a pediatric speech language pathologist, autism evaluation specialist, & disabilities advocate.
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Welcome parents, & professionals!

03/30/2026

🌈♾️April is almost here- but did you know Autism Awareness Month can be super overwhelming to many Autistic people?

It’s true- and usually because their voices are often bulldozed over extra EXTRA this month. For me specifically, it’s super frustrating to see misinformation being spread faster and with farther reach than actual factual info.

Here are some tips to celebrating this month in a manner inclusive of the community:

✅ SHARE information about Autism and acceptance from an affirming and respectful standpoint
✅ Promote content and products created by Autistic people ✅ Consider intersectionality and don’t forget to include POC, and people with high support needs
✅ Be intentional in what you wear or what you share
✅ And while personal preference is key, keep in mind that many Autistic people do NOT support:
❌Abelism, cures (treatment of medical conditions and symptoms is GOOD), negative representations of Autism
❌ Autism Speaks, light it up blue, the puzzle piece
❌ Compliance based interventions

If there’s something I forgot, add it in the comments ⤵️

03/19/2026

Autism data is often presented in a way that can manipulate viewers’ perceptions and emotions. We see zoomed in (like the top graph) images, percent increases, and ratios often… and while those are accurate- they usually aren’t the whole picture.

The current prevalence (via the CDC) of Autism is 1 in 31. This is equal to 3.22% of the population having a diagnosis at 8 years old. It is a big increase from what it’s been in the past. It’s also an expected increase (see my post from yesterday for why it’s expected). We also know that this prevalence is for 8 year olds, and that most females aren’t diagnosed until after that age. So it makes sense that the actual prevalence is higher, and as we get better at identifying these females earlier (or we change the age to older), this number will naturally increase. *But it won’t be presented this way because this won’t get clicks and views*

03/18/2026

🧠 Let’s take a look at the how and most importantly *why* the numbers of Autism diagnosis have increased over time. Remember, more autism diagnosis does not equal more autistic people.

Note: the two biggest “jumps” come:
1️⃣ After Autism was added to the DSM and then
2️⃣ When the diagnostic criteria increased, allowing more people access to an Autism diagnosis.

💡 If we used the same criteria as 1970 (“extreme social withdrawal, obsessive desire for sameness, lack of speech/highly unusual speech patterns”) we would have significantly less diagnosed people. If we also only determined who was Autistic based off of teacher questionnaires or medical documentation from people who have never heard of Autism, especially at a time when disabled people were hidden from society, we’d ALSO have significantly less numbers of diagnosed people. ➡️ Put those two details together and that’s how early prevalence numbers were captured.

Note: I’m not denying there are more autistic people, I personally think there are more autistic people (better survival for premature babies, medical advances that allows autistic kids to live longer than ever before; Autistic people having increased access to autistic partners with online dating = more Autistic babies) - but I think the majority of the increase we see on paper with the numbers is more due to an increase in identification and diagnosis.

03/17/2026

Politicians and policy
✅ Create laws about disability supports
✅ Enforce Civil Rights law (or were designed to enforce- if you have not read up on DoEd and their lack of doing this, I recommend you looking into it)
✅ Determine resource allocation
✅ Shapes public discourse

So naturally, when the President of the United States says people with learning disabilities, specifically dyslexia, shouldn’t be president, and that basically dyslexia (and other LDs) means someone has a low IQ…. Yes- that impacts the disability community.

It is enraging because:
1) It’s not true, learning disabilities are not the same as how smart or capable someone is
2) It was ableist and further stigmatizes disabilities, specifically learning disabilities and dyslexia, but especially intellectual disability
3) Kids (and adults) with learning disabilities can hear the POTUS say this, and feel less than, or not capable of achieving goals- when they are!

And before you comment, no, I’m not saying any disabled person could be POTUS, just like not any non-disabled person could be POTUS. The problem is saying someone shouldn’t be president solely because of their disability 🤮

03/16/2026

Autism prevalence released last year from 2022 data.

I was not surprised (or alarmed) by this data as it is the expected increase from what I see daily. Autism isn’t rare and never was- but we are getting better at identifying it.

What stood out most to you with this data?

⭐️ For me, the still high ID rep (almost 40% of autistic people in this study had intellectual disability) supports my hypothesis that a significant number of autistic people remain undiagnosed

⭐️ Also the significantly lower prevalence in some places, like Laredo, Texas, was interesting to see. And also supports the idea that we have underdiagnosed people and we still need to focus on autism awareness for the broad range of autism traits.

03/13/2026

Misconceptions and misinformation run WILD when it comes to Autism. Because of this, it’s incredibly common for parents to delay evaluations and autistic kids to go longer (or sometimes forever) without supports and understanding.

The amount of misinformation spread *in professional spaces* alone astounding. Autism is different than you think. It’s not always easily visible. Because of this, we are missing and misdiagnosing kids at pretty high rates.

03/12/2026

We don’t have data to support the “but there’s so many more high support needs Autistic kids than ever before” - yet we hear this all the time because disabled people are more visible. We know they are more visible due to disability rights advocacy and policy that allows disabled people to be in public, attend schools, and have access to the world.

Could there be more high support needs Autistic kids than ever before? Absolutely. Autistic people make babies. Medical advances allow for premature and other at-risk babies (correlated with autism) to survive. So yeah, definitely possible and something I think is actually true. But… is there data to support that? Not yet. Is this the reason people “see” more disabled kids? Definitely not the only reason, and probably not even the main reason.

03/11/2026

Our words matter. Our words can help and lift people up and our words can also cause both intended and unintended harm. It’s also true that language is always changing, and we get to choose a “know better do better” response OR a “but I’ve always done it this way, I don’t care if it’s now harmful” response.

Be sure to read the last point for each side, and also know that yes, I acknowledge many insurances and educational programs require non-affirming and deficit based language in order to get support. I don’t like it, I advocate for changes in the future, and I also know we have to do our best within the broken systems we have.

It’s also true that I personally identify with some non-affirming language, for *myself*. I feel my executive functions are a difference but also at a deficit, as they are not what I want them to be. But, I choose that language for me. I wouldn’t want to choose that for another person.

03/10/2026

Most parents notice differences in their child- but don’t connect those differences to be related to Autism.

This is often do due autism being pretty misunderstood by the general public, but also due to adults looking at observable differences and missing the underlying cause of those differences.

My son’s first sign was anxiety. What did you first notice? ⤵️

03/08/2026

AuDHD means a person is diagnosed with both Autism and ADHD. It’s not an actual diagnosis, and used more as shorthand. It is very common to have both of these diagnoses together - however, it doesn’t mean a person is 50% autistic and 50% ADHD.

The two conditions can be quite contradictory, even in how they present in one person. Autism can make one crave comfort and familiarity while ADHD may crave new, exciting things.

For many, this creates a push and pull within the same person. One condition may be more obvious than the other, and this can change depending on a situation or setting. Take me for example- you can “see” my autism more at home, and my AHDH more when I travel. However, because I can (mostly) accommodate my autism at home, AHDH is what impacts me the most day to day.

What about you? If you are AuDHD, which impacts you most and does it change based on setting or event? ⤵️

03/05/2026

I say a lot that Autism doesn’t (always) equal anti-social and in fact the most common neurotype for kids with high connection needs is Autism with a PDA - and the exact opposite of anti social! (Swipe through for more common neurotypes)!

This is me with my child - he is autistic and PDA and has high connection needs. I’m Autistic and ADHD and am sensory avoidant after having a child. It’s a fun combo, let me tell you 🤣

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Mrs Speechie P

Mrs Speechie P is a blog designed to share information about speech and language development to parents of children with delays and/or disabilities, Speech Language Pathologists, and Educators. I have a passion for early intervention and parent education/involvement in intervention.

Mrs Speechie P

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