22. Skill Development and Challenging Behaviors with Molly Johnson, the Autism Consultant

Feb 11

Join Brittyn as she interviews Molly Johnson, the Autism Consultant. Molly is a special education teacher by training and through that, she saw a need in the autism community and she filled it. So she supports parents to implement strategies to help their child's challenging behavior and skill development.

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IN THIS EPISODE

Learn about Molly Johnson’s journey to become the Autism Consultant
How visual supports can help with communication and decreasing behaviors & meltdowns
The importance of implementing supports at home and not just school
Different tools to help autistic children succeed and communicate more efficiently

TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to the Nourishing Autism Podcast where you take a deep dive into the research on autism and dietary changes, nutrition supplements, and lifestyle modifications. Every week, we break down nutrition topics and an easy-to-understand way for you to feel less overwhelmed and feel confident on your nutrition journey with autism.

Skill Development and Challenging Behaviors with Molly Johnson, the Autism Consultant

[00:00:00]

Brittyn: Hi everyone. And welcome to the Nourishing Autism Podcast. I'm Brittyn Coleman, the Autism Dietitian. And today I have a really special guest. Her name is Molly Johnson, and she is the creator of the Autism Consultant. Molly and I connected on Instagram a few years ago, and it's just been such a joy learning from her and her podcast. And I was even a guest on it a few months ago.

Molly is a special education teacher by training and through that she saw a need in the autism community and she filled it. So she supports parents to implement strategies to help their child's challenging behavior and skill development. You can find her on instagram at the [00:01:00] autism consultant and learn more about her program and her resources I really hope you enjoy our interview together because it was so much fun she's so easy to talk to and just a really great resource so I hope you enjoy

Molly, thanks for being here. And I want you to tell us a little bit about yourself and how you help parents with children on the autism spectrum.

Molly: Yeah. Hello. I'm excited to be here as well. So thank you so much for having me on yeah, like you said, we connected on Instagram and that seems to be the place that I connect to most of the parents that I work with as well, but I, so I am an autism consultant and this all started when I was actually an autism teacher and for fun, for the heck of it, I just started a podcast one day and an Instagram account and I did it for fun and I thought it would never turn into anything, but the whole thought behind it was, you know, my, my students' parents outside of school they're texting me, they're calling me and they're telling me, [00:02:00] Hey, Molly, we're dealing with this behavior at home. How should I approach it or what's going on? Or, Hey, we really want to start potty training, or I really want to teach my daughter X, Y, and Z. How do I even teach her this new skill? So my whole mindset behind it with. "Okay. If these parents have these questions, I bet there are other parents out there as well who have these same exact questions. And if five people listen to podcasts, that's beautiful and wonderful. I can help five people." And I, a couple of months later, I did not return to teaching after the summer break and I totally went full force into autism consulting. And so now I really help parents with those behaviors, those challenging behaviors and skill development, because you know, there's a lot of support within school and therapies and which is wonderful. We definitely need that for the kids, but where's the support for the parents. So That's the gap that I'm trying to fill right now.

Brittyn: That's incredible. And I've loved seeing you all over Instagram. We were just talking about the reels that you [00:03:00] create. It just feels like you create so many incredible resources that only having come from like your history and understanding the needs of those parents in the school system. You're able to create these incredible resources for parents that might not know that they need these kinds of resources to help their children succeed. So I've loved watching all of your reels, listening to your podcast, being a guest on it. So I love everything that you're putting out.

Molly: Well, thank you. As I was just talking to you about before we recorded, you know, reels are something that get me out of my comfort zone, but really helped me connect with other parents as well, because I'm able to be goofy and dance all over the place, but then still present really important information and actionable information where, you know, I can give a parent a little nugget of advice that they can and implement at home and maybe learn a little bit more about their child and how to support their child. So, yes, if we're not friends on Instagram, let's be friends. You can watch me [00:04:00] dance all over the place in these reels.

Brittyn: Amazing. And it's @theautismconsultant ,correct?.

Molly: Yes. Yes, it is at the autism consultant. Yeah.

Brittyn: So what prompted you to even go into special education in the first place? And how long were you in special ed before you decided to move into the autism consultant?

Molly: Yeah. So, you know, in college, actually my, my major was originally in nursing. I planned on being a nurse. There's so many nurses in my family, physicians in my family, so I was going that route, but I hated it. I didn't want it to do it. I just did it to do it. And one day maybe my sophomore year of college, one of my friends had said, Come shadow me at work.

She worked at an autism program, a privately owned autism program that was connected with a university that I went with. So they had kind of two different levels to it. The first level was elementary and middle school aged kids. It was an afterschool program. It wasn't ABA, it was just an after-school [00:05:00] program.

For kids that didn't have the luxury of staying after school to participate in cheerleading or soccer, you know, things like that, those extra curricular activities aren't set up to support autistic kids. So a family who had an autistic daughter, they started this beautiful autism program. So. That was one aspect of it.

And the second part of it, like I said, it was connected with the university and they would support autistic adults who were going away to college to attend this university. So they had mentors set up to help these autistic adults entering adulthood and their college career. They supported them with every single thing that went with it.

So. You know, all the way from California would send their kids to this college in Kentucky because they knew their child would be supported. So I went with my friend, I shadowed her. We, she had the elementary kids and I fell in love and I [00:06:00] immediately, the next day went to change my major. And the day after that, I went to beg for a job at this, just in program.

They had zero El openings, but I somehow weaseled my way into a job and loved it. So then I guess like, yeah, I graduated and I was a special ed teacher and most of the years, so some years my class was, you know, a G a general special ed self-contained class that had a few other disabilities as well.

But my main focus was autism kids that are autistic and. It's just something I, like I said, I changed my major and I just never looked back. I loved it and I loved the challenges and I love the I love the hard kids that are difficult to figure out kind of like playing detective. And my mom always tells me if you weren't didn't work in this, you would have been a detective because I just point things out randomly that nobody else sees. I feel like. And I love a challenge.

Brittyn: That's amazing. So you've created so many different tools for parents and [00:07:00] printouts, and they'll just share everything that you've developed. But did that, did you use all of these like special tools with the parents that you worked with in the school setting too? And then you went on to like recreate them for kind of the masses or how did that.

How did that happen?

Molly: So when it comes to these visual supports and these printouts that I share online. So one thing to know about autistic individuals is that they have a strength in visual processing. So anytime we can take a strength that somebody has, and we can apply that we're going to move so much faster with that person, we're, we're playing on their strength.

And when we know that information, it's like, why wouldn't we play on that strength? So that's my push it so much. And I also push it so much on my Instagram and social media. Because I've seen the progress that it can make. I've seen the differences that it can make and, you know, any special ed teacher, you talk to any special ed teacher and her classroom is full of visual supports and tools to help with, you know, behaviors, to help with the different skill development, to help with the kids that [00:08:00] need help coping and calming down.

It helps in so many different areas. So a special ed classroom and school. Visuals and these kids are really making a lot of progress with these supports. So we have to think, well, why aren't we using these at home too? Why can't we get these in the hands of parents? They're so easy to make. They can be really fun.

They can take a lot of pressure off of the parents. And they're just something that your child is most likely going to respond well to. And, you know, if you scroll through my Instagram, you'll see tons of different examples, but you can have reward systems. You can have a task analysis, which is a fancy word for.

Like a visual checklist, breaking down a skill. Step-by-step how to do something. You can have basic communication visuals to help a child who doesn't have that ability to communicate with you. You can have visual schedules, which I love. I never went a day without using some sort of visual schedule in the classroom.

And so now I'm teaching parents to use these [00:09:00] tools, to integrate them into their, their day to day life. You know, I'm not making it difficult. It's very easy to implement, and they're seeing amazing changes at home. You know, things that. Struggled with for years and thought just wasn't possible for their child.

Something like going to the grocery store with their child's, you know, I've worked with a parent who that wasn't a possibility, it was never happening now it's happening and it's happening with zero meltdowns or, you know, getting through the bedtime routine without, you know, mom having to fall asleep in her son's bed with him every single night or potty training, you know, the things that most parents take for granted.

That parents of autistic kids really struggle with. We're making massive gains with that. And it's all about understanding an autistic child, how they think, how they process and then taking that information and actually applying that. I think that's the hard part for people is actually applying the [00:10:00] information.

You know, that's what I love getting on zoom with the parents that I work with because I get to tell them, you know, step-by-step do this, do that, do this. And I'm breaking it down because the implementation can be difficult if it's not something that we're used to doing.

Brittyn: Oh, totally. And that goes for a nutrition too. It's one of those things. That's, it's such a big topic and so many people want to introduce it, but it's like, how do I even get started with this? I don't even like start to break the ice. And I agree with you visual supports are so incredibly helpful, even in my line of work.

And I know we've done some things together. You even did a bonus call for the families in my small group programs to talk a little bit about visual supports and that's something that's now included in my curriculum that people go through when they learn about the first steps on how to implement a mealtime routine and have that consistency, because that can actually help picky eating, to have a really consistent mealtime routine. And so your, your talk is built into that week is like a bonus call for them to learn how to make some of [00:11:00] these themselves and even reach out to you. I know some of my clients have worked with you,

Molly: yes. I actually just started working with a client who came from your program. So that was nice. It was a full circle moment.

Brittyn: Yeah, I have also had people who have come from you and say, I've worked with Molly and I've heard about you or someone has been inside of my membership. That's also inside of yours. And so it just, I love that. Every parent needs a wide variety of supports in order to see all of that different progress and having different professionals looking at it from different sides is just so helpful, but working together in the same way because you and I have a similar approach to.

Molly: Yeah. And the cool thing about what you and I do is that, you know, like I said, a few minutes ago, so many supports and services are outside of the home, but what you and I are doing is we're making all of that doable inside of the home. We were helping parents apply it to those everyday real life moments, you know, dinner time, bedtime, bath time, just playing on the floor with [00:12:00] brother and sister. Like we're making massive changes. And those day-to-day activities that families, you know, engage in every single day. And it's just so cool to be part of those moments for those families.

Brittyn: It's so true. And when they can learn to apply that in their home , it's going to be a longer term change than it is just working inside therapy, which is completely needed. But being able to translate that to the home and teach parents on how to do that and maintain that for themselves is such a huge goal of mine. So, I mean, I love to work with my. families forever you know, if they'll have me, but it's actually more of my goal for them to not have to need me so that they can maintain all of this on their own and learn to implement these things. And I know that's your goal too.

Molly: Yeah. You hit the nail on the head with that. Like the goal is to not meet me. The goal is for me to, you know, teach you the process of understanding your child, understanding what they need, understanding how to build an environment that supports autistic needs, how to understand [00:13:00] and, you know, help them with the behaviors, how to understand.

Take all that information from me and then send you on your way. Like I'll help you, you know, with applying that in certain areas. And then my goal is for you to not need me, you know, your, your, my goal is for you to walk away as an expert on your child, which a lot, you guys are already experts on your child. Just a lot of times you don't give yourself the credit that she uses her. But yeah, the goal is to not need me and for you to be able to apply all of that information to those day-to-day activities.

Brittyn: Yeah. Yeah. You hit the nail on the head. That's amazing. And I I mean, even personally relating what you do for your clients. When my brother was young, I remember having so many visual supports in the home and my mom even used them with me when I was younger and it helped me so much. But I remember, I mean, back then, You know, late nineties when she was using these things.

So we don't have Canva and like all of these ways to make these really pretty [00:14:00] first then forms or like these visual schedules. And so I remember having a yard stick that had like a strip of Velcro on it. And then you would have all of these like photos that we had gotten printed off. The pharmacy, you know, to laminate them and be able to like stick them on and have a visual schedule for him.

And then we had this clipboard that had little tokens on it and photos, and it was like first, then he would move it over. And that was the way that I actually bonded with him because he couldn't speak at the time , but he could communicate with me and like talk through on these boards together. So I remember being really young and being involved in his therapies, and that was the way I was able to communicate with him. Even though he was not speaking at the time. So that helped me also bond with him as a sibling, being able to communicate and then understand him better and what his needs were. I so vividly remember that as a child.

Molly: Yeah. Well, those were the days where you had to be really resourceful, because like you [00:15:00] said, a lot of the resources now didn't exist. I even remember when my, you know, every year we had a classroom budget of money we can spend and laminating sheets can get really expensive and add up quickly and the Velcro. And, you know, I remember using my cardboard boxes of stuff that I would buy for my snuff, you know, be delivered to my house. I would use cardboard boxes and just throw some Velcro on that because I didn't have any laminating sheets left to make another first then chart. So yes, at some point you have to get really resourceful, but I love it. They're so fun to make. You can make them so personal. And I love teaching parents to make them too, because you know, like I said, I don't want them to rely on me for the rest of their lives. So I'm teaching them step-by-step what their child needs in a visual, what it what the elements needed are and how to do that online. And it's just, it's just fun. I'm not creative or crafty at all. So this is my only version of being somewhat creative.

Brittyn: I [00:16:00] love it. So tell me about how parents could get access to you for that. I know that you have a few different offers, so could you explain to us what those are.

Molly: Yes. So I have autism action plans right now. And you know, like I talked about, it's all about giving you the plans that your child needs to impact every aspect of their life. And so that is a course and community that I have right now. I am adding zoom calls and actually about a month to that program because I miss being face-to-face with the parents that I work with.

And I used to have a program where we met on zoom quite often, and a lot of points. Stuff that program and went on to autism action plans. A lot of my parents that were in my program are now in autism action plans and I see them in our community, you know, talking, asking questions, building those relationships with one another, but there's nothing like that face to face interaction. So that's definitely coming back. But it's, it's a mixture of a course and a community with my [00:17:00] support.

Brittyn: That's amazing. Okay.

Molly: Yeah, absolutely. We have a lot of fun in there and you know, parents can work with me one-on-one but I will say every single time, you're going to get more bang for your buck when you are in a group program, because you're learning from other parents and their situations.

Parents are asking questions that you don't even know. You don't even realize you have that question yet. Maybe that parents a year ahead of you, so that question, maybe isn't even in your thought process yet, but now you have the answer and you're going to be able to help yourself a year down the road when it's time to apply that information, you're going to learn so much more from being in a community of parents.

And it's just feels good. Be in a situation where people get it, people know what you're going through. You don't feel like you're on isolation island. I know I'm not a parent of an autistic child, so I don't exactly know what that feels like. But when you're together in a group program that all goes away.

Brittyn: It's so true. [00:18:00] That's what I tell my families too. And in my small group programs, And there's nothing like being alongside parents who are in the same situation with you or have been, and are also working toward the same goal. And the goal for my clients is just to help their kids feel better, feel their best. And all of them are working toward that.

So a lot of times they are learning from each other. They get that community because sometimes they don't have somebody else in their direct community who may have a child on the spectrum. So it's really helpful for them to be able to have the community with other people and accountability. So I completely agree with you having a, a community of other parents is so helpful.

Molly: Absolutely. And it's the easiest way to be in a community because you don't have to leave your house.

Brittyn: Yeah.

Molly: It's the, it's the most realistic way

Brittyn: So true.

Molly: parents are busy.

Brittyn: Exactly. Especially having been in a pandemic too. It's like, you're not leaving your house. And so being able to have the connection with other parents during a very isolating time, I know it was so helpful for so many other parents. So,

Molly: [00:19:00] Absolutely. 100% agree on that. Yes.

Brittyn: So where can parents find you if they were to want to learn more about your services share where they can find you.

Molly: Yes, absolutely. So I am mainly on Instagram. That is @theautismconsultant. That's my handle, actually. That's what it is everywhere. My podcasts, Facebook just look up The Autism Consultant and I that's where I will be. And I love when parents, parents are, I think, nervous to reach out to somebody, some stranger online to ask the question, because they're worried they're not going to get it answered, but I always tell parents, send me a message.

Let's get talking about what's going on. Because a lot of times too, what I take from what parents send me a message. That's how I create my content. So, you know, I'm a former special ed teacher taking data is in my blood. So when I have five different parents asking a similar question within a month time, I know, okay, ding, ding, ding maybe I need a [00:20:00] post on this. Maybe I need a podcast on this. So your question will definitely be answered. So let's start talking and let's be friends on Instagram.

Brittyn: Yeah, I love it. I can, I can say firsthand. Molly's a great follow.

Molly: Oh, well, thank you. Thank you so much. And this was great to connect again. I love that you finally have a podcast. Congratulations,

Brittyn: We talked like a year, at least ago and I kept saying, I really want to do my own podcast. And you were like, you should finally do it. And here we are. Finally,

Molly: and it's easy, right? I think people think it's so much harder.

Yeah.

Brittyn: so fun. Yeah. And it just provides an excuse for me to catch up with people that I've been meaning to catch up with also.

Molly: Exactly. Well, this was a good catch-up. I enjoyed this. Thank you.

Brittyn: Well, thanks Molly for being here and thanks everyone for listening. I hope you learned a lot from this. I always learn so much from Molly, so definitely connect with her on Instagram and learn more about how to help your child communicate and help with behaviors. I know my [00:21:00] clients have benefited so much from you, so

Molly: Well, thank you. Thank you.

Brittyn: Thanks, everyone.

This podcast is brought to you by the Autism Nutrition Library, a one-stop hub and community for all things autism nutrition created to help you explore evidence-based nutrition approaches that have proved to be effective to help individuals with autism feel their best, do their best, and be their best.

Join now by clicking Autism Nutrition Library or by stopping by my Instagram @AutismDietitian. See you next week.

Transcribed by Descript

ABOUT Brittyn Coleman, MS, RDN/LD, CLT

I’m a Registered Dietitian, Autism Nutrition Expert, and the Creator of the Autism Nutrition Library.

I work with parents of children with autism to optimize their child’s diet, supplements, and lifestyle based on their unique needs. I help expand accepted foods for picky eaters, improve digestion and gut health, find the root causes of many symptoms, and ultimately help them feel their best so that they can do their best and be their best.

Not only do I relate to families on a professional level, but also on a personal level. I have been a part of the autism community for over 20 years, as my younger brother was diagnosed on the spectrum at a young age.

I look forward to working with you to uncover the root cause of your child’s symptoms and help your child be the best version of themselves!