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Katy Higgins Lee

@tendingpaths.bsky.social
1K followers 557 following 45 posts

Katy Higgins Lee, MFT (she/her) Multiply Neurodivergent therapist and unschooling parent Neuroqueering Practicing anti-racism linktr.ee/tendingpaths

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Reposted by Katy Higgins Lee
Nick Walker @dr-nicky.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
NEURODIVERSITY IN CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY & COUNSELING is coming in April & available for pre-order now! Edited by me & Andrew Reichart Use this link for a discount if you're in the USA: wwnorton.com/books/978132... #neurodiversity #psychology #therapy #counseling #neurodivergent #autism #adhd #books
The cover of the book NEURODIVERSITY IN CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY & COUNSELING
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Katy Higgins Lee @tendingpaths.bsky.social · 04/07/2025
For anyone who missed the live event, here is the video of my conversation with Nick Walker on Neuroqueering Somatics.
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Katy Higgins Lee @tendingpaths.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
I’m so excited to share about this event! Please join us as I interview Dr. Nick Walker on the topic of Neuroqueering Somatics. (Two of my favorite subjects!)
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Katy Higgins Lee @tendingpaths.bsky.social · 20/04/2025
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Katy Higgins Lee @tendingpaths.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
Full text of Jim Sinclair’s 1993 speech: philosophy.ucsc.edu/SinclairDontMou…
Excerpt from "Don't Mourn For Us",
 a speech by Jim Sinclair, 1993:
 "Autism isn't something a person has, or a
 'shell' that a person is trapped inside.
 There's no normal child hidden
 behind the autism.
 Autism is a way of being.
 It is pervasive; it colors every experience,
 every sensation, perception, thought,
 emotion, and encounter, every aspect of
 existence."
 tending paths
 -Excerpt from "Don't Mourn For Us",
 a speech by Jim Sinclair, 1993:
 "It is not possible to separate the autism
 from the person--and if it were possible, the
 person you'd have left would not be the
 same person you started with.
 This is important, so take a moment to
 consider it: Autism is a way of being.
 It is not possible to separate the person
 from the autism."
 tending pathsExcerpt from "Don't Mourn For Us",
 a speech by Jim Sinclair, 1993:
 "Therefore, when parents say,
 I wish my child did not have autism,
 what they're really saying is,
 I wish the autistic child I have did not
 exist, and I had a different (non-autistic)
 child instead.
 Read that again."
 tending pathsExcerpt from "Don't Mourn For Us",
 a speech by Jim Sinclair, 1993:
 "This is what we hear when you mourn
 over our existence.
 This is what we hear when you pray for a
 cure.
 This is what we know, when you tell us of
 your fondest hopes and dreams for us: that
 your greatest wish is that one day we will
 cease to be, and strangers you can love
 will move in behind our faces."
 tending paths
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Katy Higgins Lee @tendingpaths.bsky.social · 05/04/2025
I spent the morning presenting (aka info-dumping) on the neurodiversity paradigm, which means that my Fitbit reads as if I walked almost 4 miles, but I was seated the whole time. Why? Lots of gesticulation and stimming. (And hooray for 100 more therapists learning about ND-affirming therapy!)
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Katy Higgins Lee @tendingpaths.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
Ugh. Just saw someone post about that nurse in Germany who injected thousands of people with saline instead of the Covid vaccine and they were happy that she wasn’t charged for it and called her a “brave hero”. It’s becoming increasingly clear that their goal was never actually “medical freedom”.
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Katy Higgins Lee @tendingpaths.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
A recent (edited) response to an email I received. While this is regarding advertising, I feel the same way about accounts that advocate for neurodivergent children because, as I’ve said before, we can advocate for neurodivergent children without using their images or telling details about them.
Text reads: 
Thank you for reaching out and for the invitation to a paid partnership with (redacted). While your products look amazing, I am concerned about the video footage of children using your products that I see in many of the videos on your instagram account. I adamantly believe that images and videos of very young children should not be shared publicly on social media, especially for advertising products. Many of them have not given consent and, if they have given consent, are often too young to understand the implications of giving consent, since many of them are still toddlers. Also, although I currently reside in one of the three states that have implemented laws regarding child influencers, I am assuming that most of the families who have contributed video footage are not based in one of those three states, and I do not think that the regulations that do exist in those states are even extensive enough to protect children.
Thank you for the offer, but I am not interested.
Sincerely,
Katy Higgins Lee
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Katy Higgins Lee @tendingpaths.bsky.social · 13/03/2025
No, they are not. (I’m not clear on where you are going with your questions. I can’t tell if you are asking out of genuine curiosity or if you are trying to start an argument.)
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Katy Higgins Lee @tendingpaths.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
No. I am referring to the fact that trans people are more likely to be neurodivergent and neurodivergent people are more likely to be trans.
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Katy Higgins Lee @tendingpaths.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
If someone describes themself as “gender critical” or “gender cautious”, they cannot be neurodiversity-affirming, despite their claims.
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Katy Higgins Lee @tendingpaths.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
Recommended Reading Menakem, R. (2017). My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies. Central Recovery Press Johnson, R. (2023). Embodied Activism: Engaging the Body to Cultivate Liberation, Justice, and Authentic Connection. Penguin Random House (11)
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Katy Higgins Lee @tendingpaths.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
It is a continual process and practice, as opposed to a fixed destination. (10)
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Katy Higgins Lee @tendingpaths.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
When we cultivate our somatic bandwidth, we can learn to be with diverse experiences, including those who subvert normativity. Even those of us who think we are progressive and liberal need to work toward unraveling the ways we continue to have unconscious attachments to normativity. (9)
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Katy Higgins Lee @tendingpaths.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
Somatic bandwidth is a term that was coined by Rae Johnson and refers to the ability to be comfortable with feeling and witnessing a range of sensations and embodied emotions. (8)
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Katy Higgins Lee @tendingpaths.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
In order to shift this, we all need to learn to cultivate our somatic bandwidth so that we can tolerate the feelings that arise when we witness ambiguity and complexity. (7)
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Katy Higgins Lee @tendingpaths.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
Their nervous system perceives that there is a threat where there is no threat, and their nervous system automatically reacts, usually with a fight response of anger, judgment, mistrust, and attempts to control the other. (6)
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Katy Higgins Lee @tendingpaths.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
When they witness people who are living their life without adhering to these standards of normativity, they feel threatened. (5)
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Katy Higgins Lee @tendingpaths.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
Many people have a fear of ambiguity and complexity, and therefore live their life according to these standards of normativity, so that they don’t have to feel those feelings of fear. (4)
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Katy Higgins Lee @tendingpaths.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
This is an all-or-nothing way of thinking, which of course is usually not the reality of actual experience, but many people hold tightly to this perspective. (3)
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Katy Higgins Lee @tendingpaths.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
This can apply to gender, sexuality, race, culture, and disability, including neurodivergence. This often manifests in the idea that white, cis, straight, and able-bodied is the norm and everyone else is an other. (2)
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Katy Higgins Lee @tendingpaths.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
Our current political and social situation is related to a cultural attachment to normativity. The concept of normativity refers to the idea that there are certain ways of being that are “normal“ and that anyone who deviates from these standards of normal is considered abnormal or wrong or bad. (1)
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Katy Higgins Lee @tendingpaths.bsky.social · 07/03/2025
Share your thoughts with the Governor at: www.gov.ca.gov/contact
To: Governor Gavin Newsom
 I am writing to express my profound disappointment in
 the opinions shared by you, Governor Gavin Newsom, on
 your podcast episode yesterday.
 The rights of the trans community are under attack by the
 current administration, and this has already emboldened
 people to treat trans people as less than human, as
 evidenced by the recent brutal murder of Sam Nordquist.
 As a public figure representing the state of California, you
 have a responsibility to model being an ally, despite your
 long-term career goals. Your comments show that
 you do not recognize the danger of feeding the fire of
 anti-trans extremism.
 As a resident of the state of California for 45 years, I am
 disappointed and fearful of the repercussions of your
 remarks.
 Sincerely,
 Kathryn Lee
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Katy Higgins Lee @tendingpaths.bsky.social · 07/03/2025
Risk of sexual assault in bathrooms due to trans people?
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Katy Higgins Lee @tendingpaths.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
A stitch someone made with one of my videos went viral…And now it’s time for another round of people giving me unsolicited medical advice about a facial feature that is genetic and related to my ethnicity. 🙄
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Reposted by Katy Higgins Lee
Eric Michael Garcia @ericmgarcia.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
Are you a #Neurodivergent researcher whose job was funded by the NSF or the NIH? I'd love to talk with you. My signal is emgarcia.85.
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Reposted by Katy Higgins Lee
Karen Attiah @karenattiah.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
My latest. As journalists and writers, we have a duty to use language that is accurate and describes our current reality. I’m no longer going to talk about DEI/Anti-DEI. Let’s be clear. We are facing racial purges and re-segregation. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
washingtonpost.com
Opinion | The assault on DEI? It’s aimed at resegregation.
The GOP leaders attacking inclusion programs want to go back to an era when White men ran everything
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Reposted by Katy Higgins Lee
Dr. Wendy Bohon @drwendyrocks.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
NASA did a feature on me last year. It was up this weekend but now when you click on the link you get a 404 message.
Link to an article on Wendy Bohon on the NASA website. 404 message
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Reposted by Katy Higgins Lee
PushBlack @wearepushblack.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
The government claims this community is voluntarily leaving their homes. That’s a lie. Their homes are being stolen from them. Could our communities be next? They’re Fighting Mass Eviction From Their Ancestral Lands ➡️ pushblack.news/f72c94
pushblack.news
The Maasai People Are Being Forcibly Removed From Their Ancestral Lands
The Maasai people of Tanzania are being met with a specific form of violence - gentrification! Their government is forcibly evicting them from ancestral lands. Why?
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Katy Higgins Lee @tendingpaths.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
When we tend to our bodyminds, and encourage our bodies to move and exist in ways that are not merely in service of productivity or the “gaze” of another, we subvert neuronormativity, heteronormativity, cisnormativity, capitalism, and colonialism.
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Reposted by Katy Higgins Lee
Erin Reed @erininthemorning.com · 05/02/2025
Breaking news: State attorneys general from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, Vermont, and Wisconsin advise Trump's EO banning trans care is unlawful, hospitals should provide care. Big counter salvo!
riag.ri.gov
Attorney General Neronha and 14 attorneys general issue joint statement on protecting access to gender-affirming care | Rhode Island Attorney General's Office
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Sara Gaiser @akrazia.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
Does it involve kicking out all the locals and establishing "long term ownership" for the U.S.?
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Reposted by Katy Higgins Lee
Erin Reed @erininthemorning.com · 05/02/2025
Old enough to remember when they kicked my wife out for "decorum" for stating that anti-trans laws harm trans kids. Now you got Nancy Mace out there yelling "tranny tranny tranny" into the microphone.
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Katy Higgins Lee @tendingpaths.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
(P.S. I’m finished with this interaction.)
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Katy Higgins Lee @tendingpaths.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
Says the person who cited a study that has been widely discredited.
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Katy Higgins Lee @tendingpaths.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
CRITICALLY APPRAISING THE CASS REPORT: METHODOLOGICAL FLAWS AND UNSUPPORTED CLAIMS osf.io/preprints/os...
osf.io
OSF
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Katy Higgins Lee @tendingpaths.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
Feeling genuinely scared ≠ “Scaremongering” Based on your comment, it’s clear that you are EXACTLY who I am talking to in my post.
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Reposted by Katy Higgins Lee
Autistic Realms (Helen Edgar) @autisticrealms.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
Marion McLaughlin from @auroraconsulting.bsky.social & Felicity Goodhall from Flappy Inky Feathers, and I have created a FREE EBOOK of words that reflect our experiences of being monotropic and Autistic/ADHD. How do you relate? Free download: 104 pg ebook! autisticrealms.com/words-inspir...
autisticrealms.com
Words: Inspired By The Experience Of Being Monotropic | Autistic Realms
Monotropism is a neurodiversity-affirming theory of autism (Murray et al., 2005). Autistic /ADHD/ AuDHD people are more likely to be monotropic(Garau et al. ...
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Reposted by Katy Higgins Lee
Thinking Person's Guide to Autism @thinkingautism.com · 03/02/2025
Vaccines have NOTHING to do with autism. But with RFK Jr trying to misinform at the highest level, time to revisit why the three most commonly cited theories about autism being caused by vaccines are so, so wrong. By @matthewherper.bsky.social: www.statnews.com/2025/02/03/v... #autism #vaccinesWork
statnews.com
Here is how we know that vaccines do not cause autism
Vaccines do not cause autism. You’ve almost certainly read that before — but often without a full explanation of how we know it to be true. Here's how we know.
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Reposted by Katy Higgins Lee
Teen Vogue @teenvogue.com · 25/01/2025
Though the government can make it more difficult for trans people to navigate certain spaces, they cannot decide who you are or how you identify. Here's how trans people can protect themselves now that Trump is in office. ⤵️
teenvogue.com
Trans Kids, Here's What You Need to Get Through the Trump Administration
From navigating anti-trans laws to protecting your joy.
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Reposted by Katy Higgins Lee
Erin Reed @erininthemorning.com · 31/01/2025
California DOE fires back against Trump's executive order: "It does nothing" "It is against federal law for the White House to dictate what educators can and cannot teach" Will not comply.
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Katy Higgins Lee @tendingpaths.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
If you are relieved about these changes, if you live long enough, you will most likely look back and feel shame at your relief. (4)
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Katy Higgins Lee @tendingpaths.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
There will be more bullying and hate violence against children and adults. As a therapist, I am sincerely terrified of what is going to happen. (3)
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Katy Higgins Lee @tendingpaths.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
I want to let you know that the impact of these changes is not going to be what you think. There will be an increase in child and adolescent suicide attempts and substance abuse. There will be more depression and anxiety. (2)
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Katy Higgins Lee @tendingpaths.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
If you have been feeling relief since Trump announced that the US will now only recognize two sexes of male and female, and if part of your relief is because of children needing clarity so that they don’t have an identity crisis about gender… (1)
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Louise Ting @neuro-observant.bsky.social · 14/12/2024
#BIPOC voices are often missing from autistic spaces, so here is a BIPOC starter pack! 😊 go.bsky.app/TtXfpAt #racialequality #antiracism The image of autism as “only white boys” leads to underdiagnosis, discrimination & isolation for many Our autistic community is much more diverse than that! ❤️
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aslynn is just a ghoul 👻 @aslynnromano.com · 04/01/2025
4 themes from a study re: Autistic mothers w/ burnout 1) Depletion 😔 2) “You have to just get up and keep going,” 3) how autistic burnout impacted autistic mothers’ self-understanding and self-awareness 4) “We need support too” ...oof #2. #AutRes
liebertpub.com
“It Has Shown Me How Much I Am Capable Of”: An Exploration of Autistic Burnout Experiences in Motherhood | Autism in Adulthood
Background: Research has highlighted a relationship between autistic motherhood and autistic burnout, although autistic mothers’ experiences of autistic burnout have not been explored in depth. Method...
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Katy Higgins Lee @tendingpaths.bsky.social · 25/01/2025
Hi! I’m Katy. I am: Multiply neurodivergent A therapist An educator of therapists (trainings & supervision) An unschooling parent A gardener I REALLY care about: The neurodiversity paradigm Neuroqueering Somatics Anti-racism Trans-rights Low-demand/high-autonomy parenting No-till gardening
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Katy Higgins Lee @tendingpaths.bsky.social · 25/01/2025
I highly recommend this article by @fergus.oolong.co.uk !
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Katy Higgins Lee @tendingpaths.bsky.social · 25/01/2025
I was quoted in that article!
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