We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Eileen Himel. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Eileen below.

Eileen, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

I work with the nonspeaking autism population. For a long time I worked under the mainstream paradigm, which essentially follows the sentiment that these non-speaking autistic individuals are usually not high cognitively and don’t really understand anything that’s being said to them or what’s around them. I loved this population, but I knew the way that I was doing My job just wasn’t feeling quite right anymore. I explored a few different avenues, but kept feeling like nothing really fit. I asked the universe to give me some direction. It just so happened that one of my clients, a preteen girl who I so enjoyed working with, Started to do a new type of program that involved her typing on a Letter board with a practitioner. I was able to observe the process. And one day, this sweet girl, who, at the time my perception was that she didn’t understand very much, began to type out sentences on a letter board. I was shaken, I had never seen her sit so still and type so carefully. I knew that I had to learn more about what was going on. The practitioner who is now my mentor filled me in that this Non-speaking autistic population are just like us and that they understand everything that’s being said to them and everything around them. They actually perceive more than we do energetically. But they just have trouble moving their bodies. And it was his job to train her to move her body so she could type what she wanted to. This approach Change in perception is quite controversial in mainstream. And many of my colleagues questioned me following this path. But it was undeniable to me that it was the right thing to do. So I quit my job learned everything I could in this new way of working and started my own company with serving the non-speaking autistic population in this way. The way of presuming competence in their minds and training their purposeful motor for more body control. It is an extreme gift to presume their minds as competent so many around them don’t. And they get the chance to learn and stabilize the motor skill of typing so they can share their world. I am forever grateful in this shift and perception and taking the risk to practice and what I call the new paradigm. I know that I’m on the right side of history.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

The way that I began working with the nonspeaking autistic population was very natural for me because my younger brother is part of the special-needs community and did not speak fully until he was about seven. I was always around different types of therapies being his older sister, and while I was receiving my masters degree in mental health counseling, it felt Natural to work the autism field. Many nonspeaking autistic people have what’s called apraxia, this means that they cannot always control their body the way that they want to.. I now specialize in teaching my clients to connect with their purposeful motor so they can better control their body. This includes training their gross motor function to be able to point and type on a keyboard or letter board so they can communicate. I am most proud of going against the mainstream conditioned way of thinking when it comes to this population. These people do not present as neurotypical people do on the outside and for a long time, people assumed that this meant that they don’t understand anything. This couldn’t be further from the truth, these people have beautiful minds and understand everything at their age level and above. They just need people to believe in them and teach them the motor skills to be able to demonstrate that. This group of people are really calling us to embody true faith. They are calling us to believe before we see. I dream of a world and want people to enroll in my vision of putting our energy where it matters when it comes to this population, which is Presuming competence in the minds of these individuals, practicing nervous system, regulation, and training purposeful movement skills.
It is so fulfilling to coach parents of nonspeaking autistic individuals to integrate the way of presuming competence In their child into their life. It absolutely changes everything, and opens so many doors for themselves and their child.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I had to learn that the selected authority isn’t always right, the mainstream way isn’t always right. And the only way that things will change, is if the people who see the right way forward, have the courage to take a stand and follow that way.

We’ve all been taught and conditioned to think that these nonspeaking autistic apraxic people who cannot control their body, are not really in there. And really don’t understand much. And those who are in the mainstream paradigm that is currently supported by the masses in society, still believe this way of thinking when it comes to treating this population.
I’ve had to learn to embody courage and take a stand even in the face of criticism. What I now know, is that these individuals are brilliant and many times lack body control, and this is where they need help.
So even though the ones “in charge” Don’t believe yet and what I’m doing, I had to keep going. If I didn’t, it would cost a person their voice.
It wasn’t always easy. Colleagues told me what I was doing wasn’t real. Some authorities were not exactly kind. People around me didn’t really get it. But I knew I had to keep going.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn so many things. We are so conditioned to think that we are our bodies. When you are working with the nonspeaking autistic population in this way, you have to look deeply beyond the body to connect with the one inside. Through this process, you start to realize How many things you thought were you, actually are not you. I had to learn to connect with the person beyond the body and to do this, I had to unlearn Putting meaning on anything. Plenty of times, these non-speaking autistic people are doing things with their bodies that don’t reflect what they actually are thinking and feeling inside. The body is not inside.

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