Dear Reader,

Hey! It's me again. I've been working on pulling together the second virtual GEMS Neurodiversity Summit and the theme is FAT! It's had me thinking about the lack of representation for our child and teen clients when it comes to fatness, body positivity & neutrality, and anti-diet culture.

(The rest of the email will be all about this; please take care of yourself if these topics- including eating disorders- are triggering for you.)

We can't truly be neurodiversity affirming providers without being fat liberationists as well.

Take it from me (a multiply neurodivergent person.) As early as fourth grade, I remember noticing body differences - and it's tough not to when you grow up in a house where you've had to help dad take "progress pics" for weight loss and are eating "meal replacement bars" at that age because you're a little larger than the other kids your age. (Puberty is a heck of a time...) I was put on weight loss injections in middle school and was splitting costs for caffeine pills with friends in high school, knowing that shrinking myself would make me more palatable and more liked.

All of these messages led me to discovering pro-anorexia communities online and feeling like that would be the way to improve myself, a way to build community when in-person dynamics were tough, a way to re-commit to "girlhood" since I didn't realize I was trans and truly thought I was just failing at being a girl, and it also provided a hyperfixation because all of the "tips" were so involved...

And why do I share all of that with you right now? Because many of my young clients are going through a similar stage of life. They're seeing ads about intentional weight loss, the "hot topic" lately is who's on weight loss meds and how those bodies are changing, there's pressure to fit into smaller sizes as stores stop carrying 2X+ sizes at their storefronts, etc. My hope is that these youth won't go the path I went - and that other providers will know that this trajectory is not uncommon.

Studies have found that folks in eating disorder treatment centers are more likely to be (unknowingly) autistic. We know that stats show trans and non-binary folks are more likely to struggle with disordered eating. And we know both populations are often targeted with hateful messages about the way their bodies exist.

So, to combat all of that, we have to have more knowledge and help spread awareness! We can start by providing affirming care to our clients and checking in on our own biases around diets, bodies of differing sizes, the concept of health, and similar veins of thinking. I still catch myself sometimes falling into those old patterns of thought - but the more I surround myself by folks who are educated on the harms of diet culture and healthism, the easier it is to reroute those.

Below are a mix of free resources (though one requires a membership to an org that's doing fantastic work) to help with that knowledge piece!

Fat Resources

👍 10 Fat Instagram Creators Your Clients Need to Follow​

This list is great for adult clients - and you should follow them too! Seeing fat representation can help us in a variety of ways- from knowing others like us exist, to understanding another person's living experience, to gaining education from advocates...

💜 Sabrina's recommendations​

Sabrina Longley has a collection (that's always growing) of resources for all sorts of things - but here's the fat tag! Resources for Black clients, adults & parents.

💻 Association for Size Diversity and Health: Webinars​

Presentations to help expand our ideas of what anti-fat bias looks like and the harm it can do, as well as what to do instead. They've always got something great coming up. (ASDAH members get free enrollment!)

🔎 The “I just want to feel like I felt at my old weight” mistake​

An article by Ragen Chastain on a topic I know many adult clients bring up when they're still strongly pulled by diet culture. It can help us to know the issues with this line of thinking.

🔥 The Confidence of Fat Sexuality: Interview w/ Elle Chase​

A writer at Scarleteen interviewed Elle Chase, a Sex Educator and author of Curvy Girl Sex, and they discussed the importance of sexuality, representation, and advocacy for fat folks.

🎧 Harm reduction in EDs with Gloria Lucas​

Lovely Becoming Podcast (hosted by Mimi Cole) had a conversation about how to work with eating disorders through a harm reduction lens.

🛁 Fat Bodies: Learning to Care for Your Rolls and Folds​

Article from Scarleteen about hygiene for fat folks - great for clients (or their guardians) who are worried about hygiene challenges and are accepting of the term 'fat' already (or are working on it.)

Youth Resources

💭 Let’s Rethink How We Talk to Teens about Their Weight​

Did you know taking the approach I'm talking about has shown to improve clients' blood pressure, cholesterol, self-esteem, body image, and health behaviors around eating and activity? (Moreso than any intentional weight loss techniques!) This article is a great primer if you're new to the topic.

😔 How can I trust that someone else will like my body when I hate it so much?​

Scarleteen's advice segment answers a 15 yr old's question - if your clients need to hear it from someone that's not a parent or you, if they're worried about dating or engaging in sexual activities and struggling with their self-confidence or body beliefs, this might be a great one to share (in full or in snippets.)

📹 Let's Talk Eating Disorders: For Teens​

A quick video for teens to normalize body worries, explain what fuels body concerns, and clarify what is an eating disorder. Provides brief info on why focusing on intentional weight loss isn't helpful in the long-run.

🌈 Resources for Play Therapists (Trans & Non-Binary Clients)

Not fat-specific, but I compiled these as supplementary supports for my chapters in the textbook Transformative Expressions in Play Therapy: Working with LGBTQ+ Clients Vol I. Currently 20+ listings. Supporting trans & non-binary youth properly can lead to a reduction in disordered eating risks.

Want to hear it from me?

Here's a 90 minute training (The Fundamentals of Fatphobia & Healthism for Therapists) that Sabrina Longley, LCSW, and I put on to cover the basics, especially in regards to supporting youth! We start with answering a parent question and show how to have these conversations. Then we launch into history, facts, and next steps.

Take $10 off with code: CCL10

If you're ready for an immersive full day, join us on Oct 26th (starting at 10am Pacific) virtually for FAT! at the GEMS Neurodiversity Summit.

Earn up to 4 NBCC CE credits with a VIP Ticket, enjoy our social lunch where we'll be collaging, and learn about how to support clients with disordered eating, the intersection of neurodivergence and anti-fat bias, and the power of collage!

I'd also love to know about any of your favorite fat liberationist resources - hit reply if you've got some that aren't on my list!

Until next time,

Dr. Kade Sharp