The best DBT skills for Autism?

[UndertheCedartree]

I completed a year of DBT a couple of years ago. I really want to get back into practising the skills. I wondered if anyone here is Autistic and use DBT - which skills did you for me the most helpful? Or if you're a professional doing DBT with autistic people which do you think are the most helpful?

Is DBT like ABA, and if not what would say are the key differences please OP?

I think how useful people find the skills is a hugely variable/personal thing. Have you still got your old dbt materials to have a look through?

Sorry, I should have put more information in my OP.

I don't know much about ABA, except I know many autistic people do not like it.

DBT is Dialectical Behavioural Therapy. It was originally designed for use with those with EUPD (Emotionally unstable personality disorder) aka BPD (Borderline pd) but has since been used more widely. It is based around 4 areas: Mindfulness, Distress tolerance, Emotional regulation and Interpersonal skills. One part of it is learning skills within these 4 areas and practicing them so they can be used in real life situations.

Happy to answer any other questions you have about it 😊

I have! In an extremely thick folder!

I wonder if anyone has any recommendations on a workbook I could use to refresh my memory? That might be more helpful than just reading my folder but yes, I could go through and try to pick some out to practice. I wish there was a book/planner available with diary cards - I've never found anything like that. I think I'll photocopy some of my old diary cards and start doing them again as a prompt.

DBT is nothing like ABA! Can’t even explain how it’s not similar as that’s like saying ‘how is a kettle different from a tree’ - they’re just completely unrelated.

There’s a good website OP called dbt self help and a decent book called something like ‘don’t let your emotions run your life’

I find all of it helpful but use mindfulness and interpersonal effectiveness daily.

Yes, I wasn't quite sure what to say about the key differences! I don't think there are any similarities!

Thank you for the information. I use mindfulness most days and self soothe, probably radical acceptance. Interpersonal effectiveness I don't think I use at all. It was probably the one area of skills I found hardest to understand.