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Issue 69 – The Gift of Calm This Season

August 3, 2021

Autism Parenting Magazine Issue 69 - The Gift of Calm This Season https://www.autismparentingmagazine.com/issue-69-gift-of-calm-this-season/
Autism Parenting Magazine – Issue 69

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Features:

Expert Advice On How To Manage Anxiety In Children With Autism
A consultant psychiatrist with 20 years of clinical experience shares ways to ease your child’s anxiety and encourage stress management.
Andrés Fonseca, MD, MSc, MRCPsych, FRSA

Easy Ways To Create Some Calm For A Child With ASD This Holiday
Learn 10 simple tips to share with family and friends to help them better understand your child’s special needs during a hectic holiday season.
Janele Hoerner

Top Advice On Ways Teachers And Parents Can Better Communicate
Read excellent advice on ways teachers and parents can work together as a team to ensure success for a child with autism.
Jen Jones

Selecting The Best Gift For A Child with Autism
Take a look at this guide to selecting a great gift this season for someone you love with autism.
Autism Parenting Magazine

Valuable Ways to Maximize Your Health Insurance With ASD
Expert advice is given on ways to maximize your reimbursement and minimize your stress when filing a health insurance claim.
Harvey J. Matoren, MPH, CCAP

Exciting Ways to Build Skills With Holiday Music With Special Needs
A music specialist explains the many ways holiday songs can be used as tools for staying positive and managing time this season. The artist also provides an exclusive link to his new holiday recording, inspired by his work for APM.
David Meyers

Me and My “Art”Ism
The mother of a young man with autism shares a short story that reflects her son’s struggles with Asperger’s syndrome.
Karen Reilly

Simple Ways You Can Help Your Autistic Child Communicate
The mother of six grown children, three of whom have autism, shares her tips for helping children with autism communicate.
Ginger Strivelli

Remarkable Ways Yoga Can Help Your Child With Special Needs
The founder of MahaDevi Yoga Centre in London shares ways yoga can improve the emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being of a special needs child.
Denisa Nenova

Top Ways To Interrupt The Meltdown Cycle
Great advice on changing sensory input and creating an environment to reduce the meltdown cycle.
Anika Smith

Top Ways To Find The Best Job For Someone With Severe Autism
A special education teacher and a carer for people with autism shares job opportunities for people with severe autism.
Karlyn Habenstein

Best Ways To Manage Hyperlexia And Hypernumeracy With Autism
A therapist shares how she manages her young autistic son’s hyperlexia and hypernumeracy.
S. Julal

My Son With Autism Was Born To Soar
The mother of a boy with autism shares her family’s challenges and amazing achievements.
Priscilla Garduno

5 Ways My Family Made The World A Kinder Place For Me With ASD
A teacher and autism researcher shares how her loving family supported her prior to being diagnosed with autism at the age of 18.
Megan Potts

Autism Warrior
Remarkable Mom Battles For The Rights of All People With Autism
Meet Anna Kennedy, the dynamic founder and chairperson of the British charity Anna Kennedy Online and “Autism’s Got Talent.”

Maintaining Strength And Courage During The Holidays
A licensed marriage and family therapist shares ways to use family traditions to bring peace to an otherwise hectic holiday season.
Stephanie Murphy, LMFT

Hot Off The Press!
Autism And Anxiety Disorder: The Double Diagnosis
Information on the correlation between autism and anxiety disorder including news from a recent study published in Scientific Reports.

Help: My ASD Child With Anxiety Elopes From School
An educational therapist specializing in autism shares ways to assist young people in finding help with stress and anxiety.
Rob Bernstein

A Revolutionary Sensory Integration Tool For Children With Autism
Learn about the innovative Let’s Go Shopping App that has changed the often overwhelming supermarket experience for children on the autism spectrum.
Candice Taylor

An Exclusive Look At Autism With Sara Greenberg-Hoye
A special interview with Sara Greenberg-Hoye, director of development at Greystone Programs, Inc., a human services agency dedicated to supporting people with autism and other developmental disabilities.
Derrick Hayes

What’s New On The Bookshelf?
New Guide Offers Best Health Care Practices And Communication Strategies for ASD
Learn about a first-rate healthcare book centered on patient care for people with autism written by Anita Lesko, a certified registered nurse anesthetist recently diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome.

How To Plan For Your Special Needs Child’s Legal And Financial Future
Read expert advice on when to update your longterm financial plan to ensure a lifetime of care for your special needs loved one.
Ryan F. Platt, MBA, ChFC, ChSNC

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Dear Readers,

My mother always told me life is made up of contrasts—the darker days help you appreciate the sunny ones, and the hard times make you grateful for the joyful ones. Sometimes it’s tough to remember there are brighter days ahead when life feels out of control. This is especially true during the holidays.

I so look forward to the special moments celebrating the holidays with my family, but there are days the thought of heading into the frenzied mall and managing the demands of the season make me cringe. I feel as I get older that perspective makes a huge difference in how I absorb my surroundings. And when it all gets a little overwhelming, I now look for the peace—those few contrasting moments of silence. That minute when the car is quiet after leaving a crazed store—or when my entire family is asleep and the house is silent. These quick snippets of time are not merely absent of noise, they are the gift of calm.

For families who support someone with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the need to find quiet moments is vital. Stress levels can reach an all-time high during the holidays with the increased demands on time, energy, and cash flow. In an effort to help families find a sense of balance, we asked several autism professionals for their expert guidance. This is an issue packed full of tips and strategies your family can use throughout the new year.

If you’re in search of that sense of calm, please take a look at Stephanie Murphy’s piece, Maintaining Strength and Courage During the Holidays, as the licensed marriage and family therapist shares ways to use family traditions to bring peace to the holiday season. Traditions, as she explains, are threads of our past, weaving into a heritage of memories to be shared with the entire family.

If the sudden change in routines and expectations during the holidays creates stress for your family, please take a look at the piece Expert Advice on How to Manage Anxiety in Children with Autism written by Andrés Fonseca, MD, MSc, MRCPsych, FRSA. A consultant psychiatrist with 20 years of clinical experience, Andrés’s article includes both the signs of anxiety as well as simple ways to help your child manage it.

Equally frustrating this time of year is when people don’t make an effort to understand or respect your child’s special needs. Please read Janele Hoerner’s article called Easy Ways to Create Some Calm for a Child with ASD This Holiday as the award-winning author and mother of two children with autism shares her personal tips for holiday survival. If you’re in search of extra understanding from family and friends this season, we suggest you share this piece with them.

Are you looking for enjoyable ways to bring your family together for some quality downtime? We connected with Denisa Nenova, the founder of MahaDevi Yoga Centre in London, who says yoga can improve the emotional, mental, and spiritual wellbeing of the entire family, especially a child with special needs. Please take a look at the piece, Remarkable Ways Yoga Can Help Your Child with Special Needs, as Denisa explains how regular practice provides countless health benefits and brings awareness to our mental and emotional health.

Music can also act as an excellent therapy for the family. We were thrilled to connect this season with David Meyers, a special needs music teacher and composer of more than 100 songs. In his article, Exciting Ways to Build Skills With Holiday Music with Special Needs, David explains how holiday songs can be used as tools for transitioning, in managing time, and in keeping life positive. We are especially thrilled as David has included an exclusive link to his most recent holiday recording, inspired by his work for Autism Parenting Magazine.

We understand how important it is for families affected by autism to plan and prepare for the future, especially with the new year on the horizon. A tremendous challenge many families experience involves the cost of medical care. Knowing new health insurance policies begin in a matter of days for millions of people, we asked Harvey J. Matoren, MPH, CCAP, to share his advice on ways to maximize your reimbursement and minimize your stress when filing a health insurance claim with an insurance company. For tips on managing this task, take a look at Valuable Ways to Maximize Your Health Insurance with ASD.

There have been numerous articles written over the years on ways to help someone with high-functioning autism find employment. But what about people diagnosed with severe autism? Karlyn Habenstein, an assistant special education teacher and caretaker for people with autism, expressed her concerns with us as people diagnosed with severe autism are often left out of the vocational discussion. Take a look at her piece, Top Ways to Find the Best Job for Someone with Severe Autism, as Karlyn shares a list of jobs that can be creatively accommodated to allow people with severe autism to work and be a part of their communities.

Wishing you and your family a season of peace and a new year filled with joy and opportunity.

Kind regards,
Amy KD Tobik
Editor-in-Chief

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