Advice for parents with autistic children. The articles give top tips on how to make life a little easier, balance family-life, forming relationships.
An autistic adult teaches readers the value of pets for people with autism and provides advice to share with children on how to care for them. As a child, I had a lot of pets. We had all sorts of animals, from dogs to mice to rats. It was like a zoo. A childhood filled
Read on for 10 clues to help parents identify “helicopter parenting” and how to fix it. Many parents with children who have autism may struggle with separating from them when they attend school or join in community events and activities. However, some parents may experience an extreme obsession with their progress at school, who their
A pediatric occupational therapist shares tips to make cutting your child’s nails easier on everyone involved. Kerry and Jordan decided it was time to try trimming their son’s fingernails again. Kyle had been accidentally scratching his face while sleeping. It was getting harder to convince him to cooperate with a weekly trim. They waited until
A pharmacist describes ADHD burnout and fatigue, while offering some actionable steps to help manage the challenges associated with the condition. You might think of people with ADHD as having high energy levels, but did you know chronic fatigue is connected to ADHD? This is true for two reasons. The first being the constant neurological
Do you ever doubt your own courage? Have you ever felt inadequate in comparison to other parents and their accomplishments? Have you ever considered, though, that courage could be based on perspective? Curiously, do the same set of rules that adults struggle with actually hinder our view of true courage in our children? It is
An autism expert explains how allowing your child to make mistakes and develop problem-solving skills can benefit them hugely later in life. Research tells us that, in order to build flexibility in our children and students, we need to stop thinking and problem-solving for them and inspire them to problem-solve for themselves. We don’t want
A psychologist and a behavior therapist share their top tips for parents looking to improve their autistic children’s motor and cognitive skills. As a parent of a child diagnosed with autism, you might constantly worry about current goals and targets. You may worry about your child missing a milestone (or even a few!), leading to
Does the scenario described in this article’s title sound familiar? Perhaps you can also relate to the bullet points below? These scenarios often occur due to a lack of executive functioning skills. These skills help us plan, organize, and sequence steps. They apply to tasks as small as putting away a pencil or picking up
Caregivers often focus on building their children’s communication skills, but here’s why it’s also vital for parents to ensure their own instructions are clear. Any parent will recognize times when an instruction given or a question asked of their child has not been responded to in the expected way, if at all! When communicating with
Divorce is a very tricky ordeal for families, especially for children on the spectrum. Here are ways you can ease the process for your autistic child. No matter what the dynamics of your family are, divorce is a difficult time for everyone. It is even more so when there are children involved. Since children do
With a clear understanding of autism, grandparents can be a strong family support. Receiving an autism diagnosis for your child can be an emotional whirlwind of relief, grief, hope, fear, and everything in between. As parents begin to process what this means for their child and family, they often face another unforeseen issue: explaining autism
Here are tips for finding support through community and extended family. When raising a child or caring for an adult with autism, it’s easy to feel isolated, like you’re carrying the weight of the world alone. Yet, something powerful happens when we connect with others on a similar journey. Whether we attend a local support
A guide to assist parents in surrendering control and encouraging their ASD children to make their own choices. As an educator, I feel tremendously in tune with children and their needs. I believe that intuition stems from the luxury of being removed from day-to-day parenting. Having distance between me and a child gives me time
A look at ways to develop a balanced lifestyle to promote well-being for parents of special needs children. “Your desires don’t matter anymore now that you have become a parent.”“I sacrificed way more for my children than you are doing for yours.”“You want to hear you are doing a great job? Tell me how?” How
A parenting coach and cognitive specialist shares her top tips for co-parenting a child on the autism spectrum. As a child, I was very much an observer of things. I don’t know if I was born with this ability or whether it’s a default characteristic of being the youngest child; either way, I was a
Meet a young autistic girl who uses her voice to advocate for kindness in a world that is quick to scorn the differences of others. Kindness matters one heart at a time. This is my motto for my social movement, LittlestLady Cares. Hello, my name is Alyssa, but my nickname is Littlest Lady. I am
A mother shares the beauty of her autistic son’s adventurous mind and the lessons she’s learned through him. I live with a real-life Sheldon Cooper. My son Lincoln, diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, is a 15-year-old genius who ropes off my bathroom with bright yellow homemade signs that say: “Do not enter, experiment in progress!” He
An autism mom and travel advisor shares tips and solutions to make traveling with autistic children a little easier. My family has been very blessed over the years with all the travel opportunities we’ve had. From the unforgettable sandy beaches of Hawaii to the gentle cherry blossoms blooming in Japan, we have seen a lot.
Learn about ways to nurture your autistic child’s interests to discover their strengths. Educators, parents, and professionals must create an environment that fosters the emergence of a child’s strengths. We can’t expect a child to recognize or tell us about their strengths. We also can’t expect strengths to develop without assistance. Adults who care about
Discover why parents of children on the spectrum should nurture their children’s special interests to build on their strengths. I wasn’t diagnosed as autistic until college. So as a kid, nobody could figure out what was “wrong” with me. I had huge energy, took over any room I walked into, and I was always the
Tips from a hairstylist to make haircuts less stressful for kids on the spectrum. Does the following sound familiar? You have spent time online, looking at reviews. You have asked every single person you know, with the hope that they know the one person who might actually be able to cut your child’s hair. One
Caregivers may experience PTSD from the stress of their role. Parenting a child with autism is an experience filled with profound love, unwavering dedication, and unique challenges. Achieving each developmental milestone feels like a victory. However, setbacks or meltdowns can often lead to emotional, mental, and physical fatigue. For many caregivers, the continuous demands of
One parent provides insight into building a relationship with a child with pathological demand avoidance. I have never been good at math. The moment I see numbers clustered together, I start itching like someone who has just undergone a few rounds with a mosquito. Seriously, who decided to mix the alphabet with numbers? Why does
Does a PDA diagnosis support those on the spectrum or build more separation? I sat next to two young moms at a cafe, each with a child on the spectrum. Both children had been diagnosed with Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA), and both moms were concerned about the challenges they faced at school. After introducing myself
Growing recognition of the importance of caring for caregivers has emerged in recent years. The relentless demands of caregiving can take a toll on parents’ physical and mental well-being, often leading to burnout and increased stress levels. Balancing professional commitments and personal life can be challenging. When you’re a caregiver for someone with autism, that
Parenting a child with autism brings unique joys and challenges, and it can place additional stress on even the healthiest relationships. Daily routines, therapies, and emotional ups and downs can easily lead to couples feeling disconnected. Yes, you will experience changes in your marriage relationship! However, the choices you make in the midst of these
As we walk our autism journey together, let’s explore self-compassion, which serves as the cornerstone for transformation. Transformation is the greatest gift we can give to our children and to ourselves. What is transformation? Transformation is a lifelong process of diving more deeply into our hearts and living more and more in alignment with our
Building relationships with autistic individuals requires understanding, patience, and flexibility. Nurturing these relationships can often present challenges because of communication differences, sensory sensitivities, certain behaviors, and differences in social understanding. Despite these challenges, the rewards of fostering meaningful connections are rich. They offer mutual growth, understanding, and enriched experiences for autistic individuals and their loved
You’ve celebrated things most parents overlook: a clean face, a bite eaten without help, fastening a button for the first time. In your world, these “small” self-help skills aren’t small at all. They’re breakthroughs. Self-help skills for autism, like brushing teeth, zipping a jacket, or pouring a drink, may seem simple to others. However, for
Welcoming a grandchild into the world is a joyous occasion. When a grandchild is diagnosed with autism, grandparents find themselves on a unique journey, one that requires patience, understanding, and a willingness to learn and adapt. Let’s explore the role of grandparents in the lives of autistic grandchildren, focusing on activities to strengthen relationships with
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