How To Get The Social Skills Class Your Family Wants and Needs
Seriously, what child really wants to sign up for social skills class? In my storied career, I’ve actually only heard one child bemoan, “But Mom, I really need social skills!” The rest of my clients have been coaxed, cajoled, and bribed into attending the initial session, generally to discover that the class wasn’t that harrowing, […]
Continue readingPrepare Now: Teenagers With Autism Are Becoming Adults
According to statistics, an estimated 500,000 teenagers diagnosed with autism will become adults over the next 10 years. As the rate of diagnosis continues to climb (1 in 125 in 2004, 1 in 59 US births in 2018), preparations must be made, not only by families but by our communities as well. Currently, nearly half […]
Continue readingNeurodiversity, You’re Forgetting Someone Important
What Is Neurodiversity? Neurodiversity, short for neurological diversity, is the idea that diversity in human behavior and thought is the result of normal variability. The implication of neurodiversity is that people who are neurologically different from most of the population, such as individuals with autism, should be celebrated, not ignored or taught to be “normal.” […]
Continue readingHow Netflix’s Atypical Raises Awareness On The Different
Netflix released Season Two of Atypical in September 2018, and soon there will be Season Three. I really hope this TV series will continue for many more seasons. I have been following it since the first season and I believe that there are social dimensions that should not be absorbed by the comical element of […]
Continue readingThe Amazing Ways the Power of Music Changed My Life
Now I had a new title, I was no longer just a girl with autism, I was The Shires’ “number one fan” and I could do anything. From a very young age I could tell I was different. Everyone else always seemed to know what to say or the correct way to act, whereas I […]
Continue readingDating and Special Needs: Are You Ready?
Most parents of teens tell me they are not ready for their baby to date! No question, their teens are curious, developing sexually in a typical manner (thank you, puberty), wondering/anxious about dating, and are truly considering the possibility of dating. Before we get to the horrors and anxieties of dating, let’s recall some of […]
Continue readingTop Advice on How to Approach Your ASD Teen About Hygiene
My son Ryan entered puberty way ahead of schedule, and I was caught by surprise scrambling to create strategies to help navigate his increased need for a basic daily hygiene regimen. What I needed was a buy-in from him: a plan to get Ry excited about cleanliness and a method to point him down the […]
Continue readingAn Exclusive Look at AUTISM with Taryn Plendl
Encouragement speaker Derrick Hayes gives an AUTISM Interview by asking six questions through each letter in the word AUTISM to give readers an insightful perspective from parents, experts, entrepreneurs and other leaders in the field. Today’s AUTISM Interview is with Taryn Plendl, a USA Today bestselling author and a mother who, along with her husband, adopted a young girl […]
Continue readingIssue 67 – Preparing for Adulthood With Autism
Buy Single Issue Subscribe today and save 50% Features: How to Transition Your Young Adult with Asperger’s Into the World Learn ways to help your adult child transition from living at home to successfully enter the adult world. Safia Fatima Mohiuddin What You Need to Know About the Benefits of AAC Evaluations A certified speech-language […]
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