Last year the kids and I discovered geocaching, a kind of treasure hunt to find hidden containers using only GPS coordinates. I was excited because it combines a bunch of things that my oldest son Max really enjoys – maps, numbers, puzzles – so I was pretty sure that it...
Autism
An Autism-Friendly Guide to Gift Giving
Amidst all the fun and celebration, the holiday season can also be a big source of stress for many autistic kids. Routines are disrupted and there’s a lot of sensory overload to cope with, not to mention all the extra social situations. These can all quickly add up to make...
Scientists Implicate More Than 100 Genes In Causing Autism
— http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/10/29/359818102/scientists-implicate-more-than-100-genes-in-causing-autismResearchers at more than 50 laboratories announce that they have identified more than 100 genes that are mutated in children with autism, dozens more than were known before.
Halloween Break
Holidays are tough for Lily, and not that Halloween is a holiday in the same vein as Thanksgiving or Christmas are, but it’s an “event” and there are rules and procedures and “goings-on”. Still, if there was a holiday for her, a holiday where she is free to move around...
Tips for an Inclusive Halloween
Halloween is a relatively new phenomenon where I live. Every October for the past twenty years, Australian kids have been waging a desperate campaign to bring ghosts and goblins into the national consciousness (it doesn’t help that pumpkins are pretty scarce in spring). Progress has been slow, so we’re still...
Sometimes You Win One
There are times, and these seem to occur with increasing frequency, that raising an autistic child pushes our parenting decisions into what might be viewed as a “no win.” Certainly we had our share of those decisions with our older daughter too, but it seems as if they’re more common...
Finding Safe and Supportive Spaces Online
Fifteen years ago when my kids were diagnosed with autism, online resources and support were really hard to find. Parents often felt isolated and disconnected from others going through the same challenges. Today there’s the opposite problem – information and support groups are everywhere! So the problem has now become how to find reliable...
Adapted Communication
I think it’s only fitting that I start a post about communicating effectively with your children by discussing the merits of ignoring them. I think that sometimes being a good parent means that you have to do just that. I don’t mean put them out of your mind or not...
Advocacy Without Anger
Some days I’m sick and tired of having to be a demanding parent. Just for once I want to get what we need without having to ask or argue. The nature of special needs means that accommodations for our kids are never provided automatically. They have to be specifically requested,...
Tips To Ease The Transition Into Summer
Ah, summer. The weather’s warmer, there’s no homework to argue about or lunches to pack. But while you might be dreaming of long lazy days spent by the pool, for kids with autism or sensory processing disorders this time of year can be the most difficult. The end of the...