That feeling of dread…
The other day I had an appointment with my midwife, and although it was just my 25 week check up, I was dreading it. I had that feeling of dread in my stomach. I sat the reception waiting area biting my lip. I know it’s silly, I had nothing to be afraid of…. But I…
Helping your autistic child
In yesterday’s email, I talked about the difficulties children with autism have with “paying attention”… Now that you understand why it can be so challenging for autistic children to “pay attention” to you let’s think about some of the ways you can help your child develop this skill. Here is a list of things you…
Common beliefs about children with autism
There’s a common belief that children with autism “don’t like to socially interact” … And over the years this belief has proven to be a nothing but a myth to me… You see what I’ve seen is not that children with autism don’t like social interaction, it’s that they often don’t know how to go…
An important lesson or any parent or carer who has a child with autism
“Do strive for consistency at all times.” This is a quote from a page I recently read in one of my ‘go to’ autism books “1001 Great Ideas for Teaching and Raising Children with Autism or Asperger’s”, and I must admit when I first saw it I thought I’d misread it. I thought the sentence…
Giving your autistic child choices
Offering choice is a lovely way or helping your child feel more in control of their life, and it builds upon their decision-making skills also. I’ve even read that when ASD children feel in control of their lives they are more likely to interact successfully with others and their environment. When giving your child choices,…
Parents are the real superhero’s
When I first meet people and tell them what I do for a living a lot of the time they say stuff like… “Wow that must be so rewarding.” “I bet that’s a really challenging job” “Good for you!” and “How admirable!” And although I don’t disagree with all of their points, I am…
Help Your Autistic Child Become More Independent (video)
Here is a quick video I made this week about how to help your child become more independent at home. There’s nothing complicated about any of these ideas; they are all super simple ways for you and the whole family to help build your child’s independence. Every parent wants to see their child to…
I didn’t have time to call you back…
Us humans are brilliant at making up excuses for not doing stuff we said we were going to do. But in my experience, there’s one excuse that gets used more than any other…. I bet you’ve used it several times this month already! (Shamefully I probably have too) It’s: “I don’t have the time.”…
How to help people accept your child with autism
I went to visit my grandparents recently… After a while, the conversation went on to my work and soon after that, on to general autism. Now I can’t remember if it was my grandfather or grandmother, but one of them turned to me and said… “There just seems to be so many more autistic…
Why you shouldn’t be a perfectionist with your autistic child
One of the challenges that comes up most often when speaking to parents and carers who have children with autism is simply finding the time to get things done… You see…. For many parents and carers, it’s not the “not knowing what to do” that holds them back. It’s the “not finding the time…
