One of the first jobs of parenting is to keep your child healthy and nourished by ensuring they eat a variety of nutritious foods, alongside the extra treats and occasional Happy Meal that accompanies childhood. Before having children, many of us felt like this would be the easy part. Three meals a day, snacks sprinkled…
Managing End-of-Year Stress at School
Hurray, the school year is ending! Bummer, it is the beginning of state testing! This is the time of year when some children feel like giving up on school because they are mentally checked out. However, this is the time of year when children have to amp it up on both their brainpower and their…
Ten Handy Tips to Toilet Training (Without Tears!)
Toilet training can be challenging for many caregivers and professionals, but it should never be stressful or upsetting for the child. Some children are ready to toilet train around the same time as their peers, and others are not. For some children with autism, the process will be fairly quick – they will just “get…
Supporting Someone with Autism in Getting a Good Night’s Sleep
When my son was diagnosed with autism at the age of three, sleep was amongst our greatest concerns. From the time he was born, our son had issues falling asleep and staying asleep. Never did we sleep through the night for more than three straight nights (once we went through the circus act of getting…
Crianza de los hijos con Autismo
Artículo publicado en la revista de ASNC, Spectrum, en febrero del 2022. Soy una persona con un diagnóstico clínico del Trastorno del Espectro Autista. Supuestamente no aparento tener autismo, porque cuando doy a conocer mi diagnóstico, la respuesta casi siempre es que no parezco tener autismo. El impacto del autismo ha sido significativo en mi…
“Don’t Forget Me!” The Importance of Sibling Support
Rachel’s face lights up anytime she talks about Josh, her younger brother with autism. “He’s so funny,” she says. “He goes around the house making sure all the lights are turned off – even when we’re still in the room.” When Rachel is feeling down, Josh is quick to cheer her up with a dog…
It’s Time for the Dentist!
What feelings does this title bring to you? I can tell you that just writing about the dentist brought up all the anxiety-induced emotions that having a loved one with autism spectrum disorder, I/DD, and/or anxiety can bring. I (Kim) vividly remember my three-year-old son needing to have his blood drawn. It took a papoose…
Bringing Back Needed Structure and Routine
When the pandemic began in March 2020, our world took a sharp turn, and everyone’s life looked very different. With all the changes that occurred, known routines and schedules were literally turned upside down. We were left with uncertainty, few answers, and we may have lost control of maintaining what we had implemented and put…