Not Your Average Autism Mom

For most of us, we take executive functioning skills for granted.  It is something that just came naturally, but for our children, it is not that way. They need to be taught these skills through repetition and practice and you must be patient and understanding of their struggles.   Not all autistic individuals have deficits in executive functioning skills and some may have deficits in on...

I believe that for our children to grow and develop we cannot raise them the same as we would raise our neurotypical children because there are differences.  The vast majority of autistic children, even children who are non-verbal are able to understand and comply with basic rules of conduct they just might need more time to adjust and become comfortable with what is and what isn’t allowed. T...

For some of our kids who might have limited language cooperating is extra challenging because they might not understand the directions of what exactly you want them to do and if you are giving them multi-step directions, this creates more overwhelm for them when you are asking them to do too many things at once. Many of our children have deficits with executive functioning skills and multi-step di...

In this episode, I am talking about the perceptions and misconceptions that people have about autism when their lives have not yet been impacted by autism. With the increased number of families whose lives are being impacted by autism, surely more and more people's lives will be impacted.  Currently, 1 in 44 children here in the US are diagnosed and that number is not far behind International...

Being a sibling can be a difficult dynamic and when you add in autism, it takes it to an entirely different level. It is normal for siblings to have a range of ever-changing emotions being part of a family whose lives have been impacted by autism. As you continue to explain autism to your child or children who aren’t diagnosed with autism, we hope that they will become more understanding and more...

Processing speed is the amount of time that we take to take in the information being presented to us, make sense of it, and respond to it. This can be visually when we are reading something, auditory when we are listening to something or someone is telling us something, or motor planning which basically means that even when a child has done a task before, every time it is like they are doing it fo...

Tourette Syndrome is a condition of the nervous system. It is a neurological disorder that involves often sudden and repetitive movements, twitches, or unwanted sounds (tics) that cannot be easily controlled. Statistics show that around one in five children with Tourette Syndrome also meets the criteria for Autism. All the research that I have done, says that it is unlikely that so many children h...

In this episode, I am talking about those moments when you have had it and you are simply at what feels like the end of your rope and why staying calm in those moments will pay off in the end.   I know that every one of us knows intellectually that in the moments of chaos, staying calm is the answer, but it’s not always easy to execute and at that moment we find it hard to do the right thing....

If your child is consistently having meltdown behaviors that include an intense amount of emotion or appears to be unable to control their temper, it is not typical behavior but unfortunately, our autistic children often feel things more intensely and they are often unable to return to a place of calm as quickly as we would like.   It is important for our children when they are exhibiting the...

Most of our children diagnosed with autism, share this commonality of having social awkwardness, right?  Think about this, we use social skills to some extent every single day of our lives which means that our children will need help in learning and developing these skills if our goal is for them to become independent adults. They need help understanding how to act and engage in different soc...

Today, I am talking about the dreaded decision of whether or not to pursue promoting your child to the next grade level or holding them back a year.  For our kids, this is often such a difficult decision because while they may be advanced in some areas they are likely delayed in other areas both academically and socially. We have had two years of unprecedented disruptions in learning with COV...

There are many similarities between autism and dyspraxia and for that reason, there are sometimes challenges in diagnosing one over the other or both. Both disorders present very similarly and in some instances, they can occur side by side. Some of the signs of both disorders are seen in early development, those things would include delays in sitting up, crawling, and walking as well as potty trai...

Pragmatic language by definition is the social skills that we use in our daily interactions with others. This includes conversation skills, the use of non-verbal communication skills, understanding non-literal language, and interpreting and expressing emotions. Does your child have a difficult time interacting with others? Do they have a hard time starting a conversation or engaging in back and fo...

In today's episode I am talking about traveling into the uncharted territory we face when our kids become interested in dating and romantic relationships. This time calls for some BIG conversations, so come on, join me as I dive in.   Our teenagers develop sexually in the same way as other teens but they have to build the skill-set to navigate it. Like so many other things, it doesn’t come na...

How do I know if my child's IEP is good or good enough?  Such a common question.   Today I am giving you things to consider when assessing your child's IEP.  What are some red flags?  What is and isn't ok?   Questions to ask so that you understand the goals on your child's IEP and when 80% mastery is not ok.   I talk about what you should always do and what I don't re...

Teenage years are hard, without a doubt.  As their dependency on us and our need to care for them and control their world shifts, it can be super uncomfortable for both them and us. In today's episode, I am talking about the most common things that come up when I am coaching moms of teens or pre-teens.  I am giving you strategies I hope will help you navigate through this time with less...

In this episode, I am talking about one of the behaviors that many parents see in their child diagnosed with autism and that is toe walking.  What is toe walking?  What should you do or not do if you are concerned about your child's toe walking?   Research tells us that as many as 25% of autistic children engage in some form of toe walking. Toe walking isn’t specific to autism but i...

In this episode, I am talking about a HOT topic in our autism world and one that many people have strong beliefs about one way or another and that is high functioning vs low functioning and functioning labels in general. The terms high functioning and low functioning while many people don’t agree with them are still being used all too often. I honestly believe that the terms don’t provide an actua...

I have done many episodes on different areas and important things you need to know about special education, today, I am going to specifically talk about some of the misconceptions parents often have about special education. The school doesn't develop your child's IEP.  An IEP is developed by a TEAM and it has nothing to do with what is or isn’t available at your child’s school but instead, it...

First of all, it’s important to know that while it’s evident that the rate of diagnosis has significantly increased in recent years, researchers only began tracking autism rates in the year 2000.  For some perspective on the numbers, my son Jordan who is 25 was diagnosed when he was 5 years old and when he was diagnosed, it was 1 in 158 and now, in 2021 that number is 1 in 44.   That is...

Most of our kids are so rigid with their routines and schedules and breaking that pattern causes a disruption. So this Sunday, March 13that 2 am we are moving those clocks ahead 1 hour, and that likely means that in your house, you will have an adjustment period, right?  In this episode, I am giving you some tips and suggestions on things that you can do in advance of the clock's changing. &n...

Many parents find themselves unsure when they begin to see their child struggle in certain areas if they should just “wait it out”?  Maybe you are thinking that he or she will grow out of it, get past these quirky or odd things and catch up. Is that you? I have worked with many moms who were sitting in that place of “hopeful”. What I want you to consider is why are you hesitant or even resist...

Yes, we are talking about it again because you still have questions and so I'm going to dive in a little bit more.  While self-harming behaviors look different for our children with autism and individuals without autism, they are very prevalent in the autistic population. You may have heard them referred to as SIB for short. For most individuals on the spectrum, these behaviors are happening...

Have you ever found yourself thinking that you just aren’t “good enough”?  Don’t worry, you are not alone. I want you to give yourself permission to NOT be able to fix everything and you have to take a look at the pressure you are putting on yourself. I know that one of the biggest challenges we have raising our child or children with autism is the emotional roller coaster that we find oursel...

Just because your child has a medical diagnosis of autism DOES NOT mean that they will qualify for Special Education services under the eligibility category of autism. When your child is being evaluated in the educational setting, they are using the LAW of IDEA, Individuals with Disabilities Educational Act to determine Special Education eligibility. Special Education services are not solely based...