The first chapter of the novel I am writing for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). Let me know if you like it. It just my first draft and hasn’t been edited yet. Henry walked back and forth across the end of playground, alone. He held a long stick, which in his mind was a light [...]
Back to school accommodations for autism spectrum kids, part 2 This time of year I am busy making suggestions for school accommodations for my clients on the autism spectrum. Getting the correct plan at school is one of the two most important interventions for autism spectrum children (the other being a good home behavior management [...]
All my Facebook followers will be entered to win a signed copy of my book “My Parent has an Autism Spectrum Disorder: A workbook for children and teens”. All you have to do to enter is to like my page on Facebook. If you already follow me on Facebook, then you have already been entered! [...]
Dear readers: I have recently started a new series of YouTube videos, so you can follow me there “in person” if you want to hear my latest. My YouTube channel is ASDspecialist. I am doing videos about areas of concern for autism spectrum kids, and also some general interest psychotherapy topics. In addition, I have [...]
This post is a paper written by a wonderful young woman, Katy Heyborne, who happens to have Asperger’s Syndrome. She has graciously shared it with me, and given me permission to share it with others. High functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders Shouldn’t Be Cured, Rather the Positive Aspects of them should Be Considered. Autism Spectrum disorders [...]
This is a follow up from my last two posts about explaining an autism spectrum diagnosis to siblings and to the children themselves. I think it would be helpful to explain the most common reactions that I get from the autism spectrum children when I inform them about their diagnoses, and why I think we [...]
When to tell I recommend sharing earlier rather than later.Sometimes the child is informed as part of the diagnostic workup. If that was not done, I would wait until you as the parent have read up on what the diagnosis means and have a good understanding yourself of the associated strengths and weaknesses. Check out [...]
In today’s post I am responding to a question from a reader about explaining high functioning autism to siblings. If you are going to talk to siblings about the diagnosis, make sure the child himself knows about the diagnosis, so that if he hears reference to it he’ll know what you are talking about! I’ll [...]
Aggression is the number one area of concern for the parents of the ASD children and teens I see in therapy. It really is understandable why this problem would be more common for ASD youth once you think about it. One reason is that ASD children may have difficulty with empathy and perspective taking skills. [...]