Family & Home Life

Top 10 Blogs on Homeschooling Autistic or Special Needs Students

Looking for informative and helpful resources and blogs for homeschooling your autistic or special needs child? We’ve got you covered.

Gift Ideas for Autistic Children

If you are a teacher, parent, caregiver, or family member of an autistic child in the middle of holiday gift shopping, you may wonder what are some good gifts for autistic children. Shopping for them can be tricky, as many have restricted interests, sensory- or other challenges.

Mental Health Empowerment: Providing Compassionate and Client-Centered Support for People With Autism

How can stakeholders use principles of self-determination, individuality, and compassion to support individuals with autism and their self-directed mental health care pursuits?

8 Tips for Helping Autistic* Children Prepare for a New Baby

Preparing for the arrival of a new baby often involves a significant adjustment period as the family acclimates to schedule changes and reallocates some of their time, attention, and resources to get ready for the logistical and emotional challenges that adding a new family memb

Support Groups for Autistic* Children, Teens, Young Adults and Parents

Support groups and social clubs for children, teens, and young adults with autism provide a safe environment for people with shared experiences to connect and participate in a supportive, understanding community. No matter what your child's or student’s needs are, there are simi

Planning a Celebration for Your Child With Autism

Imagine a party with music that’s just too loud –or a concert that keeps shining the same bright spotlight directly into your eyes . What if you felt trapped inside an overcrowded venue with people you don’t know surrounding you on every side? This is how children with autism ca

Parents and the Autism Diagnosis: How to Accept Your Autistic* Child

Receiving a diagnosis of any kind is difficult for parents, and an autism diagnosis can be particularly frightening. The uncertainty about how to best support your child, and the confusion that can follow conflicting treatment advice, can be very unsettling. Hearing that autism

What Disney’s Encanto Teaches Us About Families, Autism, and Managing Expectations

Let’s talk about the family Madrigal from Disney’s Encanto to see what we can learn as parents and families with both neurotypicals and members with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). I’ll try to be as spoiler-free as possible, but if you haven’t yet checked out Encanto , you shoul

Setting Meaningful and Achievable New Year's Goals for Autism Parents and Caregivers

As a grandparent and full-time caregiver of a teenager on the autism spectrum, setting personal goals for the New Year isn’t something at the top of my to-do list anymore. In years past, I used to make resolutions that focused on self-improvement, such as losing weight or gettin

11 Ways to Prepare for Happy Holidays With an Autistic Child

The end-of-the-year holidays are supposed to be happy occasions, filled with joyful traditions such as family gatherings, elaborately home-cooked meals, the exchanging of gifts, parties, fireworks, and other festive activities. They’re supposed to be a time to look forward to an

Tricks for Making Halloween Enjoyable for Your Autistic Child

Many children love Halloween, but some autistic children find Halloween to be stressful and unenjoyable. The holiday boosts traditions that may be worry-invoking for some neurodivergent children. On Halloween, children often dress up in costumes. For autistic individuals, dressi

Taking the Sting out of Discipline for Autistic Kids

The benefits of setting clear boundaries for autistic children All children need rules and boundaries to help them know how to act appropriately in different settings and situations, and autistic children are no exception. Rules and boundaries will teach them skills they will ne

Cut Yourself Some Slack: Parenting and Autism

The Importance of Self-Care for Parents and Caregivers of Autistic Children For parents and caregivers, and especially when caring for an autistic child, it can be very difficult to find time for self-care. The demands and needs are many, and in our desire to provide our childre

The Simple Guide to Prevent Autism Caregiver Burnout

I was an exhausted Mom, nervous and beyond overwhelmed with my toddler sitting (bouncing) wildly on my lap on his knees, singing inaudibly while playing with my earrings as I tended to the cries and wiggles of my infant of 11 months in his baby carrier on the airplane seat next

Autism-Friendly Vacation Destinations: A Guide for Families

A list of best resorts and theme parks serving families with autistic children: from customized services and specialized camps for autistic children to front-of-the-line passes, vacations can be autism-friendly!

My Autistic Child is Thinking of Dating and--Gasp!--Sex?!!

Most parents are understandably anxious about the thought of their child eventually dating and becoming sexually active. That anxiety may be even greater for the parents of an autistic child. What’s a parent to do? The goal is to support every young person in healthy, optimal hu

Professional Hope: One Mother’s Story of Gratitude for the Specialists that Support Parents of Autistic Children

"I have assessed and treated a great number of families affected by ASD...What I can say is this: When parents can move through the emotion and identify...the strengths in their child and themselves, they are then able to consider the numerous options they have to support their

Best Free Resources for Homeschooling Your Autistic Child

Autism and Anxiety: 10 Strategies to Help Your Child

For children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the prevalence of anxiety is shown to be greater than for their peers. Some studies indicate that anxiety disorders are present 40% of the time for children with autism. The good news about taking this into consideration is that

Parent Strategies for Helping Children with Autism Cope with Transitions and Changing Routines

Transitions from one activity to the next can be difficult for any child, especially if they are being asked to leave a preferred activity to instead do something they need to do. While some behaviors in response to transitions may look similar between neurotypical children and

Parent Strategies to Help Children with Autism Cope with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD)

In this article, we explore Sensory Processing Disorder (also called sensory integration or sensory sensitivity), and how these issues can be alleviated and treated, and strategies parents and caregivers can use at home and school to help ease day to day life. Stages Learning Ma

Ten Holiday Gifts for Children with Autism

Whether you’re shopping for Christmas, Hanukkah, or any other holiday, finding the “perfect” gift for a child with autism can be hard, given the range of sensitivities and needs a child may have. Because autism spectrum disorder (ASD) includes a wide list of symptoms and affects

Ten Tips for Visiting Family When Your Child Has Autism

With the holiday season comes family gatherings, cozy meals, vacation plans, and yes — a dash of festive chaos. Traveling to visit family can be stressful even when everything goes as expected. However, a bit of planning and preparation can help keep your holiday season the most

Wandering and Autism: 6 Strategies to Prevent Wandering Behavior

Wandering or “elopement,” a common behavioral occurrence among children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), refers to the tendency to leave a safe, supervised space or caregiver and subsequently expose oneself to potential danger. Wandering is both tragic and terrifying for par