-
The Critical Role of a Caregiver in Navigating Systems of Care
No one knows your child better than you. When it comes to understanding their unique needs – you are the expert. This is critical for parents and caregivers of children with emotional, behavioral, and cognitive differences. Whether you are navigating systems of care, identifying areas of concern,...
-
Navigating Autistic Burnout as an Autistic Parent
Being an autistic parent is hard. When your kids are also neurodivergent, this can make life even more challenging when trying to navigate everyone’s complex, often diametrically opposed needs. When we need space, a lot of the time our children need connection and closeness, and we can become...
-
Supporting Families with Autistic Children – What More Can Be Done?
According to a March 2023 press release from the CDC, about 1 in 36 (2.8%) children have been identified with Autism Spectrum Disorder based on data gathered from 11 communities around the United States. This is a 22% increase from 2018, which found the prevalence of ASD to be 1 in 44...
-
Navigating the Sandwich Generation: My Personal Journey as a Neurodivergent Entrepreneur, Mother, and Daughter
I am a sandwich generation mother and daughter; I can attest to our unique challenges. I have the added challenge of a disability, or as I like to refer to it, a unique neurotype. Despite growing up thinking I was a neurotypical person who was just unlikeable or “weird,” I have always been...
-
Autism’s Growing Problem
As kids with autism become teenagers and adults, fewer and fewer services are available to help them and their families In March 2020, my wife and I dropped our teenage son off at a residential school for kids with autism in Boston. It was the day after Purim - just before the world seemed to...
-
Engaging and Supporting Parents of Children Recently Diagnosed with Autism
No parent wants to learn that their child is autistic. Hopes and dreams for a neurotypical child are mostly abandoned and replaced by fear, uncertainty and, often, despair. Thus, effective professional intervention must begin with active listening to grasp the parent perspective on their child’s...
-
11 Compassionate Parenting Tips for Families with Autistic Children
Few people realize the challenges of being a parent, until they become one. Now, imagine the added challenges of parenting an autistic child which is becoming more common as the number of children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) increases. According to the Centers for Disease...
-
Autism Around the World: An Interview with a First Lady with a Degree in Special Education and “Autism Belize”
She doesn’t flinch… “We need money! We need a lot of money. We need a lot of training, and it costs a lot of money…We’re not lost. We’re not this little country that has our heads in the sand. Every time somebody suggests to me ‘Let’s have a Special Education summit!’ It upsets...
-
Person-Centered Early Intervention Program: A Whole Family Approach
The prevalence of autism is at an all-time high. Today, we all seem to know a parent of a child who has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). According to estimates from the CDC, the rate of autism has more than tripled over the span of two decades: from one in 150 in 2000, to one in...
-
An Interview with Elaine Hall, Founder of “The Miracle Project” and Mother of a Non-Speaking Autistic Adult, On the Concept of “Profound Autism”
This interview article was originally published on the Neurodiversity Press Blog and has been republished with permission. Michael John Carley: Elaine, tell me about your son, Neal. Elaine Hall: Neal Katz is a 28-year-old autistic multi-modality communicator who uses gestures,...
