Autism and Impulsivity: “Why did he do that?”
When I talk with parents of children on the Autism spectrum, one of the many concerns they voice are their child’s difficulty with impulsivity. This becomes a problem for the whole family. If out at a restaurant, having to “keep an eye on them” to make sure they don’t hit a stranger, pour the salt…
Parenting Your Child with Autism or ADHD Are You Happy? A New Year’s Resolution that Matters
The internal conversation goes something like this: Let me see – today, I will organize the daily curriculum, take all the children through their various subjects, make breakfast, lunch, and dinner (and if I am a good mom, they will all be very nutritionally balanced), wash a few loads of laundry, clean the house, pay the bills, get the kids to all of their scheduled commitments (baseball, hockey, ice-skating, debate club, etc.), prepare for tomorrow, read a little, and then go to bed. I don’t know how long I can do this. I am feeling overwhelmed, sad, and incomplete. But, I will be happy when….”
Autism and AD(H)D: Why Social Integration Can Be So Difficult
“Hey, Mom! Could you look over this email before I send it? I want to make sure I am saying this right.” This concern for proper phrasing and understanding of a specific social interaction is something I hear quite often from my youngest son. As many of you already are aware, my ‘baby’ (I know…
“Focus! Concentrate!” – Why can my kid focus on their video game for hours, but can’t focus on their school work for five minutes?
Have you ever wondered why your kiddo seems to be able to focus on his video game or her television show but can’t seem to pay attention to you or focus on their school work? It doesn’t seem to be just those diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) that have a difficult time paying attention…
I Need to Self-Regulate? What You Talkin’ About Willis??
Many of you are too young to remember the sitcom Diff’rent Strokes, but in the show, some disaster could be occurring with everyone running around and the older brother (Willis) would say something, and the younger brother would stop everything, get very serious, look directly at his brother and say, “What you talkin’ about Willis?”…