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Preparing Children with ASD for New Siblings
Introducing a new baby is a wonderful, joyous time for a family. When preparing children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) for a new sibling, your approach may need to begin long before the new baby arrives. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5),...
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Autism Through a Different Lens: A Sibling’s Perspective
In my profession, I often write articles from a parent’s perspective about having an 18-year-old daughter (Annie) with severe autism, and intellectual and developmental disabilities. My overarching goal with these stories is to provide compassion, understanding and hope to families, caregivers...
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What Happens When One Twin Has Autism
When my twins were born prematurely on December 26th, 1990, nobody talked about autism. There was no internet and autism support groups did not yet exist. Caring for two premature babies was overwhelming enough, but the dawning recognition that our daughter Samantha was not developing at anything...
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The Siblings of Autism
About a million years ago, a kind doctor told me the best thing we could do for Jack was to give him siblings. A lot of people ask me how we decided to have more kids once we knew something was up with him. I wish I had a more sophisticated answer to give, but the truth is, we just didn’t know...
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COVID-19: Tips for Working From Home (And Finding Relief) With Your Children Out of School
For many parents and caregivers, working from home during COVID-19 (while your children are out of school or day care) can present unique challenges, especially if you are caring for a child with emotional, behavioral or cognitive differences. As a mother of three children, one with autism...
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Help for Parents Managing Challenging Behaviors for Children with ASD During COVID-19
The last several weeks have resulted in significant changes for families, as parents and children are now spending most of their time together in the home. Many parents are trying to balance work, child-care, and distance learning for their children, while also trying to manage children’s...
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Periods and Pads and Pain, Oh My! Promoting Independence During Self-Care – Skills for Girls with Autism Spectrum Disorder
As a parent, our biggest concerns for our children involve teaching them to be successful individuals who can advocate for themselves, providing them with an education to help them grow into successful adults, and keeping them safe. A common goal amongst all parents is to raise their children to be...
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Guiding Your Child with Autism Through Puberty
The early changes of puberty usually occur between the ages of 9 to 13 years (Odel, 1989). They are noticeable in girls by the budding of breasts and then pubic hair, with menstrual periods starting between 11 to 14 years of age. Boys usually develop testicular enlargement and then pubic hair...
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How Can We Make Spirituality a Permanent Part of Our Adult Son’s Life with Autism?
My son Daniel is a 31-year-old young man with autism. Like many families with an autistic member, our lives have - ahem - been interesting, distinctive, contained a certain element of surprise and provided a trail of unanticipated sweetness. I’ll take just one category of our life...
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When Residential Schooling Is an Option
As a single mom of a nine-year-old autistic son, I would never have imagined my son being placed in residential schooling. All of the autism characteristics were there at the tender age of two. Through early intervention services and then my son being placed in a New York City District 75 program,...
