Autism Family Life

Have you heard of vaping? Vaping is the inhaling and exhaling of aerosol vapor from an e-cigarette or similar device. And for many, vaping quickly escalates to addiction status. Folks, we’re talking about nicotine addiction. This is the same thing as smoking cigarettes but vaping should still be considered a serious health hazard. It is NOT a “healthy alternative” to smoking cigarettes. And for teenagers on the autism spectrum? Vaping is downright dangerous. In fact, that risk carries over to any teenager with low-impulse control. Why is vaping so dangerous for teenagers with autism? Autistic individuals often have executive functioning deficits. Because of this, a teenager with autism (or ADHD) that has low-impulse control or poor decision making skills then becomes more susceptible to becoming…

From a young age, it seems, autistic children struggle with self-regulation, organization, and emotional regulation. It’s one of the many challenges that parents of autistic children face. But, then you add in puberty? It’s like adding fuel to an already volatile fire. Often, this leads to conflict and frequent clashes between children and parents.  Then, you add in the outside influences of peers? Parenting a tween on the autism spectrum can be tricky.  And you want your relationship with your tween to thrive, not just survive. That’s all that any parent really wants. But, how do we nurture this healthy relationship and maintain our own sanity? How do we handle the emotionally charged tween with autism? How Parents Can Help Their Emotionally Charged Tween You’ll…