Autism Family Life

There are a number of areas that change during puberty. This includes physical changes, cognition, relationships with peers and family, and increased independence. Teenagers may also become more confident in their personal opinions regarding politics and religion. Often, this represents a change from concrete thinking to more abstract thinking. Social relationships are also changing. Not just with their peers but also with their parents.  So how do we, as parents, best support autistic tweens (or preteens) through puberty? What to expect when your autistic tween hits puberty Teenagers with autism struggle with the same things as their neurotypical peers, this much is true. But, they may have more difficulties or their struggles might be more pronounced and noticeable.  For example: So you might be wondering,…

While most of my autistic daughter’s academic needs are met through her IEP goals at school, we also do some work at home. This is either through our own ESY (Extended School Year) at home or during her afterschool at home. I structure my plans around her IEP goals and what she wants to work on. We mainly focus on her fine motor skills, literacy, and self-help skills. But, on occasion, we’ll also bring more fun stuff in. This simple shape recognition worksheet was designed with my autistic daughter in mind. Though, you could also use this with a toddler or younger preschooler alongside some of my preschool printables. How to connect this worksheet to real life For my autistic daughter, anything that we are…

Let’s face it, sometimes getting your teenager on board with personal hygiene is like pulling teeth. For some teens, there’s no fuss. And for others? Forget it. With our autistic teenagers, there’s no exception. Except, as we know, sometimes those additional sensory issues can really hinder this area. So how do we, as parents, help our autistic teens? We want them, ultimately, to become more independent with this.  It could be something to work on with visual schedules or with social stories. I like to start with visual schedules and then introduce social stories as needed. How to Teach Personal Hygiene Skills to an Autistic Teenager First, you’ll want to identify which personal hygiene skill to work on. How to help your autistic teenager with…