When we talk about supporting autistic learners with change, we often focus on preparing them for what will happen next. Catching change starts somewhere slightly different. Years ago, I developed and ran a summer day camp for autistic campers, along with their siblings and friends. At the time, I did not have a word for … Read more
Over the years, I have heard parents, teachers, and therapists say: “We tried AAC, but she just threw it.”“I show him which picture to choose, but he pushes my hand away.”“He has the AAC device, but he says the same thing over and over and over.” These moments can be deeply discouraging. Families may have … Read more
A teacher sits down on Sunday night to plan for an autistic student who has been struggling. She already understands that behavior is communication. She knows regulation comes before reasoning. She has moved away from reward charts and consequences and is trying to build support around safety, relationship, and autonomy. Then she opens her laptop … Read more
New environments are part of everyday life. A visit to a relative’s house. A community event. A new playground. A family trip. A different store. Even a place we’ve never been before can bring new sights, sounds, smells, and routines. For many autistic learners, navigating a new environment is significantly more than a change of … Read more
Sometimes disappointment doesn’t look sad. Sometimes it looks like: And sometimes the child looks just as surprised by the reaction as everyone else. The behavior is visible. What the body is carrying usually isn’t. Adults often see the outside of disappointment: the yelling, the refusal, the tears, the shutdown, the anger. But many neurodivergent children … Read more
Why constipation in neurodivergent kids is so often misread — and what their bodies actually need Some of the most chronic, exhausting, quietly distressing experiences in a neurodivergent child’s life happen in the bathroom — or don’t happen there, and that’s the problem. Constipation, withholding, irregular patterns, sensory distress around toileting — these are everywhere … Read more
A Regulation-First Starter List for Families of Neurodivergent Kids When school ends, the structure that has been quietly holding a child’s day — the bell schedule, the predictable transitions, the sensory containers of the classroom — fades. For many autistic kids, that external scaffolding has been doing real work all year. It has been telling … Read more
Strong energy states — the ones often labeled as outbursts, meltdowns, aggression, or “challenging behavior” — are rarely about the moment they happen in. They’re usually about everything that came before. For many neurodivergent learners, strong energy is the end of a long chain: By the time the strong energy appears on the outside, the … Read more
What we miss when we mistake stillness for calm — and what neurodivergent learners need instead Some of the most anxious learners in our classrooms, therapy rooms, and homes don’t look anxious at all. They look composed. Quiet. Maybe even “good.” They turn in the worksheet. They nod when the teacher checks in. They sit … Read more