Autism Info

Kids are people too. We need to remember we all have triggers. Kids are still learning and developing so hopefully we manage our emotions differently, but often the triggers are the same

Neurodiversity.

people have a far higher sensitivity and with that a susceptibility to developing and trauma responses to manage their environment. Trauma is about not feeling safe-feeling a hidden threat is near. Our -fight-flee-fawn response is on overdrive especially in triggering situations.
Understanding of our own nervous system and what’s going on is so important for the person but also their allies…

Thank you Trauma Geek for capturing this via lens of lived experience and expert-education.

The Therapist Parent 💕
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We can take connection for granted. The bonds you have in your relationships are not permanent. Disconnection happens when we don't keep working on our relationships, or when something hurtful happens to break the trust. Keeping connection doesn't mean that we have to make huge gestures, it is built on small moments throughout the day. But it is easy to be so busy throughout the day providing the basics that we can forget the importance of these moments of connection.

♡ If you would like to be kept in the loop on everything Synergetic Play Therapy or get resources to support you on your journey, join us here: https://linktr.ee/synergeticplaytherapy ♡

https://teachingautism.co.uk/end-of-year-picture-books-for-kids/

End of Year Picture Books for Kids These end of year picture books are perfect to help your students prepare for the end of the school year.. And the upcoming summer break. W

Bryan :) ❤️

So often we as parents are frustrated by our child’s behaviour, it can feel so personal. Being so emotional can just be infuriating. The problem is that all of these behaviours are exactly what our children should be doing for their development. When we understand the basics of child brain development and have some insight into why our children are behaving this way, it can make a huge difference in how we see our children. We no longer see our children as being “naughty” or trying to deliberately drive us crazy, but that they are doing the best with what they have. Also if we help them calm and work through what has upset them, then we are actually supporting positive brain development.

More information in my new online course coming soon

Growing Calm: Tools for easing anxiety in young minds

And

My book - Guidance from The Therapist Parent

Available on my website www.thetherapistparent.com
Or
Amazon

I think this is one of the most difficult things to do as a parent. Sometimes we can say the ‘right’ things, but our tone of voice is saying something very different. But a child will read if they are safe from our facial expression, tone of voice and our body just was much (if not mor) from what we say. If their nervous system doesn’t feel safe, then it can’t calm. That’s why it is so important for us as parents to look after ourselves and practice being regulated (not easy, but important). We need to recognize how we are feeling and do what we need to restore calm.

More information in my book

Guidance from The Therapist Parent

Available on my website www.thetherapistparent.com and Amazon

https://www.thetherapistparent.com/post/self-care-isn-t-selfish-your-child-s-mental-health-depends-on-it

Link in bio

https://themomkind.com/6-fun-ways-to-get-your-kids-excited-about-exercise/

How to Motivate Your Kids to Exercise Learn creative ways to motivate kids to exercise through outdoor play, dance parties, sports, games, and fun physical activities for healthy minds and bodies.

It takes incredible strength.

Love them in their worst moments.
The Purposeful Parenting Movement

Resilient Thinking. The Therapist Parent

https://www.autismparentingmagazine.com/autism-elopement/

Autism Elopement: Causes, Risks, and Prevention Discover essential information on autism elopement, including causes, prevention strategies, and safety tips to protect children with autism.

"It's important to find people who make you realize that there's nothing wrong with being who you are."

Credit: Distorted via I CAN Network Ltd

Understanding neurodivergence is tricky; even when you're neurodivergent yourself! Via Sunshine Support

But what can be even trickier is when two or more presentations, like Autism and ADHD, occur together.. Have a good read of this and then consider how tricky it must be to navigate a very neurotypical world with all this inner conflict going on.

What could you add?

There is so much more to behaviour than most people think. Children don’t try to upset us, there is usually something behind it. They are communicating their need through behaviour. If we look behind the behaviour we can see a child who is doing the best they can

What would you add to this list?

More information in my book

Guidance from The Therapist Parent

Available on my website www.thetherapistparent.com and Amazon

It can be so hard to stay calm when your child is anxious. We want to quickly stop the anxiety and save them. It triggers us to rescue, when what we need to do is stay calm and help them feel safe that is an incredibly powerful tool to manage anxiety.

More information in my book

Guidance from The Therapist Parent

Available on my website www.thetherapistparent.com and Amazon

https://www.theautismdad.com/2024/05/15/how-to-recognize-signs-of-stress-and-anxiety-in-your-child/

How to Recognize Signs of Stress and Anxiety in Your Child As a parent, you want the best for your child, and that includes their mental well-being. In today's world, children face numerous challenges that can lead to stress and anxiety. Recent studies indicate that up to 20.5% of children worldwide experienced anxiety symptoms during the pandemic, nearly d...

The earlier Autism is detected, the sooner the child can get intervention to help them learn how to process. Help us spread Autism Awareness!

Responsive Parenting Inspirations 💕
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Parents who say “would you like a hug?” instead of “stop crying” are creating a society of adults who know how to support others, and themselves.

They’re also my favourite kind of people. I see all of you out there at the playground, the grocery store, the playgroup, the school… I see so much compassion and love and I rarely hear “stop crying” anymore. I still hear a lot of bribing and forced sharing and “manners” but I don’t hear a lot of children being scolded for crying anymore and that’s really exciting!! What a difference that will make!

♡ If you would like to be kept in the loop on everything Synergetic Play Therapy or get resources to support you on your journey, join us here: https://linktr.ee/synergeticplaytherapy ♡

The Therapist Parent 💕

♡ If you would like to be kept in the loop on everything Synergetic Play Therapy or get resources to support you on your journey, join us here: https://linktr.ee/synergeticplaytherapy ♡

What is it that we need in order to sustain our attention and perform at our best? We are all different in what it takes to keep our arousal at the best level. Some people can’t cope with any noise while they are trying to think, while others need to have music on constantly. Meeting our arousal needs depends on how we process our sensory information. The important thing to remember is that some people will need more of these sensory inputs to be at the optimum state of arousal and some will need less. We are then able to to “self-regulate” by getting our arousal levels right even when our environment changes. Self-regulating all of the sensory information can be very difficult for a child. Movement is commonly a way that a child will try and regulate so they can calm and focus. Forcing a child to sit still is counter-productive. When we work out what their sensory needs are we can help support them to meet their best arousal.
More information in my book

Guidance from The Therapist Parent

Available on my website www.thetherapistparent.com and Amazon paperback and eBook

A trigger will seem to happen automatically, it will seem totally justified at the time. But if we sit back and look at the situation when we are calm, we can see that our reactions may have been uncalled for. There is often another emotion underlying anger. The behaviour your child is showing you could take you back to difficult times in your childhood or to how you were parented. The behaviour could also trigger fears that you have about your parenting ability or generate a feeling of helplessness. In this way our reaction to our child's behaviour has more to do with our difficulty processing these emotions than it does to the behaviour itself.

It may seem unlikely that emotions you felt when you were a child are coming out as an adult. We may feel that surely we have moved on from this. But let’s say for example, when you were a child you were not allowed to question your parent's authority without getting "in trouble". So when your child argues, this triggers you to rise up against this "disobedience". When really it is perfectly normal for a child to question or say "no" to their parents.

Other common triggers could be crying, whining and tantrums. These often cause triggers for people who as children were not allowed to express difficult emotions. The result is that we
try to stop it by removing the child or becoming angry to shut them down.

More information in my book

Guidance from The Therapist Parent

Available on my website www.thetherapistparent.com and Amazon

Also in my online course going through Parental Burnout

https://www.thetherapistparent.com/online-store/Revive-and-Thrive-Overcoming-Parental-Burnout-p640718515

Harsh punishments leave a child’s nervous system trying to find safety and making them reactive. Helping a child calm and coaching them through, will build a calmer nervous system and allow them to learn to manage their emotions better.

We need to discipline our kids in the true sense of the word; teach direct and guide them. We need to work with them and not be an authority to cause fear, but someone that will help them develop to the same moral standard we have.

So when setting a limit:

👉Is it reasonable? Sometimes our first response is "no". But can it be done a different way or at another time?

👉Is it developmentally appropriate? Often our expectations of our kids are just too high

👉 you can set limits in love. Connection is is so important if we want kids to follow our instructions. Be careful not to damage it

👉 problem solve together. If we work with our kids and get them to find a solution then they learn to make good decisions and you are more likely to have cooperation

More information my book
Guidance from The Therapist Parent

Available on my website www.thetherapistparent.com and Amazon