Autistic Spectrum Disorders are a complex pervasive neurodevelopmental condition associated with lifelong difficulties. these difficulties cross social, emotional and behavioral domains. The lastest version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) finally put all aspects of autism under one umbrella of autistic spectrum disorder. Since this happened questions have been raised if this has helped by moving toward a broader categorization of the disorder is clinically useful (Montgomery et al, 2016).

It’s something all parents must deal with many times over the course of their child’s life. The dreaded dentist appointments! Whether your child has Autism or not this can be a daunting task. A lot of children and adults fear the dentist; when you add Autism into the mix it can make the appointment near impossible if you aren’t prepared for it. There are some steps you can take before, during and after the appointment to make the experience a pleasant one for your child and for yourself.

We all know that Autism is a complex disorder; just how complex of a disorder is starting to emerge all thanks to growing research studies being published and an increased interest from different Universities across the world. One discovery published recently and backed up by two separate studies digs deep down to the core differences of the brain in people with Autism and the changes that occur in these individual’s brains as they age.

We all know that when summer approaches so do those summer storms. You know the ones with lightening, thunder and black outs. Many of us parents of Autistic and special needs children find that our children are especially scared of storms. Their fears overtake them and sometimes it becomes too much and they meltdown. Nothing is worse than a meltdown, at night, when you have candles lit, it is storming, and you have no power. Here are some great pointers for how to calm your child during the storm seasons, or really to help you work your Autistic child through any fear.

When we parents of Autistic children make detailed preparations for our children growing up we make sure they can perform the basic functions needed to survive, if possible; and, we often prepare for what will happen to them if something happens to us. What about the other people they will lose throughout their lives though. Do we adequately prepare them for that? Often, we don’t prepare our children for the death of loved ones in advance. Seeing as though death is an uncomfortable topic of conversation for many people we may avoid bringing the topic up until the unfortunate event where we have lost someone that we love. This is also true for “normal” kids as well. We often just don’t prepare them well enough. With Autism the preparation is more readily required for basic functioning after the fact though.

Every parent of an Autistic child will at some point have to do their research on what kind of treatment options they want to use for their child; whether they will use medications or choose a DAN! Doctor instead is a big one that comes up with each family. There is a difference between DAN! Doctors and the regular doctor that treats Autism. Their beliefs tend to sway in opposite directions. Regular Autism Specialists leaning more towards medicating for the treatment of Autism, DAN! Doctors always leaning towards using no prescribed medications.

As a parent we are never prepared for the uncertainties that come along with raising our children. I remember the day that I found out that I was pregnant with my oldest son. I was 18 and I assume that the fears that flooded in were mostly normal trepidations, but still doubts nonetheless. I feared that I wouldn’t be a good mother, that I wouldn’t be able to provide the right guidance for him. I feared the absolute colossal upheaval my life was about to go through.

We all know that Autism seems to be more prevalent in boys than it is in girls. Most sources put the sex ratio in Autism at 4-to-1. Meaning that for every 4 Autistic boys there is 1 Autistic girl. But what leads to this difference? Is it a genetic component or are the major tools we are using to diagnose our Autistic individuals essentially rigged and unable to accurately differentiate between male and female subjects; leading to lower diagnosis in females than is accurate.

Elopement is a very common problem with Autistic children and can start out of nowhere, without any prior incidents or warnings that it is going to happen. The wandering behaviors that Autistic children show are like the wandering behaviors that we see in the Alzheimer’s community. Wandering and elopement behaviors in children and adults with autism have led to countless tragedies across the country. There are things you can do to lower your risks of a tragedy. Being aware that it is a real problem is the first step to fighting it.

Music has some amazing curative capabilities that happen to be backed by science. Given this, it isn’t surprising that using music as a treatment therapy would be beneficial to an individual on the Autism Spectrum. Music Therapy is a “well-established and risk-free technique” for using musical interaction to help individuals with Autism improve their ability to function.

As my Autistic son grew I yearned for him to make a connection with somebody, anybody. He was nonverbal until he was almost 7 years old and was diagnosed with Severe Autism. It affected him greatly. Not only did it impact his life socially in every way possible; Autism also impacted him cognitively and behaviorally, and still does.

When you live with Autism it seems like you live with an endless supply of whatever food your child has chosen as their preferred “go to food.” Stereotypically, it is chicken nuggets and French fries. In my home we add burgers to that short list. No matter how severe your child’s eating issue is, many parents of children on the Autism Spectrum struggle with their child’s severe eating problems with little or no professional help. I

In the world of Autism, we often hear about the depressing and painful parts of raising our kids, rarely do we hear of the wonderful parts of it. Our children are amazing individuals that have countless advances to add to this world as they grow. However, while making a purchase at the store the other day a gentleman asked me what I did for a living - I told him I was a writer and a mother of 2 awesome boys with Autism. His response was that he was “sorry.” He honestly looked me in the eyes and told me that he felt sorrow for me because I have Autistic children. That reopened my eyes to the stigma surrounding Autism and parenting an Autistic child. We hear a lot about Autism throughout April, as it is Autism Awareness Month, now that April is over that doesn’t mean that we should stop spreading the awareness. Let’s start by spreading some awareness to the wonderful parts of our children and our adventures raising them!

Many parents ask if their children are the only Autistic children that seem to have a higher or lower pain thresholds than the “normal” person. The answer is no they are not. Many children with Autism experience reduced or heightened pain sensitivity. It is actually widely reported to be a common feature of children with Autism. Sensory abnormalities in Autism are well known; they are even part of the diagnostic criteria for the condition. But few investigators have looked into how people with Autism experience pain. The ones who have base their conclusions of reduced and heightened pain in children with Autism on anecdotal observations and questionable measures of pain reported by parents. My son is among the Autistic children that are affected by this.

If you have been raising an Autistic individual for a while you may already know that schedules and routines are pretty much key to their development. Truthfully, routines play an important role in the lives of people with Autism. In fact, one of the earliest signs of Autism can be a love of ritual, consistency, predictability and routine. It boils down to simple things that “normal” people do every day being intensified to the max for a person with Autism. The everyday events that most people view as “normal” can be an overwhelming combination of frightening crowds, intimidating sounds and overbearing lights for people with Autism. Routines and schedules help to create stability and order.