As a parent you look forward to spending time with your child during the holiday season. This can prove to be difficult when your child has trouble expressing their needs and/or communicating with others. These difficulties may become exacerbated during the holidays, due to higher demands to communicate abstract ideas such as what they want on their wish lists as well as following social routines with unfamiliar friends or family members. Furthermore, if your child has autism, other obstacles you may encounter include breaks in routine, sensory overload from increased noise level of music and conversation, intolerable tastes and smells of unfamiliar holiday foods, and increased occurrence of touch due to hugging and kissing by distant relatives. Tips that you can use to stimulate your child during the family festivities: Role-play the situations that your child will encounter beforehand so that your child will be less surprised with what is to come. Expose your child to typical words that they will hear during the holidays so that they play a larger role in the festivities (i.e. Santa, tree, menorah, turkey). Practice some simple carrier phrases. For example, “I like the [food name],” “I see [vocabulary word].” Practice a script for…

Latest research proves that genes are not the only role associated with autism. It seems that environmental factors are just as significant to the risk of autism sharing 50% with genetics. For more information on this topic please visit the National Public Radio site.

In a study of 78,000 children, 64% had autism spectrum disorders and had married parents. In contrast, according to a Special Needs Parenting Article supported by research conducted on May 19, 2010; 80% of marriages end in divorce when a child in the family has autism. However, there is no scientific basis for this cause, yet autism just like any other medical diagnosis can eventually take a toll on a family. Once a family discovers that their loved one is indeed touched by Autism, they are consumed with therapy and medical appointments. They forget the importance of building and keeping a strong foundation for a family. Mothers usually tend to the child and completely forget about their spouse and her own needs. If you feel that your family needs help, ask for help and don’t let yourselves become another statistic of divorce. A Personal Account of Family Dynamics Once Affected by Autism Here is a personal account of a family affected by the diagnosis of Autism deals with family building and addressing the needs of the people in the family as opposed to concentrating energy solely on the child with a special need. In this article the Donnell family addresses…

Does Anyone Understand Autism? Brittney Garcia, SLPA There is no clear understanding to the behaviors and actions performed by an autistic child. However, it is clear that although most parents seek answers to certain acts their autistic child engages in, there may not be a source that explains the specific cause to their action.  These actions may include random phrases and tantrums of anguish because something out of their norm occurred. It seems that the easiest way to access helpful information on autistic children is through Internet research; however, not all research engines provide insight and knowledge on the behaviors that persist with an autistic child.  Certain behaviors have a significant meaning to the child’s personality and lifestyle. Parents must keep in mind that an autistic child’s behavior varies. Parents have to learn to accept that although their child is unique in personality and behavior they still love and feel the same as we do and for that we must warm-heartedly love them back. Read the full article by Jené Aviram or browse others at: www.nlconcepts.com