Heartfelt Autism Quotes

Heartfelt Autism Quotes

“We don’t know how strong we are until being strong is the only choice we have” Autism Awareness

“Always Unique Totally Interesting Sometimes Mysterious”

“I don’t think the worst thing that could happen to me is raising a child with special needs. I think the worst thing is to raise a child who is cruel to those with special needs.”

“Autism is not a choice, acceptance is. Imagine if the opposite was true.”

“My child has Autism, what’s your kid’s super power?”

“It seems that for success in Science or art a dash of Autism is essential” Hans Asperger

“Why fit in, when you were born to STAND OUT!” –Dr. Seuss

“Yes, I have Autism, Stare if you must, I’m not paying attention to you anyway.”

“I thought I would have to teach my child about the world. It turns out I have to teach the world about my child.”

“A child with Autism is not ignoring you, they are simply waiting for you to enter their world.”

“What would happen if the Autism gene was eliminated from the gene pool? You would have a bunch of people standing around in a cave, chatting, and socializing and not getting anything done.”

Signs and Symptoms of Asperger’s Syndrome

Asperger’s syndrome is a mild form of Autism. The symptoms can sometimes be barely noticeable, and others might just see the individual as odd. Here are some signs and symptoms to look out for.

1. Eye Contact

Those with Asperger’s may either stare at you for long periods of time or they may avoid eye contact completely. Each case is different and depends on the individual.

2. May have difficulty learning motor skills. 

You might notice that a person with Asperger’s walks funny or has trouble holding a spoon. These are motor skills that usually come easily to a normally functioning individual.

3. They may dislike any changes in routine and may or may not throw a tantrum about it. That depends on the individual.

4. They may only be interested in a few things or maybe just one thing and will have trouble focusing on anything else.

5. They might talk a lot about themselves and not be aware as how to effectively listen.

6. They will take things literally. 

If someone tries to make a joke or be sarcastic with them, they might not understand that it is a joke or that it is sarcasm, they will take it literally.

7. May have a difficult time picking up on basic social cues.

8. Strange movements or facial expressions.

Autism Parenting Tips

Tip #1: Daily Routine

Develop a routine for your child that you follow every day. Have certain

things that happen every day and certain elements that change, this way if the day needs to change for some reason, they will be used to part of their day being different. Utilized a visual schedule to show them if something is changing, communicate with them the day before and the day of the change in the schedule both verbally and visually so you are certain that they understand and are prepared for the change in their schedule.

Tip #2: Have a Behavior Plan in Place

Make sure that you have a plan in place for when your child has a behavior. Make sure that everyone who spends time with the child knows and understands the behavior plan. For example, if your behavior plan has to do with the use of a token board, then everyone that is around that child should be aware of it and know how to implement it. If you are unsure of how to set up a behavior plan for your child, contact a behavioral therapist and they can help you come up with a behavior plan.

Tip #3: Sensory

Make sure that your child’s sensory needs are met daily. As a parent you spend a lot of time with your child and you should be able to pin-point what their sensory needs are. Making sure they get these sensory needs met every day can help do decrease negative behaviors.

Tips for Traveling with Children with Autism

Tip #1: Prepare For the Airport

Talk to Airport Security and see if you can bring your child to the airport

ahead of time to prepare them for what it will be like. This will help get them more comfortable with the idea of being at the airport and dealing with security. Traveling can be stressful for those on the spectrum so the more prepared you make them the better.

Tip #2: Call Before You Book

Don’t book a trip until you know they are ready to be accommodating. Make sure that the place you are staying is child friendly and that they are willing to be accommodating with a child with special needs. Disney Vacations is amazing for these types of situations. They are extremely accommodating and all of their staff are trained to deal with people with all sorts of different special needs and disabilities.

Tip #3: Bring Comforting Items

A child on the spectrum will usually have an item or activity that is calming for them. Common items are Tablets loaded with videos, IPODs with calming music, sensory items, and coloring books. Whatever the items are that calm your child the most. Have those items along so that the can zone in on that activity and decrease the amount of stress they feel during their trip.

Autism Behavior Strategies

There are a few different ways in which to deal with different behaviors

with and individual with Autism. Each child will come up with something different. For example, the child might love to tap on things, this may be a sensory thing for them, but the tapping is causing items to break. This is a behavior that may be negatively affecting the lives of the parents. Children may also have aggressive behaviors in which they hurt themselves or others, they may have tantrum behaviors in which they scream, cry, flop, or break things, or they may have sensory behaviors that are inappropriate to be done in public.

How to Decrease Negative Behaviors

Tip #1: Replacing the behavior with a positive one

Every time the individual starts a negative behavior, have them do something else instead. For example, let’s say if a child gets upset, they start to hit their head really hard. This is NOT good for them, so instead replace the behavior with something more appropriate, for example you could have them clap their hands or jump. Eventually, the negative behavior will start to decrease, and the positive behavior will increase.

Tip #2: Token System

Create a token board. This can be very easily done with either a small dry erase board, or a laminated piece of paper and some Velcro. Have the child choose something to work for and either write it on the dry/erase board or put a picture of it on the token board. Give the child tokens when they are showing good behaviors and take away tokens when they are showing bad behaviors, when the child reaches their chosen reinforcement, give it to them and then reset the board.

Tip #3: Have them do something they don’t like

When they start to throw a tantrum or hurt themselves there are some options of things you can have them do that they might not like, for example you could put them on time-out in a secluded room until they are calm, or you could have them stand up and sit down several times until they are calm. This will show them that they shouldn’t be doing what they are doing. Sometimes they don’t understand why they can’t do it, and if they realize that if they throw a tantrum, they have to go into the time-out room and they don’t like the time-out room then their behaviors start to decrease.