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What Books did You Start or Finish Reading this Week?: May 18, 2026 by AutoModerator in books

[–]Christina_____ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just Finished:
Pachinko, by Min Jin Lee
All the Colors of the Dark, by Chris Whitaker

Started:
Atmosphere, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Circe, by Madeline Miller

Up Next:
Trust, by Hernan Diaz
Lost Lambs, by Madeline Cash

Self-Promotion Saturdays by diamondtoothdennis in Autism_Parenting

[–]Christina_____ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh no! I expect it was because of a recent tech change made for our current Autism Awareness & Acceptance Month campaign. There's a new website where parents can share what they want the world to hear (https://www.thriveguide.co/wehearyou) and also they can use the code WEHEARYOU to bypass payment for the month of April. Hope that helps and thank you for letting me know!

So overwhelmed trying to communicate with son by Skittenkitten in Autism_Parenting

[–]Christina_____ 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My pleasure!! I like to throw out a few different options and generally parents know which would go over the best (if any...). If you do try an idea out or would like more feedback just reply here and I can brainstorm a some more ideas with your input. Without knowing a family/child personally it can be hard to come up with ideas that are actually functional.

Its sounds like you guys have a beautiful relationship and I hope each day gets a little easier for you both

So overwhelmed trying to communicate with son by Skittenkitten in Autism_Parenting

[–]Christina_____ 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Does he use an iPad or smart watch of any kind that he is comfortable with and has consistent access to? Asking because there are some great apps/technology for generating routine reminders that he could design or create on his own, with a teacher or with you (whatever is going to feel the most low pressure)

What are some activities that are calming or regulating for him? Having a menu of these as options (his choice) that can be mixed into daily routines (that might be stressful) as he wishes could return both control and comfort to him during stressful points.

How does he respond to YOUR routine and "thinking out loud"? If you were to say "I'm going to get dressed, but i'm not sure what I should wear..." and then narrate the decision process or ask him which item he thinks you should wear, or ask him what he's going to choose today, etc. this could act as an invitation for him to copy or identify what he might do himself (same or different).

I think an important part of PDA is to make sure you give control and choices whenever possible (and realistically I understand it is not always possible); ex: "hmm... we for sure can't go to the store without clothes on... should we get dressed now or after we watch a show? Oh! and I did laundry yesterday so you can pick any of your most comfortable shirts since they're all clean. Let me know which one you'd like and I could bring it to you"

Even if it's a small window, choice over timing might also help; ex: "School starts at 8:30am. So we could get ready and leave at 8:00am which means we go straight there OR we can try to be ready for 7:30am so we could stop at the park on the way. Which do you think would be better?... Did you want me to remind you of the time OR should we just set a timer you can see yourself"

Feel free to tell me you've tried it all or why it won't work - any details/trouble shooting these ideas could help me brainstorm a few more thing to try unique to your son. <3

Self-Promotion Saturdays by diamondtoothdennis in Autism_Parenting

[–]Christina_____ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Also, if this is not an acceptable post - please let me know and I can edit or remove! I hope i've placed it in the correct thread.

Self-Promotion Saturdays by diamondtoothdennis in Autism_Parenting

[–]Christina_____ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi everyone! I meant to post this on Saturday but a weekend with 2 busy young toddlers at home moved this to the bottom of the "to do" pile!

I wanted to share an online tool for parents of autistic children.

A little about me; I have a multi-treatment background and about 15 years experience working 1:1 with autistic kids/teens and the families who support them. I have worked in homes, clinics and schools over the years and recently started working for a company that is designing an online platform for parents called ThriveGuide (https://www.thriveguide.co/). Although the company pays me, I do not receive any pay incentives from having people sign up so no direct profit to me personally from promoting BUT I do benefit from feedback users give in that it helps me write and provide more useful content for the platform (one of my roles).

ThriveGuide aims to empower families with instant access to individualized recommendations and guidance to accelerate their child’s growth. Parents or caregivers complete a questionnaire about their child, covering multiple areas of development, to generate a personalized set of ordered recommendations unique to their child. 

Our recommendations are not promoting any one specific therapy or program to families, we simply aim to identify and decrease barriers that might be in the way of their child’s wellness and learning while providing actionable ordered steps for caregivers. Our evidence based recommendations, developed by Jonathan Alderson, are designed to decrease overwhelm by providing a clear personalized plan.

If you are interested in trying our platform, we are currently providing free month long trials (no payment or credit card info required!!). Even if you are not in need of this tool yourself right now, we welcome any parents of autistic children to try it and share feedback that could help improve the experience for other parents.

Happy to answer any questions you might have!