Parenting – Isaac's Autism in the Wild

Episode #49 | Descalation Strategies with Jeff Kalles (Lilac City Behavioral Services)

By isaac-autism-in-the-wild | June 1, 2020 | Comments 0 Comment

Ever wonder why things seem to escalate so quickly at home right now? With routines and structure changing so radically during our Stay Home, Stay Safe order, I asked my friend Jeff Kalles (BCBA) from Lilac City Behavioral Services to join me to discuss some general concepts that might help parents navigate escalation at home.

You can find Jeff Kalles at Lilac City Behavioral Services. His clinic is located on the north side of Spokane at 318 E. Rowan Avenue. If you are interested in getting on LCBS’s wait list for ABA services, please click here.

If you enjoyed this podcast, check out our LIVE @ Lunch interview that Jeff Kalles on YouTube.

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Episode #47 | Autism Pet Peeves, Myths and Stereotypes

By isaac-autism-in-the-wild | May 18, 2020 | Comments 0 Comment

On this podcast, a group of autism parents join me to discuss personal pet peeves related to the public’s perception of autism and different myths and stereotypes that we hope to change.

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Episode #46 | Dealing with explosive language and behavior

By isaac-autism-in-the-wild | May 14, 2020 | Comments 0 Comment

This is a jam packed episode filled with amazing content. The first half is a group of parents who joined me to tell us how they deal with explosive language and behavior as well as ways we use self-care to decompress.

For the second-half of the episode, Roni Gross, special education teacher and Sibling Spotlight extraordinaire, shares with us:

Her 3 BIG strategies to say “No” without actually saying the word, “No.”
- Choices
- “Grandma” Rule
- Behavior Specific Praise
Teaching your child to politely ask for five more minutes
Why Do We Lose Control of our Emotions YOU TUBE VIDEO
Zones of Regulation and how this material teaches parents the art navigating Green, Yellow and Red emotions
- YOU TUBE VIDEO
Trauma based training
- ACES questionnaire
- YOU TUBE VIDEO Empathy vs. Sympathy
- Suggested reading: The Deepest Well, by Burke-Harris
- Suggested reading: The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel Van der Kolk, MD
Hot moment suggestion to redirect obsessive fixations

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Episode #41 | A is for Autism… and sometimes …

By isaac-autism-in-the-wild | April 7, 2020 | Comments 0 Comment

This week’s podcast may not be what you expected. Just because our loved ones are affected by an autism spectrum disorder, doesn’t mean that they aren’t capable of being naughty like every other kid. This week, a group of autism parents join me to share their laugh-out-loud stories we hope will improve your mood.

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Podcast #40 | Media Characters: Do they help or hurt the public’s perception of autism

By isaac-autism-in-the-wild | March 30, 2020 | Comments 0 Comment

In this episode of ISAAC’s Autism in the Wild Podcast, a group of parents joined me remotely to talk about various television, movie, and theater characters who depict autism and whether they are truly helpful in educating the public about autism spectrum disorders. We also talk about the gaps in portraying those that are more significantly impacted by autism and other disabilities.

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Episode #39 | Should Parent’s Participate in Weekly Therapy

By isaac-autism-in-the-wild | March 23, 2020 | Comments 0 Comment

In this unique episode, we virtually connected our guests (due to the need for social distancing) to discuss the pros and cons of participating in weekly therapy visits. In this episode, we talk about:

the benefits and potential gains when parents participate in weekly therapy;
the challenges associated with participating in weekly therapy;
how to keep partners/spouses involved in therapy when they work outside the home;
Using therapy time as self-care time;
What to do if your provider prevents you from participating in therapy.

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Episode #35 | Regression

By isaac-autism-in-the-wild | February 24, 2020 | Comments 0 Comment

As special needs parents, we celebrate milestones that other parents might take for granted when raising a neuro-typical child. However, with progress often comes periods of regression which can be heart wrenching and depressing to endure. In this episode of ISAAC’s Autism in the Wild we talk about regression and how it looks for different families AS WELL as some positive experiences that parents have encountered from periods of regression.

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Episode #34 | Guilt of Working Parents

By isaac-autism-in-the-wild | February 20, 2020 | Comments 0 Comment

For years I have struggled with complicated emotions of whether to work outside the home to earn an income to help support my family and the added expense of raising a child with special needs versus staying home to be able to dedicate more time to my children and pursue additional interventions for my struggling child. It was no surprise that there was a tremendous amount of parent interest in participating in this topic discussion. In this podcast you will hear different parent pro and con perspectives related to working outside the home as well as perspectives from parents who staying home to focus their attention on raising their children.

*this episode contains adult language.

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Episode #33 | Step-Parent Challenges

By isaac-autism-in-the-wild | February 11, 2020 | Comments 0 Comment

Marriage takes work. This is a common sentiment that rings true for most couples. In prior episodes we have discussed the toll that can be taken on a marriage while parenting your own children with special needs, but on this special episode we focused on an additional niche, parenting a step-child with autism. Or on the opposite side of this topic, working with exes and new step-parents to your child. Emotions can run high when discussing health/safety/discipline needs with an outside yet permanent second party.

Listen in as our panel of autism parents discusses their personal journey through parenting their children/step-children with special needs and maintaining/rebuilding their personal relationships.

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Episode #32 | Autism & Divorce

By isaac-autism-in-the-wild | February 3, 2020 | Comments 0 Comment

It is no secret, having a child with autism can be hard. Hard on your emotional health, family dynamics, and ultimately can be hard on your marriage. With the average divorce rate in America hovering around 50% adding the strife of chronic doctor/therapy appointments and the stress of paying for said appointments can bring many couples to the brink of divorce.

On the flip side, many parents say that the need for constant communication regarding their children with special needs has strengthened their marriage by forcing them to delve in to the uncomfortable topics and promoting healthy communication across the board.

Listen in as our panel of autism parents discusses their personal journey through parenting their children with special needs and maintaining/rebuilding their personal relationships.

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