autism tribe – Page 4 – Isaac's Autism in the Wild

Episode #11 | Caregiver Self-Care

By isaac-autism-in-the-wild | September 13, 2019

Our focus this week is on caregiver self-care. Self-care is difficult for any parent to fit into their day – but it often becomes more challenging for parents of special needs kids when respite care is hard to come by. In this week’s episode of ISAAC’s Autism in the Wild Podcast, a small group of moms joined me for a lunch hour to discuss:

What does caregiver self-care look like?
Reconciling mommy guilt.
Creative ways these moms have been able to sneak self-care into their day.
Dad vs. mom self-care.
Setting boundaries to protect your self-care activities.
How much self-care is needed per week.

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Episode #10 | AAC Speech Output Devices for Communication

By isaac-autism-in-the-wild | September 4, 2019

My special guest this week is Lauren Swineford, research professor at Washington State University. Dr. Laurie (as we like to call her) is a speech-language pathologist and assistant professor at Washington State University. She earned her PhD at Florida State University and completed her post-doctoral training in the Pediatric and Developmental Neuroscience Branch at the National Institute of Health. She has conducted extensive, longitudinal studies with children with ASD and her clinical and research interests involve the prelinguistic and language development for individuals with ASD.

Dr. Laurie and I dived into the confusing world of AAC communication and what this means for our kids with language disorders. You’ll learn:

What exactly AAC stands for.
Why AAC is such a hot topic.
The difference between “unaided” systems vs. “aided” systems.
Deep discussion on the messy state of research with regard to effectiveness of AAC (specifically with regard to technology based communication programs.)
Importance of early intervention and emphasis on functional use of spontaneous communication.
Discussion of the National Autism Center report (2015) that evaluated the state of treatment research for individuals with autism and it’s assessment of AAC.
Recommendations to parents for what to look for when seeking an AAC assessment.
Myths about who would benefit from AAC.
Takeaways recommendations for parents on how to view AAC.

***The second half of this podcast is dedicated to specific information regarding Dr. Laurie’s current research projects at WSU. Families with young children starting as early as 9 months of age (with and without concerns of ASD) can be part of her program to help further research on language development in young children. The second project focuses on developing a screen process for assessing language in young children, once it it is present. This program is for children ages 2 to 12 years of age.

This post will be updated with contact information for research program participation as soon as it is available.

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Episode #9 | When Parents Limit or Shelter Their Child

By isaac-autism-in-the-wild | August 27, 2019

As parents, we are our child’s strongest advocate. But what happens when our fears and expectations fall lower than what our child’s true capabilities may be? A fantastic group of parents joined me to share stories about asking too little or too much of their child with special needs as well as:

finding a balance between getting things done efficiently and capitalizing on teachable moments for independence
ways to measure and assess your child’s functional living skills
how to let go and let them try (and possibly fail)
the benefit of finding skills that make them feel valued
encouragement to just keep going
finding your season and trying again after failure
strategies to shoot higher

*we apologize for the poor audio quality of this recording.

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Episode #7 | Sharing the Autism Diagnosis

By isaac-autism-in-the-wild | August 12, 2019

A fantastic group of parents joined me for this emotional podcast on sharing the autism diagnosis. This is one of my favorite episodes as we conversed on a variety of aspects of sharing the autism diagnosis. Here’s some of what you’ll hear this week:

Heartwarming stories of acceptance and understanding when parents have shared their child’s diagnosis.
Why sharing the diagnosis is easier today.
Misunderstandings and unforeseen consequences of not sharing the diagnosis.
Sharing from a dad’s perspective.
Why parents hesitate to share.
When it becomes your child’s choice whether to share this information.
Conversation around the difference between a diagnosis and a label.

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Episode #6 | Making it Fair Among Your Children

By isaac-autism-in-the-wild | August 5, 2019

In this episode, a group of parents joined me to debate whether its possible to make it “fair” when raising both neuro-typical and neuro-diverse kids. Join us for:

Deeper discussion on how to treat each child equal, which may not seem fair.
What constitutes fair?
The benefits of one-on-one time with each child separately.
Fairness between the sexes (boys vs. girls).
Fairness meter among siblings.

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Episode #5 | Parent Isolation

By isaac-autism-in-the-wild | July 28, 2019

The feeling of isolation is real for many parents who have a loved one touched by autism. In this episode of ISAAC’s Autism in the Wild a group of parents joined me to discuss:

Types of isolation parents feel;
Strategies, both series and funny, for reducing the feeling of isolation;
How the age of your child often affects the feeling of isolation
Social media impact, both positive and negative, on the feeling of isolation

*We apologize for the poor audio quality of this podcast. Thank you for bearing with us as we upgrade our equipment for future recording sessions.

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Episode #4 | Changing Therapists

By isaac-autism-in-the-wild | July 20, 2019

A therapist is a pivotal part of a child’s development. In this episode, a group of parents join me to discuss the circumstances of when changing therapists becomes appropriate. We cover in this podcast:

Changing therapists when it is not by your choice;
When therapy creates trauma;
What happens when a therapist’s skills don’t pace with your child’s development;
Parent vs therapist personality conflicts;
Emotional attachments to a provider vs. the quality of therapy for the needs of the child.

*We apologize for the poor audio quality of this podcast. Thank you for bearing with us as we upgrade our audio recording equipment.

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Episode #3 | Pros and Cons of Pharmaceuticals

By isaac-autism-in-the-wild | July 13, 2019

Parents are often faced with making very difficult decisions when it comes to the welfare of their children. Choosing to explore the world of pharmaceuticals for their child is often one of them. In this podcast I was joined by a large group of parents who shared with us:

Why they chose to try pharmaceuticals with their child affected by autism;
Side effects and negative experiences they encountered prescription medications;
Strategies for onboarding new medications;
What happens when your child is resistant to taking the medications;
Why some parents have chosen to avoid the use of prescription medications.

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