Developmental level is a phrase that is important not only in homeschooling but in autism as well. The number one piece of advice that I give to people when they ask me about homeschooling children with autism is to forget their actual age. They all look at me crazy and say what? Seriously , forget about their chronological age (actual age at the moment). Spend some time playing with them…
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Let’s Visit The Salvador Dali Museum
The Salvador Dali Museum is located in gorgeous St. Petersburg, Florida. The museum is relatively close to Sunken Gardens, Tropicana Field and Raymond James Stadium. The building as well as the art make it a can’t miss stop when in the area. It also houses the largest collection of Dali’s work outside the three museums surrounding his home in Barcelona, Spain. It should come as no surprise to anyone…
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Is It Possible For Family To Be Your Ministry Field?
Family ministry doesn’t sound as glamorous as jetting off to be a missionary in a foreign country. Lots of times when people think of ministry, they think of missionaries, pastors or clergy. Ministry also conjures of images of serving other people you don’t directly know or meet with regularly. Why? Why can’t your ministry be to the people who share your dna or are indirectly related to you? Now I…
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Celebrate Your Pokemon Lover With A Pokeball Pizza!
There are few things that have remained consistently the same over the years here in Autismland. Dinosaurs, animal documentaries and Pokemon have never gone by the wayside like Blue’s Clues and Thomas the Tank Engine. The move to Arizona helped us engage him in his love for dinosaurs. The invention of Pokemon Go! a few years ago has turned many people into Pokemon lovers. Why not celebrate the Pokemon lover…
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Why We Took 2 Years Off From Formal Academics
When we made the decision to pull Logan out of public school near the end of the second grade, he was a wreck. Emotionally spent from trying to keep up the public school pace as well as navigate the social nuances of his same age peers. Peers that he was not at the same place developmentally. He would come home and retreat into his world of autism just to get…
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Self Care is Required For Moms Of Children With Autism
Self care is required for moms of children with autism should be a mantra for every autism family who homeschools their children. Moms get so caught up in the daily tasks of homeschooling in addition to cooking and cleaning, plus autism that burn out can happen quite quickly. What homeschool moms have to also fight is that attitude or perception that self care makes them selfish. In fact, nothing could be…
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50 Free Books On Kindle For Young Readers
50 free Kindle Books for young readers came about as I planned Camp Cupcake. Camp Cupcake is when my great nieces and nephews join me for six weeks at my house. It is always a time when we do minimal homeschool activities as well as travel. I don’t want the children to push aside reading but I also can’t tote as many physical books as is necessary to keep their minds…
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The Truth About Parenting a Child With Autism Nobody Talks About
I can’t tell you how many posts I see about the blessing of a special needs child. Yes, all children are blessings including children with autism. Sometimes parents, friends, and relatives get so stuck on the child having autism and pretending everything is typical that we forget to talk about the truth of living in Autismland. Additionally, there is the stigma attached to any parent who decides to talk about…
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Mean What You Say When You Speak To Children With Autism
Children with autism think in pictures as well as in a literal sense. Understanding things like sarcasm or alternate meanings to words is a high level developmental skill. In addition it’s a social skill which we all know our kids with autism struggle the most to overcome. You must be hyper vigilant in making sure to speak clearly and concisely until you fill in those developmental gaps. This will make…
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7 Things To Do To Have A Happy Child
Of course you want to make sure your child is as happy and healthy as possible (who wouldn’t?). There are many people out there who will probably stick their two cents in and give you their unsolicited opinion. Everybody parents differently not to mention things were very different when your mother or even your grandmother had children. Don’t feel pressured to listen to anybody else tell you how to make…
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