When parents first hear the word autism in relation to their child, they are often overwhelmed and scared. Many parents turn to trusted sources like Autism Speaks and the HEAL Foundation for help. Both organizations are based on autism awareness. The research and services provided help parents, families, and friends get all the information they need to truly understand autism. His advice and information are accepted and used by many parents, doctors and teachers.

Another view of autism promotes not only understanding of autism, but also acceptance of the diagnosis as part of the child or person with autism. Autism Acceptance, also known as Autism Positivity, focuses on teaching that Autism should not be viewed or treated as a disease. Autism is simply part of the individual’s personality.

A mother has spent hours compiling a list of tips for parents raising a child on the autism spectrum. She has spent thousands of hours learning through trial and error and offers these 11 tips to help create a healthier parent-child relationship:

1. Listen with intent. Try to understand what your child is saying. Don’t think about your answer.

2. Talk to adults living with autism.

3. Communicate with your child’s teachers and offer information that you have found helpful in your parenting times. A helpful resource includes The Autism Talk Page by Bill Nasson. His compassionate tone and clear writing provide great advice, ideas, and resources for parents and caregivers.

4. Find ways to implement a reward system. Tea Token Management Theory is a useful tool that can help keep calm for both parents and children.

5. Look for examples of successful people with autism. This may take a bit of research, but you can find real-life people who are successfully navigating careers with varying degrees of the spectrum. Don’t forget to visit the library for books and other resources.

6. Let your child learn more about successful people like joeyhudy, a child of dr mad science who enjoys scientific experiments. Help your child understand that there are other people who are just like them.

7. Find something your child likes and use it to connect with him. Find out more about his interest and use it as a way to open up communication. Verify Ron Suskindwho helped his son use his love of Disney to make connections with the rest of the world.

8. Don’t be afraid to test your child’s comfort level. Encourage them to try new things. Expose them to things that make them uncomfortable.

9. Consider allowing your child to participate in cognitive therapy. One option arises from the work of Dr. Abraham A. Bajo. His book entitled, Mental health through the training of the willteaches a system that works for many families.

10. Understand game time. When you fully understand the complicated nature of downtime, such as interaction, social expression, and other milestones, you can help your child at your own pace. Many children with autism do not learn by watching other people. When you understand all the ways children learn through play, you can help your child connect through a different channel.

11. Teach your children confidence through narrative psychology. A good read isThis is your Life and how we tell it”. The premise of narrative psychology changes the way you look at things. For example, instead of saying “Kids with autism don’t like gym class,” focus on the activities they do like. This can encourage your child to participate in and enjoy physical activities. Fight against the labels associated with Autism.

“It is not the critic who counts; it is not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the deed-maker might have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is really in the arena, whose face is marred by the dust and the sweat and the blood, who strives valiantly, who errs, who falls short again and again, because there is no effort without error and failure, but who really strives to do the deeds, who knows great enthusiasms, great devotions; that he spends himself in a worthy cause, that at best knows in the end the triumph of great achievements, and that at worst, if he fails, at least he fails while he dares much, of so that his place will never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.-Theodore Roosevelt (THE MAN IN THE SAND) “