A Message to Parents

Dear Parents, I am finally back after a long silence for almost two years. It is very hard to disengage myself from thinking and writing about...

Posts Tagged ‘communication’

Symptoms or Signs of Autism, Simplified

By Nadia Shanab | autism, general advice, parenting

In the previous article “Symptoms or Signs of Autism“, I provided some checklists and descriptions for parents who suspect that their children might have ADS (Autism Spectrum Disorder). In this article I’ll try to re-introduce the subject in a simpler way. *Autism cannot be diagnosed or identified medically. *The screening tools are based on the

Symptoms or Signs of Autism

By Nadia Shanab | autism, general advice, parenting

Initially, the blog’s main mission was to provide tips to help parents and educators handle some autism-related problems. But some readers are asking for more information about symptoms or signs of autism, so I decided to incorporate this subject in my blog. I am leaning toward using the word “signs” rather than “symptoms”, since autism

The Siblings of An Autistic Child

By Nadia Shanab | autism, general advice, parenting

I am going to talk about a very common mistake many parents of children with autism get caught/trapped into. If the siblings of a child with autism happen to be typically developed (neuro-typical), they usually grow up in an atmosphere different than their peers with typically developed siblings. Having a member of the family with autism,

Back-to-School Preparation

By Nadia Shanab | autism, general advice, parenting

As a child, I always loved this time of the year. Nevertheless, it always came with some apprehension and some stress. The idea of being in a new class, having new teachers, new classmates, or even going to a new school, was a little bit unsettling. I didn’t know what to expect. In particular, the

Teach Independence

By Nadia Shanab | autism, general advice, parenting

The ultimate goal, both, parents and educators are working for, is to render children with autism as independent as possible. We look far ahead, and picture them as adults, living independently, without the need of having us around. The best thing to do is to start the process as early as possible. Early intervention assures

How to Deal with Temper Tantrum

How to Deal with Temper Tantrum

By Nadia Shanab | autism, general advice, parenting, tips

What is temper tantrum? It is a negative attention seeking that the child resorts to, in order to communicate his frustration in a socially inappropriate way. Usually the child’s frustration arises when a need or a desire hasn’t been met. Temper tantrum is a form of meltdown among many, like aggression, running off, screaming, and

A Message to The Parents

By Nadia Shanab | autism, general advice, parenting

We all know how tiring, exhausting, and sometimes draining life can be, if you have a child or more than one on the autism spectrum. In this post I would like to suggest some ideas for parents that might help them have a better-balanced life. Your daily schedule is so busy, and your child always

Questions and Answers

By Nadia Shanab | autism, general advice, parenting

Some parents are e-mailing me some questions and I would like to share the answers with everyone. Question 1: About Echolalia How can I stop my child from repeating after me word to word? Answer to question 1 Echolalia is one of the most common signs of autism. The child repeats after a person whatever

Rewards and Consequences

Rewards and Consequences

By Nadia Shanab | autism, general advice, parenting

In previous articles I talked about the effectiveness of the reward system. First, I prefer to be positive and apply the reward (positive reinforcement) system as much as I can, and seize every opportunity to praise and encourage the children. Most kids work for rewards, and love to be praised and encouraged. But sometimes, the reward

The Magic of The Sticker Chart

The Magic of The Sticker Chart

By Nadia Shanab | autism, general advice, parenting

The story today is about a first grade child with autism who hated to go on the play structure or the equipments on the playground (slides, monkey bars, ladder, spinning wheel, the firemen pole, spiral pole and so on). He used to run all over the place and I couldn’t bring him to go on