It isn't something I like to think about too much or I begin to feel sad, overwhelmed and anxious. Despite my hesitancy to linger in the realm of 'what if', I need to be realistic and understand that my son might not have an adult life simliar to mine. When it comes to autism the biggest indicator of how well a child will do as an adult (by way of how far they will progress developmentally) is verbal communication. This is why everyday, and I'm not kidding, I work on communication with my two boys.

Every so often it happens and, when it does, I'm so upset by it I need days to recover. At my last meeting, full of parents with children that have special needs, the mom's starting attacking each other verbally. Usually this scenario plays out whenever diet and biomedical interventions are discussed, but the topic was staying home with your children, as opposed to working full-time and, boy oh boy, were there a lot of opinions on the matter!

I was in the chat forum this morning and there was some great discussion going on related to socialization and peers. This couldn't be more timely as this issue has presented itself a few times over our holiday vacation.

In a few days it will be the New Year, full of hope, promise, possibility and, of course, the annual resolutions we’ll all make to some degree. It’s also the perfect time to take a moment and assess your child’s progress this school year. It only takes a few moments, can be done throughout the day and it will be the best way to start of a New Year, not to mention make it the most progressive year yet.

I know that many of us already have an advanced and in-depth understanding of motor skills and how delayed skills can negatively impact everyday life. When I consider the future independence my children will hopefully have, I begin to think of the many skills we still have to work on.

If you've read any of my previous articles then you know how much I promote, use and enjoy products or services that accomplish many things, as opposed to only one. I've been writing a lot about working on specific skills at home, because I know two things: how beneficial it is and how realistic it is. Usually, it is the idea of 'realistic' that people wrestle with, so it is with much excitement that I'm talking again about TOOBEEZ.

There are obviously more then five skills we need to teach our children with special needs, but these lay the groundwork and begin to build advanced skills that will help our children throughout life. Many of these concepts are overlooked and subsequently fall to the wayside.

Let’s get real. While we appreciate and need the professionals that work with our children, a lot of teaching happens at home. After a typical day of life however, setting aside time to ‘teach’ seems unrealistic and near impossible; at least for me. When the weekend rolls around, I don’t have the desire to schedule a day of instruction – I want to relax, have fun and enjoy the time off. The good news is I’m able to do both and so can you, if you use my little trick...

I’m always looking for new, fun and cool ways to incorporate working on my children’s special needs in everyday life. I don’t have time for forty more hours of therapy per week and neither do they, so making the most out of every minute at home is my best, and preferred, method.

There is so much to consider when it comes to treating special needs and self stimulatory behaviors are high on the list of symptoms parents wish to eliminate. There are simple things you can do at home to assess and treat your child’s stimulatory behaviors (stimming). All it takes is a little know-how…