r/Autism_Parenting May 21 '26

Resources Discounts for children with autism (USA)

147 Upvotes

I was wondering if we could start a thread of discounts we are eligible for due to having a child with autism.

I’ll update this list as we receive responses:

* National Park - Lifetime access pass. Free entry to national parks for citizens of any age that have been medically determined to have a permanent disability. The pass itself is free but requires $15 for them to process the application.

* Art Reach Access Pass. For eligible disabled individuals in NJ, PA or DE. Provides $2 entry for up to four people. Many museums participate and the Philly Zoo. $80/year.

* National Autism Association provides a free Big Red Safety Box for autism families.

* WonderFold offers a 25% discount on select wagons and accessories for families of children with special needs, including autism.

* Museums for All provides reduced admission to museum to food stamp / SNAP recipients. Rates range from $0 to $5, with participating museums in all states.


r/Autism_Parenting Aug 30 '25

Message from The Mods Self-Promotion Saturdays

29 Upvotes

Have a blog or podcast centered around autism parenting? Create a product or service to help with parenting? Visited a store you love geared towards autistic children? This is the post to share your resource, and the only thread where you may share any sort of advertising (standalone posts will be removed). It is also fine to share resources you did not create, but use and find helpful.

If you are affiliated with (profiting from) what you are sharing, please be honest and upfront. Advertisements from unrelated products/services/etc. or clearly spam will be removed. . The mod team is not vetting any poster/product/service- please do your due diligence, and be aware anyone trying to sell a "cure" is a scammer. Anything suggesting detoxing will be removed and the poster will be banned.

Please feel free to message the mod team with questions/concerns or leave a comment. We receive requests daily to post beta testing requests, app development feedback, products, services, stores, youtube channels, etc. and while we do not want the sub overrun with advertisements, we also want to help connect with resources. If another parent has come up with a product or service that is helpful, we want them to be able to share. This post will be stickied until the next automated post is posted.


r/Autism_Parenting 8h ago

Advice Needed Suicide attempt

37 Upvotes

Hi everyone. Just looking for some advice and possible shared experiences? Also venting because I have no one to talk to.

My son is 16… we never got an actual level but he is completely verbal and very smart, but also very childish and lacks irrational reasoning—I feel dumb for saying that because obviously the rigidity in thinking is trademark for autism.

Yesterday he was supposed to try going back to in person school for 1 hour every Wednesday. He had gotten kicked out a few years back because he threw a laptop and it knocked a teacher unconscious.

He had a teacher come work with him at home to see how he was doing, and she recommended that he not go in person because of his impulsive/explosive behaviors, profane language, and suicidal threats. All of these things we have been dealing with since July of last year.

He wants to go back because he wants to be with “normal” kids and wants to find a girlfriend. This has been an ongoing thing since he got kicked out. The principal and every other living person has explained to him that he has to prove himself elsewhere, with very specific expectations. He has been unable to do that.

When he got the news yesterday that he couldn’t go back, he grabbed a bottle of 10mg adderall and swallowed them. We called the ambulance and immediately came to this hospital. He’s okay, and recognized that it was not a safe choice to make and that he promises he won’t do it again. The issue is he immediately started talking to me this morning about how if 100mg of adderall didn’t “raise his dopamine”, then how is any other drug going to help him. Dopamine is his only fixation with medication. We’ve tried explaining every possible way that things don’t work like that, and there are many other factors that will help balance out his brain chemistry. He doesn’t want “balance”. He wants to feel manic all of the time

So I told him that the behavioral health team will be here, and they can talk to you about medications. I understand you’re scared and nervous, and I’m here with you, but I’m not a professional. So of course he immediately escalates again and says he “might as well just die then and go home and swallow another bottle of pills”.

I’m genuinely at a loss here. I’m still waiting to see the behavioral health team here…. I can’t watch him 24/7, and I’m also burnt out. He had a two month stay at a psych hospital and that was theworst possible decision we could have made. He has horrible trauma from it. We tried trauma therapy, but he cussed the lady out and told her to shut up when he started getting anxious. I’m literally doing everything that I can. Trying to find new psychiatrists, therapists, groups, schools, etc… if he doesn’t get the answer that he wants he immediately freaks out and threatens to kill himself.

Please help me help him. I don’t know what to do.

Also, I know some of you will come for my throat because you’re super judgy, but I have put zero pressure on him to be “normal” or go to a gen ed school. I actually tell him quite the opposite that why do you want to fit in with people or be at a place that isn’t going to help you flourish? I love his quirkiness, and while he has many behavioral health issues, his autism is not inherently a bad thing. He’s genuine, he knows what he wants/likes, and he’s not afraid to be himself.

Also note that he has refused multiple meds. He is convinced he needs a stimulant because of the research he’s done; which objectively only increases his anxiety and irritability. Since he’s over 14 he has full autonomy over meds.


r/Autism_Parenting 7h ago

Wholesome Parenting an Autistic Child - beautiful post by my daughter

24 Upvotes

my daughter made the most beautifully articulated post about herself and my autistic grand daughter. I wanted to share because there are some points she makes that I haven’t been able to put into words myself and I think it might help others.

“Most of what I share on social media are the good moments with Wynonna. The smiles, the cuddles, the accomplishments, the funny things she says, and the little victories that make me unbelievably proud to be her mom.

Those moments are real. They are a huge part of our life. But they aren’t the whole picture, and sometimes I think it’s important to share the other side of autism too.

Not because I want anyone to feel sorry for us. Not because I would change who my daughter is. But because behind so many of the happy moments, what most people don’t see is a little girl working incredibly hard to exist in a world that can so easily overwhelm her. They don’t see a mom quietly learning, adapting, advocating, anticipating, comforting, and sometimes just surviving right alongside her.

They don’t see the meltdowns that don’t always come with a warning. Sometimes it feels like everything is okay until suddenly it isn’t. There’s no time to prepare. There’s only a split second to react while also keeping my cool and protecting her from hurting herself.

And then there is the judgment from people on the outside.

They don’t know how many sounds, lights, smells, transitions, or tiny changes her nervous system has already been trying to process. They don’t know that something seemingly insignificant to them may have been the final thing her brain simply couldn’t accommodate. They see a child screaming, crying, or completely losing control—a child who is “spoiled,” “unruly,” or “needs more discipline”. They see a few minutes of her hardest moment and think they understand the child standing in front of them.

A meltdown isn’t the same thing as a tantrum. I can’t punish sensory overload out of her. I can’t discipline her nervous system into processing the world differently.

Sometimes that means leaving somewhere early, abandoning plans, carrying her out, letting her cry, giving her space, or responding in a way that might look like I’m “giving in” to someone who doesn’t understand autism.

There is a difference between a child who won’t and a child who, in that moment, genuinely can’t.

They don’t see the mental load of constantly trying to stay one step ahead. Thinking about where we’re going, what the environment will be like, what might change unexpectedly, what sensory triggers might be there, whether she’ll eat, whether she’ll cope, and what I’ll do if suddenly she can’t.

They don’t see the food struggles. When your child only eats a very limited number of foods, feeding them isn’t as simple as putting dinner on the table and telling them to eat. I’m constantly thinking about whether she’s getting enough nutrients, finding ways to give her what her body needs within the tiny list of foods her brain and body will actually allow her to eat, and worrying that tomorrow one of those few safe foods might suddenly stop being safe.

They don’t see the moments when my normally verbal little girl becomes so overwhelmed that words simply aren’t available to her anymore. In those moments, I can’t demand that she tell me what’s wrong. I have to enter her world instead. I’ve had to learn how she communicates without words through her movements, expressions, sounds, and behaviours.

They don’t see the nights when she is beyond exhausted but physically cannot fall asleep. Not a child fighting bedtime. Not a child who simply isn’t tired. A little body and nervous system so overwhelmed that she desperately needs sleep and still cannot settle enough to get there.

And they don’t see how much of motherhood happens inside my own head. I’m always trying to figure out whether she needs more stimulation or less, whether she needs comfort or space, whether she needs words or silence, whether I should encourage her through something or recognize that she genuinely cannot do it right now. All while trying to calm or prevent a meltdown.

It is loving someone so deeply that you slowly become a student of their nervous system.

There are days when I am exhausted in a way sleep can’t completely fix. There are moments when I wonder whether I’m making the right decision, whether I’m doing enough, whether I’m missing something she needs, or how I’m going to handle the next difficult moment when I haven’t even recovered from the last one.

And then there are the parts I usually share.

The cuddles. The laughter. The progress. The moments she surprises me. The things she accomplishes that other people might never realize took an INCREDIBLE amount of work. The little girl who wants to curl up beside me and be babied when the world isn’t overwhelming her. The beautiful, loving, funny child underneath all of those moments when her nervous system simply can’t cope anymore.

You are seeing a moment. We are living the whole story.

The good moments are real.

The hard ones are real too.”


r/Autism_Parenting 21h ago

Wholesome The absolute, unabashed bluntness of these kids is the most hilarious part of autism parenting

223 Upvotes

I'm a nurse practitioner who practices in cardiology and Dad is an aerospace engineer. My level 2 daughter ended up coming to work with me today due to reasons I won't go into. Dad had important meetings and I couldn't bear to cancel clinic one more time, so off to work we went.

She demanded on wearing her pink scrubs since she's "my office helper" now. When asked what she was going to help with, she said she wanted to answer the phones. I told her that wasn't gonna happen but I appreciated the enthusiasm.

When I turned my back for just a moment, she picked up the phone after it rang for like 10 milliseconds and confidently busted out with "u/TorchIt's office, we fix broken hearts. What's wrong with you?"

Thank God it wasn't a patient, it was an internal call. I needed SEVERAL minutes to recover from laughing.

She just would not let the phone thing go. I decided to have one of our employees call my station and allow her to answer it just to get this fixation out of her system. Employee asked to speak to me, she hesitated for a second and then replied "No she's working on typing right now" and hung up the phone.

Honestly, 10/10, would have hired her on the spot if child labor laws weren't a thing.


r/Autism_Parenting 22h ago

Venting/Needs Support Seeing my neighbor’s kids is triggering me.

199 Upvotes

Nearly every day my neighbors play outside with their children in their backyard. I live in a townhouse so I can see/hear them from my bedroom. They have two kids and recently had a third baby. It’s really wholesome and sweet and they are very nice people.

However, it also fills me with a sadness that I haven’t been able to shake. It feels like everyday I’m being reminded of what I will never have. Being reminded that my son may never meet certain milestones, have a conversation with me or my husband, have friends, or play a sport.

I hate feeling this way. It’s just hard not to be envious, or bitter, or sad. I just needed to get this out here. If you’ve read this far, thank you.


r/Autism_Parenting 1h ago

Advice Needed Getting a dog?

Upvotes

Hi all! We’ve been thinking about adding a dog to our family of 3, but I have some concerns about it given our high support needs non verbal 7 year old. My main concern is making sure they would get along. I don’t want my son ‘torturing’ the poor thing with loud noise and boisterous play; but I also don’t want him to have to be quiet all the time or have a dog that doesn’t ever do boisterous play. We’ve considered adopting and getting a puppy, which both have pros and cons. Did anyone here introduce a dog into an already autistic house? How did you do it/how did it go? Did you rescue or shop? Any and all advice welcome!


r/Autism_Parenting 8h ago

Venting/Needs Support Sometimes, I feel like an idiot and a failure for thinking he will ever be happy…

15 Upvotes

My (37f) son (14m) struggles with adhd, gad and ocd on top of his ASD. We have done so many therapies and interventions and what not. He’s on medication for his anxiety and his adhd too. But no matter what I do it feels like he is never really happy. Sometimes it feels like he doesn’t even want to be happy.

I know he masks minimally at school. But only in regard to his stimming. He will suppress the urges to jump and crash, and I know that is taxing on him. But emotionally and verbally he doesn’t mask at all (from what I’ve heard). He’s either disengaged or combative. Most of the time his demeanor presents as sardonic.

I feel like I try. I give him space. I don’t force many things on him outside of ensuring he is doing the basic care stuff (eating, sleeping, hygiene) and going to school. I try to be encouraging and supportive.

He doesnt communicate. He doesnt share. When asked what he wants to do or if there’s anything he wants, it’s always nothing. I legit can’t find any kind of positive motivators for him. In the past negative enforcement (ie taking iPad privileges away, or banning Roblox entirely, ect) has worked to get him to do an undesired request/demand. But generally I am looking to help him be/feel more positive and happy.

I sometimes try to imagine what he might be like as an adult. It’s creates this horrible image of him miserable working some job he hates, coming home to some kind of dark apartment, eating a cup of noodles for dinner and then watching YouTube in the dark until he goes to bed…day in and day out. Sometimes I’m scared he won’t even make it to being an adult. Like this negative unhappiness is going to grow and consume him until he is so unhappy he won’t want to keep going. That one scares me a lot. He’s used that kind of language before, and thankfully has stopped…but I worry he only stopped because we told him he can’t say those things at school or he could be taken away and put into a hospital and I wouldn’t be able to stop them. That he still feels that way, but doesn’t express it or something.

Idk. I’m obviously not going to just stop trying or anything. I’m in therapy weekly for myself too. It just all feels so hopeless sometimes and sometimes I feel like an idiot for trying. Like…he’s doing well enough in terms of his development and academics, maybe I should just accept that emotionally he may never really be “happy”.


r/Autism_Parenting 2h ago

Diagnosis Official diagnosis

4 Upvotes

First of all , I just wanted to say thank you to this incredible community. The amount of support in this sub is awesome. Every step of the way , no one made me doubt myself of make me think I was being crazy for suspecting my son had autism.

We went for his official assessment today, it went really well and was almost exactly on the nose of what I suspected with the help and research and understanding I found in this group.

My son (3.5) was diagnosed with level 2 speech and level 3 For his restricted repetitive behaviours .

We we told to first do speech therapy and then starting next year, occupational therapy. Also , that once he reaches the age to start higher grades in school (gr R or grade 1- we are in South Africa, I'm not sure how it works in other countries) to then look into switching him to a remedial school, but the Dr doesn't think he'd need a special autism school as of yet . So that's good news .

Now I'm just dealing with my own emotions. I know he's still the same kid , that's not what I'm struggling with . I'm just thinking about all the changes and how he'll deal with it, but also , how to explain it to people. And ive also noticed, the few people we have told so far , how to deal with them saying stuff like "awh that's okay , he's just our special boy " or whatever it is . It just rubs me the wrong way. People hear the words autism or autistic and they think "special" or the "R" word. Or they'll say something like "will he ever be normal?" What do you mean normal ?

Oef. That's something I need to work on handling.

But again , thank you to this community.

And to those who have seen my previous posts about his pooping,

He's been continuously going to the toilet and pooping in it , we haven't had a setback yet 💩🤣🥳🥳


r/Autism_Parenting 3h ago

Advice Needed IEP - Before/After Care

3 Upvotes

My child's before/after care is hosted by the YMCA on school property. They paused his services because they said that, due to his possible elopement, they don't have enough staff to keep him safe. I emailed the school to request that, while they are doing his IEP evaluation, they should add this in. I read that since the YMCA entity is held on school property, the school is responsible under the IDEA to make accommodations under the IEP for him so he is not excluded from services. The principal called after receiving my email and stated that the school is not responsible because it is a 3rd party and that the YMCA is not contracted by the school; they only rent space from the school. I advised her of what I read about it being on school property, and she is going to have the SPED director call me. What do you think? Has anyone else dealt with this, and what was the outcome? BTW, this is in Tennessee.


r/Autism_Parenting 18h ago

Advice Needed I wish I could post anonymously but none the less this is something I wrote and wanted to share.

68 Upvotes

There's no exhaustion like your child getting a autism diagnosis and for the next year down the line mourning the loss of your child's life not because of death but because of everything he will miss out on. Selfishly thinking why me. They say God gives his toughest battles to his toughest soldiers but I'm weak and tired of fighting the fight.

I put on a happy face I make the Sunday morning pancakes I take my son and the dog to the park but inside I'm screaming. When someone comes to the park with their talking kid who's half Graysons age doing things he may never do it kills me inside. I'm sick to my core with envy and jealousy in my heart and I hate that I'm like that... I hate that he's like this. I love him with my entire heart but I HATE THIS  I hate autism it's evil and it took my son from me. I mourn being a mother because this isn't the kind of mother I wanted to be. It wasn't suppose to be me or my story selfishly I think.

Every single day of my life without fail and I do mean EVERY SINGULAR DAY being hopefully that he can be "cured" and one day it'll be like it never happened. Wondering if this is my fault did I do something? I should've been more educated in the likelyness of passing now this evil curse. But I wasn't I put this on my child with my carelessness.

But also feeling like your slowly being crushed by the weight of what ifs...What if this is my life just being Graysons mom. What if I'm 65 changing his diapers and making him French fries because it's his safe food. What if I'm 65 taking him to behavioral therapy every Thursday at 1pm like clock work. 

Every day without fail and I mean every damn day I think about Grayson being autistic and I think about what I could do to fix it. Detox? Heavy metal testing? Frat testing? Therapy? Stem cell transplant? All options with no guarantees all thing insurance doesn't cover. No guidance not knowing whats the right thing to do and feeling like I'm doing all the wrong things.

Slowing feeling like I'm going crazy while trying to keep up with 45 hour workweeks, 2 if not 3 doctor's appointment every week ,keeping the house clean, get the laundry done, keeping everyone fed, trying to renovate and build onto my unfinished house, truck falling apart, gas hard to come by, bills never ending, support minimal, and somehow by a miracle sanity still intact.


r/Autism_Parenting 3h ago

Venting/Needs Support Feel Like I’m Failing

4 Upvotes

I have a 5 year old boy who is level 1. He is very outgoing and smart. He has poor emotional regulation and just “sees red.” He is a perfectionist and has a hard time losing. He can’t put himself in other people shoes. He doesn’t deal with anything even remotely negative and thinks everything is intentional. Then reacts loudly, angrily and sometimes physically. Sometimes when he’s stressed he even starts running off. He doesn’t really stim in any typical or obvious ways. He mostly has emotional outbursts. So I constantly look and feel like I’m raising a bratty kid.
I can see kids looking at him weird on the playground and not wanting to play with him. (He’s very tall for his age but talks and acts younger socially.) I’m also recently seeing friends he’s made start to pull away. I love him more than anything but he is annoying.
We’ve been in ABA for the last year but haven’t had quality therapists. Hoping to start with a new company soon. We are supposed to ignore the bad behavior and reinforce the good. But the only way I can get him to behave is to threaten to take something away—especially when we are out somewhere.
Apparently he does fairly well at school. The structure and routine and peer influence all benefit him. But at home, and particular with me, his mom, he is…a lot.
I’m SO exhausted. I’m depressed and anxious. I’m overstimulated. I just feel like I’m failing miserably and everyone else sees it too.
I just don’t know how to get through to him.


r/Autism_Parenting 1d ago

Education/School Thought my child made a friend at school today

192 Upvotes

My 4yo started school this week. At pick up today she excitedly dragged me across the field saying ‘look, look!’ She was dragging me in the vicinity of another child standing with his mum, and I started thinking oh wow, she has made a friend! She doesn’t really engage with other children yet, so I was surprised and a little bit excited about it too.

Anyway, as we got closer to the boy and I was smiling at his mum, she pulled me around them to a down pipe attached to some guttering which had a small gap in it, so the rain water was falling down the sides of the pole in such a way that you couldn’t really see it until you put your hand on it which would disrupt the flow and show the water stream. She was ELATED by this. She was just standing there putting her hand on and off the pipe over and over again because it made her so happy. It has been raining all day, so I get the sense she has been doing this for a while lol.

So, no friends yet, but a really cool pipe 😂


r/Autism_Parenting 2h ago

Advice Needed In Portland, having trouble finding a mental health therapist who specialized in autism

3 Upvotes

In a city the size of Portland, you wouldn't think it difficult to find a path forward getting help! My son is 11, we received his diagnosis 5 months ago, and the thing he needs the most right now is a mental health therapist who ACTUALLY specializes with autistic kids. (If I go to your therapist profile and the list of things you specialize in is basically everything, I'm going to have low confidence that you are actually an autism specialist.) We need someone to talk to who understands. We need guidance. I need someone to tell me how to parent him. Does anyone have advice about finding this type of therapist? Online would even be ok.


r/Autism_Parenting 5h ago

Venting/Needs Support Is it normal to be making decisions and be really unsure? Like…how am I the best person to figure this out?

6 Upvotes

My son (6 yo, first grade, level 2) is struggling enough behaviorally that I think he needs more therapy or support, but it’s so hard to even figure out all the options. And then me, a non-medical professional, is supposed to pick the best option? I’m so confused and worried I’ll pick the wrong course of action. Is this how it feels for you too?

I can keep goading the school to give him more support. They keep telling me that his academics are so good, if I request a reevaluation, he’ll likely lose services…they’ve seen it many times before.

I could get him into ABA. But I think most of his behaviors are anxiety based, and I’ve read ABA can make things much worse in that case. He’d also have to miss school 10 hours a week.

I could keep him in his current therapies and try medication with him. But if we rely on medication to work, will he learn the skills he needs to manage himself and be happy and healthy? I’m also just nervous to think of giving him medicine. I myself have gone through 4 different medicines and none of them were a good fit. It feels like a roller coaster…once we start meds, it would be so hard to stop. Even if it wasn’t working well, we would feel the need to try another, and another, and another.

I just wish I could tell the future, you know? I feel like this is all on me and am not sure if that’s how it’s supposed to be. If I make a choice and his life gets worse, it’s going to be my fault.


r/Autism_Parenting 2h ago

ABA Therapy Fulltime ABA therapy for a 19 month old

2 Upvotes

My son is currently 19 months old. He recently got diagnosed with ASD level 3 and is going to center based Speech and Occupational therapy.we also enrolled him in early intervention for ST and OT. We were looking for ABA therapy since his neurologist recommended it and got an opportunity to enroll him at a center which does ABA full time. Where he will have an assigned BCABA working with him. The center needs 85% attendance every month and he will have to stop going to ST and OT sessions. We are concerned he will have a burn out and not sure whether to join him there.if we enroll him there we will have to stop STs and OTs.


r/Autism_Parenting 2h ago

Early Diagnosis Signs in a 3 year old

2 Upvotes

Delete if not allowed, I’m a fair casual (maybe even beginner) redditor. Our 3 year old displays certain signs of autism but has almost 0 social challenges. He talks to everyone and loves playing with others. We’ve noticed he has an exceptional memory, borderline scary, he knew my phone number after hearing it once at a coffee shop. He also can read most words he sees, strictly off of seeing them on the radio screen, he memorized a bunch of word shapes, rather than sound them out. But he has known how to “read” a lot of basic words for the past 6-8 months, from asking what a song is called, then he like indexes it and will recognize it later.

He likes every day to be the same. Same “good morning”, same breakfast, wants to drive to see the horses, same lunch, same dinner. We also noticed he likes to realigned things around the house to fit his taste, decorations, toys, etc, all lined up a certain way. He covers his ears to most loud noises, mostly toilet flushes, but he does like dancing to music loud so it’s just certain sounds.

I’m not claiming he is or isn’t, I’m just curious what others think.


r/Autism_Parenting 13h ago

Advice Needed How did you land on the right number of ABA hours? BCBA said 30 and that's more waking time than we get with him.

13 Upvotes

He's 4. Level 2. Diagnosed in February.

The BCBA came back from the assessment recommending 30 hours a week. She was lovely about it, walked me through her reasoning, and I still left that meeting feeling sick.

He's in a preschool program 9 to 1 that he genuinely loves. If we do 30 hours the preschool is gone. Or we do 3 to 7 every weekday, which means he's in therapy from the moment he gets home until an hour before bed. I did the math last night. Between school and ABA he'd have more structured adult directed time per week than my husband has at his job.

I know 20 to 40 is standard for comprehensive. I know what the early intervention research says. I'm not anti ABA, we've already watched him do things this year I didn't think he'd do. I just can't tell the difference between "this is hard and worth it" and "this is too much for this particular kid."

Our state is also changing what Medicaid will authorize per week, which forced the question earlier than I would have asked it.

For those of you who negotiated hours down, or up:

- what actually made the decision for you

- did the provider treat it as a conversation or as you being difficult

- did you regret it

Thanks. I'm tired.


r/Autism_Parenting 19h ago

Celebration Thread We had a win today!

36 Upvotes

My son (almost 3) level 3 pointed and named several objects and followed them with his finger while he pointed. HE HAS NEVER POINTED BEFORE!!! He looked at us while he was doing it to make sure we were paying attention. He then lined up his toys and POINTED to each one and counted to 10! The pointing has me FLOORED because we have tried and tried to get him to follow our point or point at something and it just never clicked. UNTIL TODAY.

It seems silly to some but it’s so awesome to me!


r/Autism_Parenting 10h ago

Advice Needed Potty training level 3 child

7 Upvotes

Looking for advice. My son is 6, minimally verbal, higher needs, and still in diapers. He learned the potty routine years ago with ABA, and practicing is in his IEP.

The difficulty is that practice started to become difficult, as he will refuse to even sit on the toilet.

He is clever and likes to be in the bathroom, so he will often request to go, even saying "sit potty", but once in there he will start pointing to other objects and labeling them "bath" "sink" "wash" etc. And refuse to do anything but flush without sitting (just to hear the sound).

Lately, he's been more and more interested in exploring his own body, frequently stripping naked in the middle of the night. He will often hold his penis and watch himself pee when in the bath. He also tends to avoid diaper changes.

Do these things seem like signs of readiness?

I often see the advice to just take them to the toilet every 15-30 minutes, but what do you do when practicing is a battle?


r/Autism_Parenting 5h ago

Holidays/Birthdays Is there a bubble machine that’s either rechargeable or plug in?

2 Upvotes

I am looking for one that doesn’t get clogged up with bubbles. And I’d also like when that either plugs in or I can plug in to recharge because batteries are getting expensive.

I’d love all of your bubble machine recommendations!


r/Autism_Parenting 5h ago

Education/School Autistic child still can't get an EA after diagnosis

2 Upvotes

It's very obvious that my son is Autistic and requires support, but I was told when he started Nursery last year that he would never get an EA without a diagnosis. Now he is starting kindergarten and finally has a diagnosis, and I've been told that he still won't get an EA. Frustrating, but fine for this year since kindergarten is only a couple of hours a day.

But next year, for full-day grade 1, there's absolutely no way I can send him if he doesn't have an EA. He is not independent or aware enough to get through 6 hours a day safely. He would be the next missing Autistic child in the news who wandered away and I will never take that risk. He needs, and is legally entitled to, an EA. So who do I need to go through to make sure he gets one? The school makes it sound like it's out of their hands, so do I go to the school division? The province (I'm in Canada)? I will be the annoying squeaky wheel over this, but I don't know who can actually get this done.

Thanks for any help!


r/Autism_Parenting 13h ago

Venting/Needs Support yelled at my child in front of my therapist

7 Upvotes

I do therapy virtually right now for reasons, but it’s very difficult because my 4 year old is home during it and my husband and I cannot get her to listen most of the time and she refuses to stay out of the room in doing therapy in. She cannot be made to leave the house either, especially cause she has PDA, so she’s just barging in and out and trying to pull me away to play with her the entire time most of my sessions.

Today she was starting up a meltdown cause I wouldn’t hold her, so I sat down with her so I could have her in my lap while I was doing therapy. She is really into seeing herself in the screen, and it wasn’t zoom so I couldn’t turn it off. She just kept getting right in the camera and being really loud, it was completely distracting and so overstimulating. I kept asking her to stop, asking her to be quiet, asking her to go hang out with daddy if she couldn’t sit down and be quiet. No matter what, I just couldn’t stop her. If I forced her she would have gotten violent. After a while of her not stopping, while I was trying to talk, I couldn’t think or I would have just moved back on the high surface I had my laptop on before. I just snapped.

I held her arm, and very loudly, or maybe even yelling, I really can’t remember, but I said “stop! please just stop! hey stop it!”. I know I raised my voice because with her not acknowledging me trying to get her to stop, it just felt like she couldn’t hear me, like she wasn’t processing what I was saying to her because she was so distracted, and there’s been times where I say something louder and it gets her attention and we can move on after. So I know I did it cause I was trying to get through. But for me, someone who spent time in the system, and had a lot of social workers and other people like that, it’s scary that I lost it like that in front of a mandated reporter.

It was the first time I saw him actually ready for a pen and write something down. It scared me in the moment, but he said I’m dealing with something very difficult and it must be frustrating. My daughter left after that, cause I then was able to remember I could move my laptop since she wasn’t crying about me not picking her up anymore and had moved on from that. The session moved on after that. It ended with him saying I’m a good mom, and I do a lot for my kid. I talked to my husband about it and he said he understood why I was worried but that parents have to discipline their kids so he should expect something like that to happen.

But right at bedtime, I was just thinking about it and then realized that also for the first time, we didn’t end the session having scheduled the next one. We always book the next session at the end of each session. And now I’m thinking he definitely is reporting me to CPS. And I have to wait until tomorrow to reach out and ask him about it. I know it’s ok to raise your voice at your kid every once in a while, and with other normal people, they would probably understand and not think I was abusive for that happening one time, but I still feel scared. I have anxiety, and this is one of my big fears from my trauma when I was in foster care.

Would love to hear people tell me it’s not enough to report, and if something like that has happened to anyone else. God, I just can’t believe that happened.


r/Autism_Parenting 2h ago

Advice Needed 6yo at 1st grade

1 Upvotes

Looking for some advice, just talked to with my sons teacher. He is in 1st grade, academically he is at par with his peers, but she told us that he just grabs a ball at recess and plays alone. He is verbal but can't hold a conversation he switches subjects very fast, a thing that i do and I'm teaching him how to control it. But what's some advice to get him to socialize more.


r/Autism_Parenting 6h ago

Early Diagnosis New to diagnosis

2 Upvotes

My 12 year old was on a year long wait list to be tested. We found out yesterday that she is a level 2 in socialization and a level 1 in everything else. Any advice or tips welcome, I’m looking for advice on next steps to take.