Just to recap – we teach our children a skill. We have several false starts but still reward their efforts with the lowest common denominator, such as an M&M. Eventually, the skill is mastered. It is at this point that the parent should withdraw, or fade, the reward of the M&M and replace it with something deemed more appropriate, such…[more]

We all make associations all the time, where we connect one event or set of circumstances with another. I associate the arrival of Summer with sun burn, turning puce and spending many a happy hour peeling off strips of dead snake skin from my arms. I associate the holidays with Christmas pudding, hidden silver shillings to break teeth and a visit to the dentist.…[more]

These are the last three subjects that I’ll be tackling on Trusera. Initially I just wanted to discuss fading, which is a huge hurdle for our family, but then I found that would be too difficult without touching on the other two first.Sequencing is simple for most of us. Others find ‘doi…[more]

Some bloggers have sitemeters. Some bloggers check their sitemeters to see who is searching what subject, if they are brave. Occasionally I am brave and check. What follows are three pieces upon subjects that three people researched via google. This is the fifth topic:-‘How can I tell if I am autistic?’A worrisome question on so ma…[more]

When I received the first evaluation of my son, I was a little gloomy. I remember three things distinctly. Firstly, it started off well enough with something like ‘he is a good looking happy faced child…….......’ ahhh…..........…but then went downhill at a rapid pace. What followed was a laundry list of defi…[more]

The first time I came across the term ‘scaffolding,’ without any further explanation or definition, I was peeved. There is so much jargon and shorthand associated with autism that newbies like me, can have a hard time unscrambling the underlying message. It’s as if all the professionals talk in a secret code that we a…[more]

Some bloggers have sitemeters. Some bloggers check their sitemeters to see who is searching what subject, if they are brave. Occasionally I am brave and check. What follows are three pieces upon subjects that three people researched via google.This is the fourth topic:-Now there’s a curious search. I can see why people would visit me to find evidence that &q…[more]

Currently there is a great deal of press in the media about "parental mental health," a predisposition to autistic offspring, they claim. It would be my assertion, that as with most children, they are genetically pre-programmed to push our buttons. If you are a clean and organized type of person, your children will be messy. If you’re a more…[more]

If I see another news item with reference to the correlation between parental mental illness and autistic offspring, I’m afraid I shall have no choice but to climb on my soapbox and pontificate. What these boffins seem to have missed is that the busyness of parents with autistic children is the determining factor. If we parents could halve or even q…[more]

Some bloggers have sitemeters. Some bloggers check their sitemeters to see who is searching what subject, if they are brave. Occasionally I am brave and check. What follows are three pieces upon subjects that three people researched via google.This is the third topic:-Not AutismApart from the people who search rude subjects and words, by far the most common search…[more]