October 24, 2023

Neurodiverse and Sensory Friendly Halloween Costume Ideas

 Hello Everyone,

I haven't written anything for a while so I thought I would do a quick post about neurodiverse sensory friendly costume ideas for Halloween.  This post focuses on sharing some helpful resources about what you can do to give your child a great Halloween costume without such a high risk of triggering their sensitivities.  I hope you find it helpful and please let me know if you know of any resources that I missed so I can add them below.  Thank you and Happy Halloween!

Sensory Friendly Halloween Costumes for Children with Autism: This site provides a nice general overview of some of the challenges neurodiverse kids face at Halloween and what to do about it.  There are several very interesting related articles about non-candy treats for Halloween and alternative activities for trick-or-treating for autistic kids.

23 Sensory-Friendly Halloween Costume Ideas and Tips: This is a nice quick read focusing on tips to make costumes more "user friendly" for kids with sensory challenges.

Simple DIY Sensory Friendly Halloween Costumes: Another quick read with some creative ideas for sensory-friendly costumes.

Sensory-Friendly Halloween Costumes for Kids with ASD: This is a very informative read about tips to help minimize sensory overload on Halloween.  It also goes into some helpful background information about what sensory sensitivities are and how they can be especially triggered at this time of year.

Halloween Costume Ideas: Some interesting ideas about how to convert store-bought costumes into more sensory-friendly ones as well as ideas on turning your kids' special interest into a costume.

Sensory-Friendly Halloween Costumes for Children with Sensory Sensitivities: This is a nice post providing a number of ideas for specific costumes to try.  It also give specific ideas on how to make these costumes.

The Best Halloween Costumes for an Autistic Child: This post is fairly exhaustive, providing ideas for costumes, how to make them, as well as offering insights as to why Halloween can be so challenging for neurodiverse kids.

Halloween Costume Considerations: Another good general resource.

77 Last-Minute Costume Ideas: While not directed neurodiverse kids and their families, this resource can be paired excellently with the information you gather about how to make your costumes more neurodiverse and sensory-friendly.

Safe Trick-or-Treating for Autistic children: Ok so not a resource about sensory and neurodiverse-friendly costumes; however it does address the very important needs of having a safe, sensory-friendly trick-or-treat experience.  Remember that a sensory-friendly costume won't count for much if efforts are not made to help mitigate sensory overload when putting the costume to use.

June 21, 2023

BudEase: A Friend Matchmaking Service ( With Form)


BUDEASE
The Ease of Finding a Friend

Hello Everyone,

I hope you are well.  My friend matchmaking service is up and running; we've already made a few matches and are excited to make more!  Look below to find the information form and get started! 

PLEASE NOTE: You will need to copy and paste the form into your preferred writing program.  Once completed please send the form to me at rhoajo01@gmail.com.


Please Read our FAQs:


What is BudEase?  BudEase (pronounced buddies) is a friend matchmaking service with the goal of connecting individuals with developmental diagnoses (and their families) together to form lasting friendships and relationships.

How much does BudEase cost?  BudEase is a FREE SERVICE.  There are no fees associated with participation.

Who can use BudEase?  BudEase is for anyone of any age (and their families) who has a developmental diagnosis including but not limited to: Autism Spectrum Disorder; Down Syndrome; Fragile X; Cris du Chat Syndrome; ADHD; CP; etc.

What happens once I submit my information form and disclaimer?  Your information will be kept confidential and will be added to our database which stores the participant information used to make the matches.

How are matches made?  Matches are made based on individuals' shared interests, relative age, verbal ability, and general geographic location.

Is there a timeframe that I can expect to be matched to someone? Unfortunately not.  Matching is based on connecting individuals on the above parameters.  It may take time to find the right match as a result and is dependent on the number of appropriate participants in the service as well.

What happens once a match is made?  Once a match is made you will be contacted by BudEase to inform you that you have a match.  Once both individuals, or their guardians, agree to the match, contact information will be shared so you can set up your first get together.

Does BudEase arrange meetings between matches? Unfortunately not.  BudEase cannot serve as an coordinator of meet-ups between matches.  Doing so is the responsibility of the individuals or their parents.

Anything else?  As previously mentioned, submission of the form to BudEase DOES NOT guarantee a timeframe for getting a match nor that a match is guaranteed.


Terms and Conditions for BudEase

When filling out this form, I understand that I am sharing my information at my own risk to

connect with other families in my community.

I certify that I am over 18 years old and that I am the guardian of the child I am enrolling.  I

certify that I am using this service as a good intention.  I agree that I will NOT use this

information unlawfully, stalk or harass people in this group, or misrepresent my identity, age, or

my intentions.

I understand that Budease (and those that work for them) will only use my information to share

with other families in my area.  Budease will not share your personal data with anyone outside

of the Budease working group.

I acknowledge that Budease (and those that work for them) has limited information that has

been provided by others.  I acknowledge that Budease is not doing any background checks,

screening, or any other investigation into persons who have submitted information to this

organization.

I authorize Budease (and those that work for them) to share my name and email address with

others and I am not relying on Budease to screen, verify, or background check any other persons

who provided contact information to this organization  

I release Budease (and those that work for them) from any claim of negligence in providing

matches and will hold Budease harmless from any damages (direct or indirect) that may occur

from the sharing of contact information in this organization.

I understand that I am able to remove your name at any time from this list and no longer share

your information by emailing: banidheer@gmail.com

I understand that Budease does not guarantee a match for my child and that if a friend match is

identified, that Budease is in no way responsible for interactions between families/individuals

once a match is identified.

I have read the above terms and conditions and my name below stands as my signature for

agreeing.

Printed Name____________________________________________

Date ____________________________________________________


Information Form for Bud-Ease Friend Matchmaking Service

The following information will help find the most suitable friend match for your child.

All information will be kept confidential and used solely for purposes of finding a friend match

for your child.

Once you have completed this form, please submit to Jonathan Rhoades and Bani Dheer at the

following email addresses: rhoajo01@gmail.com and banidheer@gmail.com


1. What is your full name and address (address information is asked to find matches in

your location).

2. What is your email address?

3. What is the best contact number for you?

4. What is your child’s full name?

5. What name does your child go by?

6. What is your child’s age?

7. Child’s gender?

8. Child’s pronouns?

9. What is your child’s diagnosis?

10. Please describe the activities and topics in which your child is most interested?

11. Does your child have any additional medical conditions that may be relevant to finding a

suitable friend?

12. What is your child’s primary way of communicating?

13. What are the top 3 traits or qualities you think are most important in a friend match for

your child?

14. Please include any additional information you think could be helpful in finding a suitable friend match for your child.


March 24, 2023

Teaching Your Child and Yourself to Cope With Disappointment

Hello Everyone,

I hope you are having a good year so far.  It's been a while since I have written a post and to be honest, I am disappointed about it.  And that's exactly what this post is about....teaching yourself and your child how to cope with disappointment.  

Let's get started by understanding what disappointment is and what it isn't.  First of all disappointment is the feeling of being let down or feeling unfulfilled when expectations or goals are not met to a person's expectations (realistic or not).  Disappointment is different from regret, which is the focus on unfulfilled outcomes being caused by a person's actions, not the outcome itself.

When it comes to experience disappointment, many people have a certain alexithymia, or emotional numbness, stemming from being unable to accurately identify the emotion they are experiencing. Disappointment co-exists and co-occurs with these other feelings, but often we don't recognize it because it is more complex than basic emotions.  In fact, disappointment is a deeper feeling tied to sadness.  The feeling of disappointment is often buried under other, more superficial emotions, which are easier to identify.  Examples include sadness, regret, frustration, annoyance and so on.  

Disappointment IS NOT ANGER!!  Quite often feelings of disappointment get covered over by the stronger feeling of anger, especially when someone blames another for their expectations not being fulfilled.  Anger is seen by many as "safer emotion" to deal with disappointment because it does not require the person to experience vulnerability by facing tougher and deeper emotions.  The downside of this is that the person will not gain insight into what causes their anger and therefore be less likely to come up with effective coping tools for coping with deeper emotions.  A hammer will be used for all emotional difficulties when, perhaps, a wrench may be more useful.

So how do we teach ourselves and our children to cope with disappointment?  Here are some ideas that, when put together, result in what I like to call a DISAPPOINTMENT PLAN.  A disappointment plan is is designed to help build emotional resilience and recovery when experiencing disappointment.  

HOW TO MAKE A DISAPPOINTMENT PLAN

1.  IDENTIFY upcoming situations where you might experience disappointment.  For example if you are looking forward to going to a movie, but the movie is sold-out.

2.  FRICTION-Understand that there are circumstances outside of our control, which may delay or prevent something from going the way we want it to or that we want to achieve.  These circumstances are called friction because they create a counter force to our efforts.

3.  When you experience disappointment, label it as disappointment.  When you notice you are angry because something didn't turn out the way you wanted, you are likely also very disappointed.  Identifying the disappointment not only cues you to adopt your disappointment plan, it also begins the process of doing away with the alexithymia that occurs when we only notice the superficial emotions.

    Parents are critical at this stage because they have more emotional and contextual awareness than their child has.  You can discuss the topic of disappointment when your child is calm after they have been disappointed.  You can also try to label it for them when they are disappointed in the moment, if they are able to focus on you and not their emotions (that can be a tall order).

4. Redirect your emotions and thinking to another topic.  In other words distract your mind so you don't dwell on the disappointment and the things that went wrong.  This is where many people get "stuck" by focusing on the negative outcome without being able to take a way out.

5.  Model resiliency.  This can look anything like the above steps to including taking a positive perspective on the disappointment by finding another more preferable outcome or giving yourself credit for handling the disappointment well.

6.  Trying again.  While we don't want to beat our heads against a wall trying futile tactics, trying again can give us an opportunity to affect a different outcome as well as teaching the importance of not giving up.

Being disappointed is certainly not fun, but it doesn't have to be all doom and gloom.  I hope these ideas help you and your child deal effectively with disappointment.

November 17, 2022

Facing ASD Behavior Challenges During Thanksgiving

 Hello Everyone,


    I hope you are well and getting ready for Thanksgiving.  For many of us it is a very happy, albeit stressful time.  Thanksgiving has its way of being especially stressful for parents of kid with autism spectrum disorders when it comes to managing behavior issues.  Here's a quick read about what you can do, as a parent, to make such challenges less stressful.  Please note that although the focus is on Thanksgiving, these ideas can be applied to any holiday time or other important event.

    As fun as it can be to travel or have family visit for Thanksgiving, these changes do represent a disruption to routines.  Dinner may be at a different time, travel may disrupt sleep or activities of daily living, or you may not be able to give as much time as you would like to your child's routine because of how busy you are.  As we know, such disruptions can be very difficult for kids with any form of developmental diagnosis.  One suggestion is to try and prepare a routine for travel in advance; you can also try to work sleep and meal time into these plans so they stay as consistent as possible.  Another idea is to discuss, whether using a social story or simple discussion referencing routine charts, any upcoming changes.  Give an overview and try to break down the changes into easy to understand steps and provide reminders as you get closer to the holiday.

    What if you're too busy to attend to you child?  Some kids have a very high threshold for attention.  If you cannot provide the usual standard, try something like informing your child ahead of time that you will be busy and not able to give them their usual attention.  Have other family members provide for some interaction time.  Also, if you have the opportunity to prepare in advance, do so.  This can free up time for your child as well as reduce the stress you are likely to experience otherwise.

    Give your child an escape route if things get too busy or loud.  For kids with ASD, especially those with sensory processing challenges, this is critical.  Make sure they have access to headphone, a quiet space, something calm to do, or someone who can manage the flow of other people interacting with them.

    Thanksgiving dinner is the best part of the holiday; it can also be the most negative mood generating part too.  Having to wait for the big meal can cause anyone to become bored, restless, or HANGRY.  This can rub everyone the wrong way so you can help yourself and your child by setting up some things for your child to look forward to besides the big meal.  Having other relatives provide some distraction with games or interaction can be very useful so the focus is not only on you.

    Talking during the meal and, in general, can be a challenge for kids with ASD.  Those with impulse control issues may interrupt more.  Some may speak too loudly or hog a conversation.  You can assist your child with these challenges by having a plan to let your child know if they are speaking too much etc.  You can also role play different stages of a conversation and how to behave during each one.

    BE FLEXIBLE!!!!  So much effort goes into teaching kids with ASD to be flexible and handle disruptions so to avoid disregulation.  The fact is, we get disregulated too...by stress and things not going the way we plan.  This is bound to happen during Thanksgiving.  You can help yourself by allowing your child to relax some behaviors (identify which ones you can do this with) such as having to sit still during the meal.  You can also practice uncertainty training, which is where you remind yourself that something may not go according to plan, such as your child being able to make it through the meal without disintegrating, by telling yourself exactly that: something may happen.  It's not pessimism, it's reality.

    I hope you found this post helpful!  Happy Thanksgiving!

September 7, 2022

Using Social Evidence to Make Friends

 Hello Everyone,


I hope you are all doing well since I wrote my last post.  The school year has just started and we're all getting readjusted to not just homework, new teachers, and classes, but also to making new friends as well.  It seems that making friends has become harder since covid and even though school has been back in-person for over a year, it seems we're still trying to figure out social situations.  That's why we are going to be talking about social evidence.  If you read my post on making a hangout plan you learned the steps necessary to make a plan to have a successful social get together with a friend.  We're going to take it a step further by discussing social evidence and how it can help you make a more effective hangout plan with friends.

First of all, what is social evidence?  Social evidence is, simply, information about another person such as their likes or dislikes, which we can use to create a social opportunity that they will enjoy participating in.  Social evidence also includes learning about how others communicate and interact with people in a social setting.  Social evidence is important for creating stronger friendships because we are taking the time to show an interest in someone else and what is important to them.  When we create a hangout plan using social evidence we send a message that we care about the other person and want to share in their positive experiences with them.  Using social evidence is also an important part of social reciprocity, which means getting something in return for our efforts.  Basically, if we take an interest in someone else and what they like, they will make more of an effort to engage with us around our interests.

What does social evidence look like?  Social evidence is looks like any information about another person that we can use to make our hangout plan.  An example of social evidence may look like this: Billy loves reading about animals and watching documentaries on them, especially farm animals.  Billy does not like large crowds and loud sounds are physically painful to him.  Billy prefers socializing with one or two people at a time.  Billy likes to plan get-togethers at least a month in advance so he can be sure not to miss the event.  Billy doesn't drive.

How do we use social evidence to make our hangout plan?  We take the information we have about the other person and apply it to our who, what, when, where, and how list of questions that provides the structure of our hangout plan.  Please reference the hangout plan post for a worksheet you can use.  Let's work with the following example:

Hangout Plan Goal: Get together for a social outing with Billy using the social evidence listed above.

Who: Billy is the person we want to hang out with

What: Suggest a get together focusing on animals.  Billy has informed us that they are his favourite interest.

When: Meet in October for the get together.  Billy has informed us that he likes to plan at least a month in advance so he doesn't miss the get together.

Where: Suggest meeting a petting zoo during the day.  Billy has informed us that he loves farm animals the best.  Meeting during the day is likely to be less crowded and less likely to cause Billy discomfort from being in a crowded area.

How: Suggest giving Billy a ride.  We know Billy doesn't drive so offering to give him a ride shows consideration of the limitation.

IN SUM: The above was a very simplified example of the application of social evidence to the creation of a considerate and thoughtful hang-out plan.  Social evidence allowed us to create a plan that shows an interest in what is important to Billy while also taking his needs into account.  Putting forth such effort shows genuine care for Billy as a friend and will likely lead to a reciprocal social opportunity for us.

GOOD LUCK!!!!

May 25, 2022

Talking To Your Child About Tragic Events At School

 Hello Everyone,

I hope you are doing well and enjoying late Spring.  In response to yesterday's deadly shooting at Robb Elementary School in Texas, I wanted to provide a brief post about reassuring your child of their safety in school. I also want to address the topic of gun safety as well.  Please note that while this post is directed mainly to parents of children with developmental diagnoses, the ideas apply to all children in general.

Children, especially those with developmental diagnoses, often need reassurance of safety when confronted with threatening situations or the potential threat of such situations.  This can be difficult for them as it requires being able to abstractly think about what "could" happen as opposed to the moment right in front of them.  It's even more difficult for parents as we understand the randomness of such threatening events as school shootings and other acts of violence.  Such violent acts destroy safety, trust, and above all, innocence.  We cannot prevent these senseless acts from happening, however we can provide reassurance to our children that they are safe and that we will do our best to protect them.  Being consistent and reliable as parent protectors is our best way to concretely demonstrate that our children our safe and will continue to be so.  Here are some ideas:

Discuss the event: If your child is capable of understanding what happened be sure you discuss in a matter-of-fact way what happened.  Be sure to mention that what happened was tragic and discuss the emotions that may go along with such an event.  Use clear language and make sure your child understands the words you are using; don't assume they will understand on your own.  Limit access to media so that you can control the tenor of the information your child is receiving and so they do not get overwhelmed by the in-your-face nature of news media.

Communicate so your child will understand: If stories or pictures work best use those; use language that is concrete and specific.  You can also include a beginning statement such as "A very tragic (sad scary, whatever you think your child can handle) event happened.  

Validate your child's fears about school safety: If your child has fears about school safety talk them through and listen with empathy.  validate their feelings and thoughts even if you know they are not likely to happen.  Remember that children, regardless of diagnosis, will often process fear by attempting to master it by putting themselves in that situation via their imagination.  A child may also make up scenarios as another way to understand these scary events.  For example, your child might ask what would happen to them if someone shot at them or tried to hurt their teacher.  They might even say what they would do.  This can be a hallmark sign of trauma.

Validate your child's fantasies about how they would handle violent scenarios: Remember that all children try to resolve scary and unknown situations by fantasizing about how they would handle the situation.  They might tell you what they would do in the situation or how they would try to stop it from happening.  Remember here that the child is dealing with a significant, random unknown that can cause harm in reality so they are trying to prepare for that situation.

Discuss safety plans: This is hugely important to a child's sense of safety.  If your school has a safety plan, make sure it's being taught and reinforced regularly.  Get as much information yourself about what plans are in place to help your child deal with the sudden disruption and sensory overload that will happen should the plan occur in a drill or real life.  Also discuss your role as a parent in making sure that your child will be safely reunited with you in the case of a violent event.

Demonstrate your reliability: Your child needs concrete proof that you will be there for them in the case of a violent event.  You can demonstrate this by showing up on time for regular routine activities, sticking to schedules, and following through on your commitments to your child such as picking them up on time or giving a reward when you say you will.  These acts reinforce the idea that you will behave as you say you will.

Use supports: Get other family and friends involved to help your child process the feelings around the reality of these events.  Keep in contact with teachers and encourage them to understand the challenges faced by children with developmental diagnoses around understanding such events.  You may even consider possible therapy for your child. Expressive therapies such as play and art therapy are helpful for young children as well as those with limited vocabulary.

Observe your child for signs of distress: Changes in behavior and routine may indicate distress.  Be observant and check-in with your child to see how they are doing.  Being available to discuss and process such distress is another way to demonstrate reliability.

Discuss gun safety: Guns are an inevitable part of our society; many people own them for one reason or another.  If you own a gun make sure that it is locked away in a safe place where your child cannot access it.  If your child is capable of understanding you can have a straight forward discussion about the guns in your house and the safety plan for safe handling.  Also be clear about who uses the gun and who doesn't.  Reinforce that most people with guns are safe people and know how to care for guns safely.  You can reinforce this concept by discussing the fact that by and large the only people with guns in public are the police and that most people are not carrying them-they leave them at home.

March 20, 2022

A Quick Dating Guide


Hello Everyone,
I hope you are doing well.  There's never a wrong time to start dating or thinking about dating.  For individuals with developmental diagnoses, this process can be very scary, uncertain and confusing.  Here's a quick infographic I've developed, which outlines the dating process.  Anyone can use it, especially as a framework to help your loved one understand dating and what it means.  Feel free to apply your own experiences with dating to the different steps to give concrete examples and make the steps relevant for the person you are working with.  Everyone deserves to have a great relationship...good luck!



 

February 12, 2022

Single For Valentine's Day

 Hello Everyone,

I hope you are doing well.  This month's post is going to be a quick one: what to do on Valentine's Day if you are single.  For many people Valentine's Day is a loving and happy experience.  For many others, however, Valentine's Day can be a painful reminder of being single or alone and not being in a romantic relationship.  Many people experience this loneliness and emotional isolation, however it is much more prevalent amongst certain populations such as those with developmental diagnoses.  Quite often aspects of the diagnosis(es) (and their effects on social flourishing), whether difficulty processing social cues, crippling social anxiety, depression related to these challenges, and so on result in social isolation.  Here are some ideas to (hopefully) help you take control of some of that loneliness that comes up each time this year as well as focus on your own emotional self-care.

Write a letter or card: This can be a great time to write someone you care about (or know) a letter simply saying "hello".  It does not need to be a Valentine card just because it's Valentine's Day.  You don't need a Hallmark Holiday to have a reason to write to someone.  Writing also takes more effort than texting or email; this is important because the extra effort signifies that you genuinely care about that person.

Schedule a meet-up: Depending on your stance regarding COVID-19, this can be a great time to get together with friends or family to simply hangout.  Create your own social tradition if you feel like it.

Schedule an on-line meet-up: If you're not comfortable getting together with people right now, try a meet-up online.

Re-connect with people: The pandemic has really taken its toll on relationships, adding another layer of stress and yuck to already stressful lives.  Communication has fallen apart.  Think of someone you know that you haven't talked to in a long time and contact them to say hello.

Create your own care package: Find things that make you feel good, such as a book, some special food or candy, or anything else that puts you in a good mood and put them into a box that you can have available.

Do something you enjoy doing: Whether alone or with someone else do something you enjoy that you may not get to do too often.  Go to a movie or get take-out, or simply get out of your home.

Tell the people in your life you love them: This is important.  Often times we can get caught up in thinking about the relationships we don't have instead of the ones we do.  The relationships we have are critical so grow them by letting those people know how important they are to you.

TAKE ACTION: Now may be the time to get serious about dating and finding a romantic relationship.  Working with someone you trust, now may be the time to create an on-line dating profile, talk to a relationship specialist, explore new hobbies to meet people, find out where people like you socialize, and so on.

These are just a few ideas.  What ideas can you come up with?  Good luck and take care!!!  

January 2, 2022

Ideas For Managing Covid19-related Depression

Hello Everyone,

          It has been a while since my last post so I thought I would start off the new year by doing a post about ideas for managing covid19 related depression.  Even though it is a new year, covid19 is still here and there does not seem to be an end date in sight.  For many of us living with depression, such as myself, and I am currently going through one of my depressive cycles as I am writing this, we already have enough depression aggravators to deal with without the specter of a seemingly unending pandemic.  A key hallmark of depression and its overly burdening effects is the idea that things cannot get better and there is no hope or end in sight.  It certainly seems that way as we enter year three (I think) of the pandemic.  I don't know about you, but my "New Year" has been quite difficult thinking about this and managing a naturally occurring bout of depression (because depression doesn't care when it hits) has not helped.  The strain of unending covid19 has made it much more difficult for me to maintain my "mutual non-aggression pact" with my depression.  By that, I mean that managing in a live and let live mind-set with a mental illness with no cure, is harder to find tools to manage it, especially when the unknown is time.  So what to do?  The following post has several suggestions for how we can gain some measure of perspective and possible comfort by taking the unknown, as in the number of days until the pandemic is done,  and working with it instead of against it.

        Please note that this post is not intended to serve as ideas to cure covid19 related depression, but as ideas to help manage it.  As we know, there is no cure for depression...there is management for living.  Even if none of these ideas work for you, if they inspire you to get creative and come up with your own ideas, then this will be a helpful post for you...hopefully!

        As obvious as it might seem, the following is something many people, me included, do not do very well: REDIRECT MENTAL ENERGY.  When we feel hopeless and out of control it's very easy to fall into the trap of "why won't this end" and "things will never get any better".  We can't do anything about this sadly, and all the resulting frustration, angst, and emotional whatever does is fuel the depression.  We can at least try to REDIRECT MENTAL ENERGY towards thinking about what can I do with this time instead?  How to do this?

Keeping a covid19 calendar-Instead of focusing on the number of days until the pandemic ends, you can take charge by keeping track of the days you have already gotten through and survived.  You ARE TOUGH and being able to have a visual reminder that you have already gotten through three years of crap and are still around can be quite empowering.  Keep the record going...if you've gone this long, can you go further?  Yes!

Have covid19-free conversations with people-How is this possible?  It's everywhere and on everyone's mind!  Yes, that's very true, but that doesn't mean that other life events and existence suddenly go away.  You are not pretending covid19 away by not talking about it, you are choosing to focus on other parts of life that deserve to be heard.  For example, talk about a positive event such as a good day at work or something positive going on in the world that has nothing to do with covid19.

Make yourself do something when you think about being depressed.  This is called ACTIVE COPING.  Active coping is a fancy term for redirecting your thinking and your actions by doing an activity to distract you from thinking about being depressed and doing nothing.  This can be really hard to do, so what I try to do is when I have the thought about doing something (such as going for a walk), I make myself do it.

Give yourself credit for what you do!  For many of us living with depression, getting out of bed or taking a shower can be a huge accomplishment.  Note down your small, but critical successes on your covid19 claendar so you can see how you are persevering through the seemingly endless days of the pandemic.  Small victories make all the difference!

Schedule a small reward every day.  This does not mean buying something every day.  We're talking about little things you enjoy when you are not depressed and that you can look forward to as a way of keeping up your spirits during seemingly endless days of nothing.  For example, I really enjoy vegetable pasta that comes from the freezer section of the grocery store.  It sounds silly, but I look forward to eating it and its something small that gives me pleasure without being a big deal.  Schedule something small each day and put it on your covid19 calendar.

Make sure you force yourself to get some exercise or movement everyday.  This is really hard with the weather being like it is, yet even if you cannot get outside due to weather, try to do some physical activity; I do laps up and down my staircase.

Spend time doing something for someone else.  Thinking of others and doing something kind for them is a great way to get outside of your own mind and away from your own problems.  Helping others can be empowering.



August 21, 2021

Social Skills Advice For Going Back To School From Former Students With Autism

Hello Everyone,


It's been a while since a post was done; we have been working on writing a book about dating with Autism (more information to follow in the future) and enjoying the summer.  This post was conceived by several of the gentlemen (all diagnosed with ASD) I work with who have shared a number of negative social experiences when returning to school at the end of summer vacation.  They figured, that combined with the isolation brought on by the COVID pandemic, this year may be especially tough for kids, in general, but especially for kids with ASD who are returning to school.  In an effort to experience some healing and gain something positive from their negative experiences, the guys decided to come up with some suggestions for returning students to try and ease their social transition back to school.  Please note when reading, that these are simply suggestions based on personal experiences and may not be applicable to your child's situation or necessarily feasible.  As always, the guys and myself are grateful for your feedback and we hope you and your child experiences a smooth transition back to school.  Thank you!

1. Eye contact does not mean staring.  Eye contact is when you look at someone's eyes to show you are paying attention.  Staring means you are looking at something or someone without looking away, with wide eyes.

2. Staring makes people uncomfortable.  When we stare we are often not aware we are doing it; we may simply be trying to observe and gather information.  However other people find staring makes them uncomfortable because the intensity of staring makes them feel self-conscious.

3. You don't have to make constant eye contact.  If eye contact makes you uncomfortable you can always take a look at something else for a moment (practice making eye contact in the mirror with yourself, or with trusted people, and then looking away for a count of -2 seconds before making eye contact again).  Doing this is also a great way to avoid staring.

4. If you do not understand a joke or comment DO NOT pretend you understand it.  If you get caught by your peers when they make a follow-up comment to you, you run the risk of coming off as insincere or inattentive.  You can ask instead for an explanation; it's better to ask.

5. DO NOT MAKE JOKES OR COMMENTS ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE!  Even if what you're saying may be true or get laughs and attention from others, doing this is a great way to establish yourself as rude or mean.  You can also earn bullies and negative attention if the joke/comment backfires or is heard by the wrong person.

6. DO BE POLITE TO YOUR PEERS!  Making efforts to be polite, even some of the time, can be a great way to not only make friends, but also establish yourself as someone with a positive reputation.

7. Reputation DOES matter.  Unfortunately, especially in middle and high school, reputation i.e. what others think or believe about someone to be true, matters.  People with positive reputations often are more likely to avoid bullying and have more friends, while negative reputations often result in the opposite.  You can still be you and have friends even by just making the effort to be pleasant and yourself.

8. Social anxiety and taking a break.  If you are in a social situation at school, it's always ok to take a break and excuse yourself for a moment to regulate yourself.  You can excuse yourself to go to the bathroom, take a quick mental break, use a fidget for a sensory break, etc.  If the situation is overwhelming and you need an exit you can always excuse yourself with something like "I am going to class" or "I have some work to do" or come up with your own ideas.

9. Be aware of your enthusiasm and excitement.  Some of you may actually be looking forward to social situations and to making new friends.  Sometimes we may become excited and really into making efforts, however we may come across as pushy or overwhelming; believe it or not, people without autism can also be overwhelmed by intense displays of emotions.  Practice regulating these emotions with trusted individuals before school starts; they are great emotions yet they can override our impulse control and lead to us acting in ways we might not when we are calmer.

10. Interpret peer social cues as best you can.  You may not always get it right, however if a peer you are talking to (or want to talk to) says they have to go or they can't talk right now DON'T PUSH IT!  Give them their space and do not follow them or try to stop them in order to keep the conversation going.  If a peer responds to you with short answers or sounds like they are tired or they look tired (usually a sign of dis-interest) limit the social interaction and leave them alone.

11. It's ok to be nervous and scared.  When you own your feelings and are honest with yourself you can be more effective at coming up with solutions.  For example, you might carry a fidget or camouflage your stimm with different behavior.

12. It's ALWAYS OK to ask for advice.  You have cheerleaders in your corner and they, especially siblings and existing friends, can give you some great advice about being in social situations.  They want you to succeed!

May 11, 2021

Fun Ways To Understand And Experience Complex Feelings

 Hello Everyone,


I hope you have been well.  Thank you for your patience and understanding while I was taking a break from blogging to focus on personal matters.  This is going to be a simple and easy post about how you can help yourself and your child understand complex (difficult to understand) feelings.  

If you re-visit my last post on different emotions you may notice that although there are only about five emotions groups, there are many different feelings under each group.  You may also notice how each of these feelings can evolve in intensity, frequency, and can even change from one feeling to another in the same or different group.  You may notice that it is possible to experience several different feelings from several different groups at the same time depending on the situation that triggers them.  For example, if you are experiencing a re-adjustment to in-person work or class, you might experience happiness, worry, frustration, relief, and concern all at once!  

The following are just some creative ways that we can help ourselves and our kids be able to physically experience, by using the five senses of taste, touch, smell, sight, and hearing, how complex emotions exist and how we can learn to pick out and connect with individual emotions from out of the mess.  Please note that these suggestions involve multiple senses and are not organized by any specific sense.

There are many, many different ways to experience complex emotions in a fun and nurturing way.  These are just a few ideas to get you thinking.  Most important....have some fun!

Lego Mess (or Block Mess): Gather legos or blocks of different shapes, colors, and sizes.  Assign an emotion to each group based on size and/or color (for example red legos are for happiness).  Once all have been assigned, mix them all up!  You can then discuss an experience where you might have had mixed feelings and pull out individual colored legos/blocks and explore the feeling.  Hint: different sizes of the same color can represent intensity or different feelings within the group.

Make a Smoothie: Straightforward.  Gather ingredients to represent different feelings about an specific experience, or not, and make a smoothie.  Notice how everything is all mixed up and see if you can identify a specific flavor, which will represent one of the "feeling" ingredients e.g. tasting banana represents identifying frustration.  You can also use this activity to explore unknown emotions.  Unknown emotions are those which cannot be described and often don't fit the definition of the feelings we are aware of.

Soda Disgusting: If you dare...this is a great one for exploring negative emotions.  Assign different negative feelings to different sodas and mix them together.  This is supposed to taste bad.  The intensity of the mixed flavors may be really nasty, yet this is an excellent way of processing how you can have multiple negative feelings at the same time and how letting more and more build up can be worse than dealing with them when they occur.

Music Time: Assign different feelings to different musical instruments.  Practice just listening to the music without picking out an individual instrument and experience what its like hearing all that "emotional noise".  Then try focusing on a single instrument and just listening to that.  This can be a great exercise for practicing ignoring anxiety or negative head noise.  You can also try using music with a singer and having that singer represent you with all that background noise going on as if you are trying to hear yourself deal with the situation.

Recycling: Same concept and process as lego mess but you are assigning emotions to different recyclable products.

The Gray Zone: Great painting activity that can be made into a tactile experience by using finger paints.  Using different colors, mix them all together until you have a big gray/black blob.  This activity is very similar to smoothies or soda disgusting and is meant to help expose you to unknown feelings.  See if you can see little pieces of the original color (if you see some blue for happiness sticking out of the gray/black blob) and notice how even when you feel emotionally lost, it is still possible to find one to cling to, to begin the emotion exploring process

Cleaning Things: It's only a chore if you let it be one.  Cleaning dirty objects can be a metaphor for negative surface emotions, the ones we are aware of that often get triggered immediately during/after a negative event.  Think of a negative experience and assign a negative feeling such as "disgust" to the filth.  Then clean the object and notice what happens to the filth.  Often we will find that the object looks clean and different, as if there was something hidden underneath.  This symbolizes other deeper feelings we may have covered up such as fear, shame, or anything else.  Notice how easy it is to focus on the filth and not whats underneath.

Organizing Things: Another way to experience different emotional intensities.  You can take anything that has a uniform color and assign it an emotion e.g. yellow for calm.  Make sure you have multiple objects of the same color and different size and organize them to visualize how the feeling can change in intensity based on its growing or shrinking size.

Blowing Bubbles: The rainbows of colors in the bubble soap represent mixed emotions, which you can assign different ones to.  Blow bubbles of different sizes and quantities to visualize intensity.  Also notice that the bubbles pop, representing the fact that not matter how complex and challenging they may be, they don't last forever.




February 2, 2021

Emotional Literacy Poster And Handout

 Hello Everyone,


I hope you are well and having a pleasant winter so far.  I wanted to share a set of handouts that the social work intern, Juliette Levchenko, working with me produced for a recent talk we did on emotional literacy.  Please see my previous post about emotional literacy and anger to get more information about what emotional literacy means and why its important for us to have as a life skill.  Anyway, here they are and please let us know what you think!  Thank you for looking!