The Chronicles of Autism Moms

Summary This week Huma, Karina and Alison chat about sibling rivalry! They explore how to balance their family's needs, understanding your neurodiverse children's dynamics, how to help your children develop and maintain a healthy relationship and much more!   Topics   00:00 - This Life, the chronicles of Autism moms podcast, series 1 episode 13 – Sibling Rivalry, Part 1. 00:30 - Alison kicks off the show 1:45 – Tell us about the dynamics in your family Huma. Do you think any rivalry is typical or does Autism play a part? 4:40 – Now they are older, how has their relationship changed? How have you balanced their needs? 6:40 – Have the two youngest built an alliance? 7:15 – Do you ever see your middle child being a guide for the oldest? 7:55 – Karina, how about your boys, you have a different dynamic as they are twins. 9:00 – Autism has been the norm in the family so his sibling accepted everything as normal. 10:15 – What is the official line on our situation Mum? What should I tell my friends? 11:30 – Alison describes her family dynamic between her 3 children. 12:40 – Do you think the older child would speak up if she was frustrated? Do you think the youngest challenges her brother more than you would have? 15:30 – Do you think you were so focused on your neurodiverse child that your other child lacked the support they needed? 19:45 – Are girls more emotionally aware? Do the sister behave differently to the brothers of neurodiverse siblings? 22:05 – Karina with boys the same age and with the same peer group, have you or the sibling found difficulties with others?   To be continued in Part 2   --- To learn more about Sibling Rivalry, watch Learn Autism’s video: Supporting Your Child in the Home To learn more about Autism, visit: www.learnautism.com To watch this podcast, visit our YouTube Channel. --- Keep in touch with us on Instagram  @chroniclesofautismmomspod Download the Learn Autism app today:  

Summary This week Huma, Karina and Alison chat about mates and playdates! They explore how to introduce their neurotypical children's friends to their autistic child, how to manage your own anxiety when introducing your child with Autism to someone new, how to prep your child for a playdate and so much more!   Topics 00:00 - This Life, The Chronicles of Autism Moms podcast, series 1 episode 12 – Mates & Playdates 00:27 - Alison kicks off the show 01:25 - Huma, What are your highs and lows of playdate experiences? 02:45 - Were you worried about how you're feeling or about how you would be perceived as a parent? 05:15 - After the dust settles, can your child see that his behavior resulted in not having the friends he wants? 06:22 - I was heartbroken to see that my son is not part of the group 07:05 - Karina: My son doesn't feel the need to be with friends.  He's older now and they play with video games so he doesn't mind as much, but when he was younger and they played with toys, he was there because I wanted him to be there. 07:42- Do we organize playdates because our kids want them to are we fulfilling our own needs and desires because we want to encourage social skills out of those? 08:13 - Alison: I organized playdates because I wanted to encourage his social skills 08:54 - How do we arrange playdates for our neurotypical children, how do we make that a successful, positive experience for the children? 10:09 - Alison: I always feel I have to prepare for family or friends coming to my home for the first time to try and stage the interaction between them.  I don't know if it's the right thing but I feel more calm if I prepare. 10:50 - Karina: I feel very blessed that I have a great group of friends who accept my family 11:38 - Alison: I want to protect my family from judgement that may come out of the experience 11:55 - Huma: The birthday story. I remember the pain and embarrassment 13:55 - Organizing playdates with really young kids or older adults and that's fine. 15:40 - Huma: my main goal is for my son to be accepted by his peers 16:04 - How do you manage anxiety with situations where you find unpredictability? 18:30 – Top Tips for navigating Mates & Playdates --- To learn more about playdates, watch Learn Autism’s video: Playground Games To learn more about Autism, visit: www.learnautism.com To watch this podcast, visit our YouTube Channel. --- Keep in touch with us on Instagram  @chroniclesofautismmomspod Download the Learn Autism app today:  

Summary This week Maha, Suzana, Hasna and Alison chat about social interactions! They explore managing their own anxiety, how to guide their kids through navigating social situations and practicing social skills with their kids.   Topics 00:00 - This Life, The Chronicles of Autism Moms podcast, series 1 episode 11 – Social Interactions 00:27 - Alison kicks off the show 01:13 – Suzana, tell us about your experience with uncomfortable social interactions with your son and how that looked for you in the past 01:49 – We didn’t have the issue of not wanting to interact with people, but more of how do I interact with people. 04:11 – What was the reaction from the other moms when your son came to get help from them when dealing with social situations with their kids? 04:50 -  Maha, as a parent, has navigating your child’s social interaction every became overwhelming for you so much that you’ve decided not to attended a gathering? 06:31 – I have to get myself into a good state before heading into a new social situation because I’m not sure what my child’s reaction would be. 08:14 – Work on skills when you’re not limited by time or if you need to be somewhere or not. That takes the pressure off. Make sure you have patience. 09:16 – We’ve all done the iPads! 10:16 – I’m happy for my son to go out with friends but when I’m with him I can help steer the situation a bit more. I’m not embarrassed of him, I want to protect him from people who are not understanding of his behavior or make fun of him.  I want to teach my son to disclose so that he can advocate for himself 11:23 – Some days you’re willing to face that anxiety and other days its just too much 12:25 – I need everyone to understand our situation and I want people to understand that my child has Autism. Disclosure is power and people tend to understand once they know. The problem is that a lot of people are not compassionate. 13:45 – Social skills are learned through practice 14:19 –That is my fear with social interactions: that my son gets bullied, he gets hurt, he doesn’t understand the situation. 15:10 – There’s always a fear if it will always be like this, it’s very stressful 16:00 – There’s not enough compassion, awareness, effort etc, by the schools 17:44 – Maha tell us about a “crash and burn” situation. 20:20 – Sometimes we have to pick our battles and say that’s not the right thing for him right now 20:51 – You definitely start to accept that that’s how your child is. I always have a plan b if plan a doesn’t work out. We have to become more flexible when maneuvering more situations. 23:40 – We want our kids to be in situations where they are comfortable and sometimes uncomfortable so that they can push themselves 25:13 – Outwardly, my son doesn’t look like he has Autism. It’s so annoying to have to explain ourselves all the time.  26:43 – It’s hard to deal with the judgement from others on if I’m parenting well. 27:32 – What it’s like navigating doctor visits 30:50 – what helps me is to keep regular appointments so that the people and places are familiar and it becomes easier and more predictable for my son. It’s all practice and it gets easier. 33:38 – Top Tips for navigating social interactions --- To learn more about Social Interactions, watch Learn Autism’s video: Child-to-child interactions to promote social skills. To learn more about Autism, visit: www.learnautism.com To watch this podcast, visit our YouTube Channel. --- Keep in touch with us on Instagram  @chroniclesofautismmomspod Download the Learn Autism app today:  

Summary This episode includes Hasna, Suzana, Maha and Alison sharing their own unique experiences of getting their child with Autism to eat different foods and their frustrations with seeing them go from eating everything to just beige foods.  These moms chat about what that was like for them and how that affected them and their lives as women, mothers, and professionals. 00:00 - This Life, The Chronicles of Autism Moms podcast, series 1 episode 10 – Food Frustrations 00:27 - Alison kicks off the show 01:00 - Suzana, tell us about your son’s eating habits and how they make you feel? 05:05 - Apart from his general health and wellbeing, and how much anxiety you get from that, how else has that caused you anxiety and stress? Perhaps it started as a toddler/picky eater scenario but is now something more.  I wish there was something who could have put me in the right direction from the start. 06:08 – Should I hide fruits and veggies in his food?  I completely dropped the ball on exposing him to foods, that’s still necessary. 07:54 – This is not something that will work itself out 09:36 – The stress of traveling with a picky eater 10:06 – What would happen if someone gave you advice, meaning well, just to leave them and not let them eat if they won’t eat what’s offered? 10:50 – You’re dealing with your own anxiety and that of your child’s frustration who hasn’t eaten 11:10 – What has been your experience, Maha? 11:30 – My son’s brain processes that food in a completely different way to the way you or I do. 12:09 – Exposure is key, just having food on their plate, even if they don’t eat it, is good 12:36 – Kids sharing food with strangers 13:36 – Being a foodie, it’s hard having a beige eater and wanting to go and try new things? 13:44 – Associating food with memories 14:56 – It’s ok to say no to invitations, it’s ok to manage a situation in the best way you know how. Ipads are ok sometimes! 16:59 – we put so much emphasis on how things “should” be 17:33 – Alison’s lunch story: bring out the ipads! 19:38 – Hasna’s story: Autism and Type 1 Diabetes 20:39 – Not every autistic person doesn’t like food 22:50 – Top Tips for dealing with food frustrations --- To learn more about SEN Education, watch Learn Autism’s video: Picky eaters and problem feeders. To learn more about Autism, visit: www.learnautism.com To watch this podcast, visit our YouTube Channel. --- Keep in touch with us on Instagram  @chroniclesofautismmomspod Download the Learn Autism app today:  

Summary This episode includes Moira, Huma, Reen and Alison sharing their own unique experiences of getting their child’s SEN team together including their teacher, shadow teacher and therapists, for the most effective approaches to get the best out of their child in school, therapy and home. These moms chat about what that was like for them and how that affected them and their lives as women, mothers, and professionals. Topics 00:00 - This Life, the chronicles of Autism moms podcast, series 1 episode 9 – Getting your team together. 00:30 - Alison kicks off the show 02:15   Moira, how did you go about assembling your team? 04:30   How did you go about identifying that a team was more important than individuals? 06:00   Reen, how did you manage being here when there was no early intervention? 07:00   Did your therapists ever suggest they should contact the other therapists? 09:30   How did you suggest to them and how did they react? 12:00   Huma, what is your experience of a team not going to plan? 14:15   Why do you think you had pushback from school? 16:00   What have been your shocking stories? 25:00   Do you think the shadow teachers feel valued? 38:00   What’s your best piece of advice for assembling your team? --- To learn more about SEN Education, watch Learn Autism’s video: Autism and Education: Surviving vs Thriving To learn more about Autism, visit: www.learnautism.com To watch this podcast, visit our YouTube Channel. --- Keep in touch with us on Instagram  @chroniclesofautismmomspod Download the Learn Autism app today:  

Summary The episode includes Suzana, Maha, Reen and Alison sharing their unique experiences of choosing a shadow teacher (learning support teacher), or not,  for their child and how that affected them and their lives as women, mothers, and professionals.   Topics 00:00 - This Life, the chronicles of Autism moms podcast, series 1 episode 8 – To Shadow or not to Shadow. 00:30 - Alison kicks off the show 01:40   Reen, can you explain why you felt it was necessary to have a shadow teacher for your son? 06:00   Do you think there should be a specific qualification for a shadow teacher? 08:00   Maha, what’s your experience of shadow teachers? 12:00   How have things improved for you now? 13:20   Suzana, what’s your experience of Shadow Teachers? 19:00   Do you think a child would develop more independence without a shadow teacher 20:20   What are you top tips for selecting a shadow teacher?   --- To learn more about SEN Education, watch Learn Autism’s video: Evaluation Process and Effective School Inclusion.   To learn more about Autism, visit: www.learnautism.com To watch this podcast, visit our YouTube Channel. --- Keep in touch with us on Instagram  @chroniclesofautismmomspod Download the Learn Autism app today:  

Summary The episode includes Suzana, Maha, Moira and Alison sharing their own unique experiences of choosing a SEN vs Mainstream school for their child and how that affected them and their lives as women, mothers, and professionals.   Topics 00:00 - This Life, the chronicles of Autism moms podcast, series 1 episode 7 – SEN vs Mainstream Education00:30 - Alison kicks off the show03:00 Suzana, was it quite clear to you that your son should go to a Mainstream school?05:30 Once you decided on the school, what were your biggest concerns?07:00 Did you have to push for involvement in your son’s school?09:20 Maha, how were you feeling about being received by other parents or the teachers as a parent of a SEN chid?12:00 How did you approach suggesting he needs to move into mainstrem?16:30 Moira, how was your experience of being the only or one of few SEN parents in a class?19:30 Alison what is your experience of SEN and Mainstream schooling?22:00 Mainstream curriculum needs a huge overhall to allow it to be modified for SEN children.33:00 Organizational skills required of kids as they progress through school needs to be taught much earlier and/or accommodations met for SEN children struggling with organization. 34:00 What would be your advice for parents who are currently facing the SEN vs Mainstream choice for their child? --- To learn more about SEN Education, watch Learn Autism’s video: School and Special Education.   To learn more about Autism, visit: www.learnautism.com To watch this podcast, visit our YouTube Channel. --- Keep in touch with us on Instagram  @chroniclesofautismmomspod Download the Learn Autism app today and start your FREE 3-Day trial:  

Summary This episode is about the process of finding a place in schools for thier kids and how that affected these Autism moms and their lives as women, mothers, and professionals.   Topics 00:00 - This Life, the chronicles of Autism moms podcast, series 1 episode 6 – School Admissions. 00:30 - Alison kicks off the show 01:00 Alison shares her experience of choosing a school to accommodate all her children. 08:20 Karina – was it important to keep your twins together at the same school? 09:20 Did the disclosure of speech delay close the doors to many schools? 10:30 Were you surprised by the lack of support from schools? 12:15 How does inclusion differ in other countries> - Hasna 17:20 Moira’s school experience 20:40 Huma, how do you feel looking back at your school journey? 28:20 Maha, do you have experience of being asked to leave a school? 31:00 How did you explain to your son that he needed to move schools? 35:20 Reen, did you feel it was important to have all your children at the same school? 40:20 Suzana, what was your process to get your son into school? 46:30 How did you feel about the pressure on you during the school assessment process? 50:00 Round the table for Top Tips and advice for parents starting the process of looking for a school for their child. --- To learn more about Autism, visit: www.learnautism.com Download the Learn Autism app today and start your FREE 3-Day trial:   To watch this podcast, visit our YouTube Channel. Keep in touch with us on Instagram  @chroniclesofautismmomspod  

Summary The episode includes everyone sharing their own unique experiences of Early Intervention with their child on the Autism spectrum and how that affected them and their lives as women, mothers, and professionals.  Topics 00:00 - This Life, the chronicles of Autism moms podcast, series 1 episode 5 – Early Intervention. 00:30 - Alison kicks off the show 01:30   What is Early Intervention? 03:50   What are the reasons for Early Intervention? 04:40   Did you know about EI when your child was diagnosed? Karina’s story 07:00   Reen’s early experience of intervention. 12:30   How do you manage the planning of services your child needs? 15:30   How did finding an EI program help – Moira’s story 20:30   Maha’s experience in Australia 24:20   Suzana, when did your child join an EI program? 30:00   Huma’s experience and advice for parents who are embarking on a therapy journey. 37:30   Hasna’s experience 48:00   Alisons experience and final advice   --- To learn more about Autism, visit: www.learnautism.com Download the Learn Autism app today and start your FREE 3-Day trial:   To watch this podcast, visit our YouTube Channel. Keep in touch with us on Instagram  @chroniclesofautismmomspod  

Summary The episode includes everyone sharing their own unique experiences of disclosing to family, friends and school that their child is on the Autism spectrum and how that affected them and their lives as women, mothers, and professionals.    Topics 00:00 - This Life, the chronicles of Autism moms podcast, series 1 episode 4 – The Disclosure Dilemma.  00:30 - Alison kicks off the show  01:08    What do we mean by Disclosure? 06:00    Have you ever been in a dilemma over disclosing? 08:45    Are there any situations where you wouldn’t disclose? 12:00    In terms of schooling, what are your experiences of disclosure? Would you have done things differently? 16:30    Have you had any negative reactions to disclosure? 18:30    How can we empower our kids by sharing information when it backfires? 21:00    Do you proactively disclose your situation? 29:00    What are your top tips for disclosure? Additional Info When to absolutely not disclose – When making an insurance claim! Speech Therapy for general speech and language disorder or Occupational Therapy for general gross and fine motor skills assistance do not need to be linked back to the A word! When to absolutely disclose – Anywhere there is a queue!!!! Airports, tourist attractions, Disney!! Fast Track it to the front of the queue wherever possible. Some countries try to make it easier by having a card to display to save you going through endless explanations. In Qatar you can apply for a card from the Qatar Society for Rehabilitation of Special Needs. You need to visit the office in order to process the card. https://goo.gl/maps/h8vs9kaWR882 In the UK you can apply for a Sunflower Card. The Hidden Disabilities Sunflower is a discreet sign that the wearer has a hidden disability and may need additional support. It is now recognized in many airports around the world.  https://hiddendisabilitiesstore.com/   Resources Watch the preview for Learn Autism's episode on School and Special Education with attorney Michael Gilberg:   https://bit.ly/3CDBRqZ --- To learn more about Autism, visit: www.learnautism.com Download the Learn Autism app today and start your FREE 3-Day trial:   To watch this podcast, visit our YouTube Channel. Keep in touch with us on Instagram  @chroniclesofautismmomspod