Amazingly Uplifted

Zero tolerance: it’s a commitment, not just a concept.

Zero tolerance for bullying, low expectations, harmful misinformation, dismissing a child’s voice, and giving up on kids who need us to stay in the fight.

Thank you for going through every single letter of this series with me. Now take what you learned, apply it, share it, and keep showing up for these kids. They are counting on people like you. Grab your copy of Learning the Language of Autism to get the other 110+ terms from the link in bio. 💙

Therapy is important. School is important. But kids also deserves a life outside of both. I’m talking sports, art, music, swimming, martial arts, community programs. That’s where kids build confidence, find their people, and just get to be kids.

The key is finding the right fit and setting your child up to actually succeed in it, not just dropping them in and hoping for the best. Talk to the instructor before day one. Share your child’s strengths, their sensory needs, what helps them feel settled. A good program will want that information.

Advocate for what they need, celebrate every time they show up, and if the perfect program doesn’t exist don’t be afraid to collaborate and create it! Happy summer!

Your child pulled away from your hug and it stung a little and honestly, that is a feeling a lot of parents have had and very few talk about. But here is what I need you to know: that pull away is not rejection. It is communication.

Many children with autism have sensory sensitivities that make physical affection feel genuinely overwhelming. Not because they do not love you, but because their nervous system is processing that touch very differently than you intended it. The relationship is not the problem. The input is.

So the work becomes figuring out how YOUR child receives love because for a lot of these kids, it looks different.

Quality time, shared interests, words of affirmation, acts of kindness, physical affection on their terms, all of it counts. Find their language and speak it. 💙

I’m gonna need you to share this one!

Just because a child with autism cannot speak does not mean they cannot hear you. For real, this is one is SO important to me.

Many children with autism are highly perceptive and deeply sensitive to the language used around them, even when they appear not to be listening. Words that adults say casually become beliefs a child carries and for a child who processes language literally, negative comments do not get filtered. They get absorbed as fact.

Talking about a child in their presence like they are not there in waiting rooms, IEP meetings, classrooms, family dinners causes real harm that does not just disappear. Self-esteem is built or broken in the everyday moments, not just the big ones. Watch your mouth. Not as a criticism as a commitment to every child who deserves better. 💙

This one I’m gonna need you to share!!

Just because a child with autism cannot speak does not mean they cannot hear you. For real, this is one is SO important to me.

Many children with autism are highly perceptive and deeply sensitive to the language used around them, even when they appear not to be listening. Words that adults say casually become beliefs a child carries and for a child who processes language literally, negative comments do not get filtered. They get absorbed as fact.

Talking about a child in their presence like they are not there in waiting rooms, IEP meetings, classrooms, family dinners causes real harm that does not just disappear. Self-esteem is built or broken in the everyday moments, not just the big ones. Watch your mouth. Not as a criticism as a commitment to every child who deserves better. 💙

If there is one tool I recommend before anything else, it’s visuals. Many children with autism are strong visual learners, meaning what they SEE sticks in a way that verbal instruction alone often does not.

Visual schedules, First-Then boards, communication boards, social stories, and reinforcement charts all serve different purposes but they share one outcome: more predictability, less anxiety, and a child who can move through their day with more independence and confidence.

Honestly, you do not need a laminator or expensive software to get started. Printed pictures, velcro, and consistency will take you further than you think. The key is making sure home and school are using them the same way because that consistency is where the real impact happens.

Visuals are not a shortcut. They are a bridge!

Overstimulation gets most of the attention in autism conversations but understimulation is equally real and far less talked about. When a child’s environment is not providing enough sensory input, the effects can be just as disruptive as too much stimulation.

Understimulation can look like disengagement, withdrawal, or flat affect. It can also look like hyperactivity and restlessness the nervous system seeking the input it is not getting.

Before redirecting behavior, it is worth asking whether the child’s sensory needs are actually being met in that moment. The answer changes the response completely.
Building intentional sensory opportunities into a child’s day is one of the most proactive and practical things adults in their lives can do. 💙

Before a child with autism will follow your direction, learn from you, or open up to you they have to trust you. And trust is not automatic. It is built through consistency, patience, and genuine presence over time.

When trust is missing, even the most carefully designed strategies fall flat. When trust is present, it becomes the most powerful intervention in the room more than any curriculum, program, or technique.

Every interaction is either building trust or eroding it. That is true whether you are a parent, a teacher, a therapist, or anyone else in a child’s life.
Choose your interactions intentionally. 💙

DID YOU CATCH THE THROWBACK?!!

For many parents, the words “special education” feel like a label or a limitation. That fear is valid and it comes from real experiences within a system that has not always gotten it right.

But special education, when it works as designed, is one of the most individualized and legally protected educational frameworks available to children with disabilities. The IEP that comes with it is not a suggestion. It is a legally binding document outlining services your child is entitled to receive.

Sure the system has its flaws, but there are some AMAZING teachers and administrators that really do care about kids! Special education CAN work so communicate, collaborate, and celebrate.

LearningTheLanguageOfAutism

Social skills do not develop passively for many children with autism — they have to be taught directly, repeatedly, and in a way that actually sticks. Role play is one of the most practical tools available for doing exactly that, and it requires nothing more than time and intention.

Practicing real-life scenarios before a child has to live them reduces anxiety, builds confidence, and gives the brain a reference point to draw from when it matters. The more specific, interest-driven, and consistent the practice — the more effective it becomes.

This works at home and in the classroom. Five intentional minutes can make a measurable difference in how a child navigates their world.

And always — celebrate the attempt, not just the outcome. 💙 Straight from my book, Learning the Language of Autism — link in bio!