Calm the Chaos with Harmony

Parents — this is for you.
Moms. Dads. Caregivers. You did nothing wrong.

Taking a Tylenol while pregnant did not cause Autism. Vaccinating your child did not cause Autism.

Your child is Autistic because of who they are — their genetics, their wiring, their uniqueness. And that is not a bad thing.

But I know what happens when headlines like yesterday’s show up. They dig right into the tender place where guilt lives. They whisper, “Maybe I did something wrong.”

You didn’t.

Let’s be honest about what you actually have done:
Hours and hours of learning how to help your child.
Endless doctor visits, therapies, research, waiting lists.
Paperwork upon paperwork upon paperwork.
IEP meetings. Advocates. School fights. Insurance fights.
Juggling jobs, schedules, and every single phone call from school.
Worrying about CPS over school refusal.
Figuring out how to homeschool while still keeping food on the table.
Searching for sitters. Begging for a moment of self-care.
Podcasts. Books. Parent trainings. Support groups.
Constantly worrying: “Am I doing enough? Am I doing too much?”

That is what you’ve done. That is what love looks like.

So instead of blaming parents with fear-mongering headlines about Tylenol, how about this:
💡 Provide more funding for services.
💡 Stop cutting supports our kids desperately need.
💡 See the mountains parents climb every single day — and actually help.

Because parents of Autistic kids don’t need more guilt.
We need more support.

We are learning this. It is SO counter intuitive and hard to do!

Especially in the summer, when everything shifts and support disappears.

Your nervous system matters too. 💛

If you’re already feeling overwhelmed by summer, you’re not alone.

When you’re parenting a neurodivergent child, the change in routine, lack of structure, and loss of personal time can hit hard.

You deserve rest.
You deserve support.
You deserve a summer that works for you.

💛 I’m offering free mini coaching sessions to help you build a doable, connected summer rhythm. Book yours at www.calmthechaoswithharmony.com

Not every family gets the Pinterest-perfect last day of school.

If your child is Autistic, PDA, or just deeply struggling — this season might feel heavy, not celebratory.

Let’s talk.

You don’t have to carry this alone.

👇Book a call with me
https://CALMTHECHAOSWITHHARMONY.as.me/?appointmentType=54961716

What if you could calm your fears with just three simple words?

Fear has been everywhere lately - the unknown, our kids' futures, what tomorrow holds.

But when we try to escape these feelings through endless scrolling or Netflix binges, the relief is only temporary.

I'm sharing a powerful psychology-backed technique that can instantly reduce anxiety and help you face your fears head-on.

Swipe through to discover the simple practice that's changing how my clients respond to fear. Try it this week and let me know how it works for you!

👇 Comment below with your experience or questions about managing fear.

I used to need to be right.

Like… get-the-last-word-in kind of right.

Even with my kid. 🫣

So when my 10-year-old told me a Bugatti costs a billion dollars, I couldn’t help myself. I had to correct him.

(You can probably guess how that went. 👀)

But halfway through the argument, I realized:

💡 This isn’t about the car.

This is about connection.

And me needing to let go of being “right.”

If you’re parenting a PDA child, you know—they’ll argue about anything just to feel equal or in control.

So here’s what I remind myself daily:

Connection > Being Right.

🤍 You’re not alone in this. If you’re ready for more calm, more clarity, and way less chaos—let’s talk.

👇 Tell me—have you had that kind of argument too?

This explains things SO much better than I could!

Believe them when they say it is “too loud, too bright, too smelly, too much”.

"Autistic brains produce 42% more information at rest (than neurotypicals). Our brains have LOTS more neurons, SEE IMAGE.

When we say we See More, Hear More, Smell More, Taste More, and Feel More, it's NOT an exaggeration or figure of speech!

We get MORE of ALL the senses. THIS is why we get Overloaded. This is why we have MELTDOWNS.

To you, it's a grocery store. To us, it's: VISUAL Overload (from the sheer number of items we see); COLOR overload (all the labels, plus all the colors of clothing people wear); MOVEMENT Overload (the people moving, the baskets, the forklifts, the cart returns), at All Times, Every Second We're In The Building;

SOUND overload (people talking, wheels squeaking, babies crying, boxes being sliced open, scales moving, forklifts beeping, beep goes the checkout scanners 100's of times a minute), and we HEAR IT ALL, at all times, at dozens or hundreds of times LOUDER than You hear it;

SMELL Overload (we smell every shampoo, conditioner, lotion, shaving cream, soap, deodorant, spice, fruit, vegetable, laundry detergent, and cleaning supply for sale- plus all of that for every individual person in the store!), and we Smell it dozens if not hundreds of times stronger than you smell it;

LIGHTS Overload, aka Photosensitivity. The lights are LITERALLY dozens, if not Hundreds, of times Brighter for US. Some lights are worse than others- and those long tube lights in grocery stores are Number One for Photosensitivity Overload.

DECISION PARALYSIS- Which way to go to start, what item was I getting again? What aisle was that on? How much money do I have to spend today? Oh that person is coming at me, should I slow down or speed up, are they turning, am I blocking what they're getting? Did I want chips? Wait- I have a list. Where's the list? What was I getting again?

Only ALL OF THAT hits in the FIRST TEN SECONDS of entering the building, leaving us FROZEN and UNABLE to proceed. Think of it like LAG, when you ask your electronic to DO TOO MUCH, TOO FAST. That is Decision Paralysis, and it's often brought on, not Just by all those questions (and more) listed, it's brought on because those thoughts are happening WHILE all the OTHER SENSORY items are Overloading our circuits!

This SHUTS DOWN our Executive Function- which is the ability to do things (like drive, get dressed, follow a recipe- grocery shop), and also causes Task Paralysis, the inability to START.

There's going to be a period of Nothing Happening, just Leave Us Alone during this time, and If Left Alone, we'll "catch up" in our brain and be Able to proceed. We may need to Stim during this time, or move our body to calm down- rocking, wringing our hands, twiddling fingers, twirling hair- leave us alone to stim, it's how we self regulate and are able to navigate the Drastic Changes we just experienced."

-Michelle Mason

This is something we come up against frequently in our house. We’ve been calling it fluctuating capacity.

I love how this is explained here. 💜

My first published article! I hope you find some of the suggestions helpful. 💜

Discovering Positive Intelligence and How It Helps With Mental Fitness We’ve all heard of emotional intelligence—but hat about positive intelligence? Learn what positive intelligence is and why it’s important. | SUCCESS

Is there anything in your life where you could look at it in a different way?