by Sara | May 10, 2018 | Autism, Life skills
Free Resources to Teach Boys about Puberty
Puberty can be a difficult topic to discuss, but it is a very important concept for teens and adolescents to understand why and how their bodies are changing. Teaching teens with autism about puberty and how their body is changing can add increased stress and anxiety for them. They may have a harder time understanding what is going on with their body. We need to help explain to them the physical, emotional, and social changes of what to expect when entering adolescence.
As a family, we know how vital this topic is to learn and discuss with your teen to help them stay safe as well! We wanted to provide you with Free teaching lessons and activities to help make this process a little easier for you. We have compiled resources for teaching boys about puberty. We are also working on a post about how to teach girls about puberty as well.
*This post contains affiliate links. Please see our disclosure statement for further details.
Free Resources Teaching about Puberty for Boys
We hope that these resources can be helpful in your journey to help teach your teen about puberty and the changes that occur in their body. Please let us know which one was your favorite resource in the comments below!
Additional Resources you may enjoy to help teach about puberty to boys
The Body Book For Boys
by Sara | May 6, 2018 | Autism, Life skills, Social Skills
Making Friends
Do you have a teenager that has difficulty making friends at school? Friendships can be difficult for some teenagers to form and then maybe even more difficult once they leave school. Making friends can sometimes be a hard skill for teens on the autism spectrum. They may have a hard time understanding how to make conversation or how to ask someone questions to get to know them better. It could be hard to find mutual interests. Or they may not even be interested in making friends. It can be hard to learn who is actually a friend and who may be someone taking advantage of you…
They may have difficulty reading body language to understand if someone is interested in what they are saying or not. They may have a hard time understanding how to work together or when playing games how to share. There are a lot of skills that go into making friends and these can be overwhelming and difficult to teach at times.
That is why we wanted to put together some FREE resources and websites for you to check out to see if they may help you and your teen with making friends. Finding meaningful friendships can have a wonderful social impact for all teens throughout their life.
Free Resouces!
*This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our disclosure statement for further details.
Check out our Free Social Situation Cards below! Feel free to download them by entering your name and email below. When you download this freebie you will also be signing up for our weekly newsletter!
We hope you find these free resources helpful on your journey to help your teen with friendships. Let us know in the comments below which freebie is your favorite or if there is anything else you would like to add!
by Sara | Apr 27, 2018 | Autism, Life skills, Positivity, Social Skills
Self-Esteem
Self-esteem is an important skill to learn, especially for teenagers and older kids to help them manage and regulate their emotions as they become adults. Helping them see themselves in a positive light will have lasting impressions on them as they get older. They will have increased confidence in their abilities and hopefully see themselves in a positive way.
Finding activities that older kids will want to participate with can be a challenge sometimes. They may not see the purpose of the activity in the moment, but these types of activities can have a long-lasting impression on their lives. That is why we found some FREE activities that you can try with older kids whether you are a parent, teacher, therapist, or professional to help you find just the right activity for your teen.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our disclosure statement for further details.
FREE Self-Esteem Activities for older kids
Some of these free activities are on the website Teachers Pay Teachers where you will need to create a free account to be able to download these worksheets. Click the titles of the activities below to be taken to the free download!
Self-Esteem Activities for Secondary Life Skills Students
Self-Esteem Dice Game
Self-Esteem Activity: “I am special and unique!”
Counseling worksheet for self-esteem
Social Skills Rubrics: Self-Esteem Pack Freebie
18 Self Esteem Worksheets and Activities for Teens and Adolescents
We hope that you can find a free activity that will work for your situation. Let us know in the comments below if you found any of the activities helpful for your teen!
Looking for more amazing resources?
Check out our new ebook Making Sense of the Teen Years: A Sensory Processing Guide
by Sara | Apr 14, 2018 | Autism
Autism Acceptance
April is more commonly known as Autism Awareness month, but I want to support Autism Acceptance month. I know that we always need to bring awareness to others about autism and how to support people with autism, but I want it to go a step father and bring about acceptance with autism. I want to be able to talk about autism in a positive light and share all the wonderful things about autism.
When I think about my brother I want others to see him for who he is as a person and how wonderful and amazing he is! Because he truly is an amazing person!! I love how his brain works with how good he is with computer skills, science, and history. He has an amazing memory and remembers things that I have a hard time remembering. He has so many strengths and I want people to see those things about him.
I wanted to share this with you all because I would love for you to share with me some positives that you feel about autism and what you wish other people would know about autism. This month let us bring love, joy, and happiness to autism and share why we love someone with autism! I would love to hear what you have to say! Please let me know in the comments below!
*This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy for further details.
Here are some great posts about Autism Acceptance and helpful posts about Autism.
Here is a list of some of our families favorite books about Autism!
The Reason I jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen Year old Boy with Autism by Naoki Higashida
The Spark: A Mother’s Story of Nurturing, Genius, and Autism by Kristine Barnett
NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity by Steve Silberman
Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes you Knew: Updated and Expanded Edition by Ellen Notbohm
Uniquely Human: A Different Way of Seeing Autism by Barry M. Prizant
In a Different Key: the Story of Autism by John Donvan & Caren Zucker
Carly’s Voice: Breaking Through Autism by Arthur & Carly Fleishmann
A Parent’s Guide to High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder: How to Meet the Challenges and Help your Child Thrive by Sally Ozonoff, Geraldine Dawson, & James C. McPartland
The Anti-Romantic Child: A Memoir of Unexpected Joy by Priscilla Gilman
Autism Every Day: Over 150 Strategies Lived and Learned by a Professional Autism Consultant with 3 Sons on the Spectrum by Alyson Beytien
Somewhere Over the Sea: A Father’s Letter to his Autistic Son by Halfdan W. Freihow
The Autistic Brain: Helping Different Kinds of Minds Succeed by Temple Grandin
Autism Spectrum Disorder (revised): The Complete Guide to Understanding Autism by Chantal Sicile-Kira
The Obsessive Joy of Autism by Julia Bascom
Kids Beyond Limits: The Anat Baniel Method for Awakening the Brain and Transforming the Life of your Child with Special Needs by Anat Baniel
The Social Skills Picture Book: Teaching Play, Emotion, and Communication to Children with Autism by Jed Baker
The Social Skills Picture Book for High School and Beyond by Jed Baker
I See Things Differently: A First Look at Autism by Pat Thomas
It’s Raining Cats and Dogs: An Autism Spectrum Guide to the Confusing World of Idioms, Metaphors, and Everyday Expressions by Michael Barton
Motivate to Communicate!: 300 Games and Activities for your Child with Autism by Simone Griffin
All My Stripes: A Story for Children with Autism by Shaina Rudolph & Danielle Royer
by Sara | Apr 10, 2018 | Autism, Life skills, Sensory
How to Handle Changes
Hormonal changes, new expectations, social situations, a need for independence, and emotional mood swings are all things that a teenager is experiencing. The list goes on and on. Their body is changing physically and emotionally. They are learning new skills everyday and not to mention starting middle school.
Their are higher school expectations placed them and they are starting a whole new avenue with social situations. They are starting to figure out who they are as a person and starting to rely less on parents. They are testing the boundaries to see what they can and cannot do. All of these changes can lead to some pretty emotional changes as well.
Sensory Processing Difficulties
Teenagers with sensory processing difficulties can also have new and unexpected changes. They may start to respond differently to sensory experiences, times when they would have been able to be in control, they may not be able to control as easily. They may need to be taught how to handle themselves in certain situations again. They need our love, guidance, and support. What can we do to help our teens with sensory processing difficulties calm down? Check out our FREE Calm Down Strategies Toolkit for Teens for helpful tips, tricks, and resources!
*This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy for further details.
Sensory Meltdowns
Teenagers can still experience sensory meltdowns. What are sensory meltdowns?
A sensory meltdown is a neurological response due to their brains being wired differently and their bodies fight or flight system kicks in. When the fight response takes over we can have a sensory meltdown.
They become so overwhelmed by the situation that they may not be aware of their surroundings and may lose control. They may not even be aware of what they are doing during the meltdown.
What can we do to help them with sensory meltdowns?
SAFETY IS THE TOP PRIORITY: Do what you can to keep everyone safe in the situation. Try to have the teen move to a safe area, but if you are unable to move them, make sure the people around them are able to move away to stay safe. You may need to move objects that could potentially be thrown or turned into a weapon.
Do not try to talk to the person during the meltdown as they will be unable to respond as they may be unaware of what they are doing in the situation.
As the parent/teacher/therapist, know your boundaries lines as to what you need to do in certain situations. We would love to always be able to deescalate a sensory meltdown before it happens, but when it does happen we need to understand our roles. There is a line when a bad behavior turns into a meltdown and then when a meltdown turns into a potentially dangerous situation. If at any time you feel that you cannot keep the person, yourself, or people around you safe CALL FOR HELP.
Have an understanding: Have an understanding that the teen may not understand what is going on during a meltdown and most likely does not want to be acting this way. These situations are hard and mentally exhausting as well as physically exhausting. Be present in the situation to help keep everyone safe, but when it is over do what you need to do to mentally and physically recharge. You are most likely their biggest support system and advocate and they need you to be able to be there for them.
Check out our FREE Calm Down Strategies Toolkit for Teens for more tips on calm down strategies, sensory meltdowns, emotional self-regulation skills and coping skills!
