No one knows your child better than you! This is why you are key to finding the right supports and activities that are most likely to help your child thrive. But it can still take effort to make sure that you understand how their disability affects them. The better you understand this, the better you can help them navigate their environment with less stress, and learn new things more easily.
Look for your child’s strengths
All kids have strengths! Find the things your child does well and encourage those activities! Praise them and help them know that they do these things well.
Know what’s hard for them
Kids and adults with certain disabilities like autism may have a hard time with certain skills and situations. Does your child have trouble with social interactions? Do they get upset when something unexpected happens? Do they have trouble communicating, moving around or using their hands? If you know what they have trouble with, you can help them to get the right kind of support.It can be helpful to record these things. You can reference your notes when talking with doctors, therapists or people evaluating your child. You could also use your phone to take photos or videos. Gathering and reviewing photos, videos, or notes often allows us to identify patterns of behavior and may even help us better understand our child and his or her disability.
