So, if there is one thing I've learned, one little bit of wisdom I could pass on, about being a parent of a child on the Autism Spectrum is to celebrate the small stuff.
That's not to say you don't celebrate the big achievements, but small achievements need to be encouraged and celebrated too.
So, this is something I have learned over the past few years. We need to help and encourage all kids and we need to celebrate achievements. Most of these achievements are usually around being successful at something, like scoring high on a test or winning a race.
However, achievements for our little Mr. are on a less grand scale. At the moment he is still non-verbal, he is delayed and he can find many things more difficult. Even the simple stuff like asking him to do simple things (such as pass me your juice cup) are often a little beyond what he can currently understand - either that or at those times he just doesn't want to do that.
So, we celebrate the smaller things.
So, as an example, we were celebrating a big achievement this week. This may seem trivial for some children who are more high functioning but this week, twice this week (over the weekend), little Mr. came into our room, on Saturday took my wife's hand (on Sunday he took my hand) and said what sounded 'up'.
So, again, this may not sound like a massive achievement for some but for a boy who is non-verbal to come into a room, take your hand and say up as an instruction - this is a big achievement.
So, this is something we celebrated. An achievement that shows he has progressed. This is a great example of what I mean when I say celebrate the small achievement. Well, for a non-verbal child, that is more of a larger achievement - but even things which are much simpler tasks are celebrated.
So, that's the one bit of advice I would like to pass on, at least for today. Celebrate everything achieved. Don't look for negatives, always look for the positives.
So, is there any achievements you'd like to share in this post? Any comments or further advice? Please do leave a comment below and share your thoughts.
That sounds like quite a big achievement to me! I can see why you're celebrating 🙂 I think this is advice we can all take too. It doesn't have to be perceived as big to celebrate it. Sometimes just getting tea made on time should be celebrated!
Thank you for you sharing with such honesty.
Thanks for the lovely comment. It was a big achievement but as you say, even the small achievements like tea on time or other such things should be celebrated. We all encounter so many negative things daily that it's nice to have some positive things
I am 70yrs of age Autistic Asperger's & only realised during Covid & Lockdown 2020
tho' l had no work...
I needed to Achieve things upon a DAILY basis otherwise my Autistic Self-Worth seemed low! Therefore, l now look to set 'SOME TARGET(S) for the day in order to feel that l have 'Achieved'NOT 'Wasted'!