Neuro-Affirming Care: How to Support Your Autistic Child
A series on neuro-affiming parenting. (Part 1). Written by Nisha J.
Parenting is hard. Period; and that’s the end of this blog post. See you next time!
empty toilet paper roll with words “the end”
Seriously, balancing the intricate dance of parenthood—supporting your child in becoming their own fully developed person while enforcing schedules and boundaries, is hard. There are a number of challenges in parenting an autistic child. Let’s talk about it. We don’t have to pretend that everything is easy and everything is smooth sailing. It’s not.
Mother and child screaming
Believe me, I know. I was that autistic child. The one who is probably experiencing an autistic meltdown, right now—they have been crying and screaming non-stop for hours, and you are DONE! Or the child who is in “special interest” mode and will not stop talking about it. Come on, how many more times are we going to watch The Little Mermaid (the 1989 edition), Nisha! Which follows with buying all the Disney merch and hours in the bathtub singing “Part of Your World”.
Child singing
I know I was a difficult child and my mom [she tried her best] sometimes found herself overwhelmed . As a late-diagnosed autistic adult, I have worked and learned how to navigate being autistic. However, to many parents, who are raising an autistic child the experience is new and isolating.
Neurodivergence is a framework that acknowledges the differences in neurotypes (the different ways people function). Neuro-affirming parenting is about validating and accepting your child’s neurotypical. The objective is to:
Provide a safe environment for your child to grow and develop Into an independent adult (this looks different for everyone).
Provide a safe environment for your child to grow and develop Into an independent adult (this looks different for everyone).
Strengthen the parent-child relationship by reducing emotional stressors on the parent and increasing autonomy within the child.
Create a support system of family, friends, community, and providers in developing a neurodiverse lens.
Here are some quick tips and techniques to parenting in a neuro-affirming approach. In this series, we will take a deep dive into exploring into navigating a neuro-affirmative parenting approach to support your autistic child. We will discuss real-world examples and an in-depth analysis on the neurological functionalities of being neurodivergent.
Infographic tips to support your autistic child
