How To Help Your Child With Social Skills | A Conversation with Laura Crowley | ABP 78

03/27/20 • 46 min

My guest this week is social skills expert, Laura Crowley. Social skills is a struggle for most kids on the autism spectrum as well as many children with ADHD. It’s also the topic of the most common questions I receive from parents: ‘What can I do to help my child learn social skills?’

Today we will be unpacking this very complex question.

In this episode you will discover:

What social skills are and where we often get it wrong.
The main differences in the social struggles of girls and boys on the autism spectrum.
How emotions and social skills are related.
What skills are involved in the art of conversation.
How social skills differ from manners, and why the difference is crucial.
Why Laura thinks it’s time to stop teaching social skills as if they are academics.

Meet Laura Crowley

Laura has over 20 years experience working with children and adolescents on the Autism Spectrum. She is the author of the Mission Rescue Kloog social skills for autism app trilogy and has run connect autism consultancy for the past 5 years. Laura has lectured in University College Cork on the diploma in autism studies since its inception 6 years ago. Lauras passion is social skill development and she firmly believes that each child has the ability to make social connections.

Mentioned on the podcast:

- - Instagram: @social_connect_model Facebook: Connect Autism Consultancy Website: www.connectautismconsultancy.com
  - See our COVID-19 Facebook Live video & join the conversation in our private Facebook group: Our Autism Blueprint Private Facebook Page

The Autism Blueprint Classroom

An online platform for videos, courses and resources for autism parents and professionals.

CLICK HERE to learn more.

If you have a child whose been recently diagnosed (within the past two years) you know how difficult this time can be. Building Your Foundation: What To Do After Your Child Is Diagnosed with Autism is an online course where Janeen will teach you all the things she wishes she had known when her child was diagnosed.

Join our launch team to be the first to know when it’s ready and receive valuable discounts.

Listen to this episode:

The post How To Help Your Child With Social Skills | A Conversation with Laura Crowley | ABP 78 appeared first on Puzzle Peace Counseling.

Today we will be unpacking this very complex question.

In this episode you will discover:

What social skills are and where we often get it wrong.
The main differences in the social struggles of girls and boys on the autism spectrum.
How emotions and social skills are related.
What skills are involved in the art of conversation.
How social skills differ from manners, and why the difference is crucial.
Why Laura thinks it’s time to stop teaching social skills as if they are academics.

Meet Laura Crowley

Mentioned on the podcast:

- - Instagram: @social_connect_model Facebook: Connect Autism Consultancy Website: www.connectautismconsultancy.com
  - See our COVID-19 Facebook Live video & join the conversation in our private Facebook group: Our Autism Blueprint Private Facebook Page

The Autism Blueprint Classroom

An online platform for videos, courses and resources for autism parents and professionals.

CLICK HERE to learn more.

Join our launch team to be the first to know when it’s ready and receive valuable discounts.

Listen to this episode:

The post How To Help Your Child With Social Skills | A Conversation with Laura Crowley | ABP 78 appeared first on Puzzle Peace Counseling.

Previous Episode

4 Ways To Help Your Child With Autism Cope With COVID-19 | Autism Blueprint Quick Tips | ABP 77

Welcome to Autism Blueprint Quick Tips; A mini episode where I share a quick nugget of knowledge to help you on your autism journey.

This episode is sponsored by the Autism Blueprint Classroom where you can download free resources, and purchase online courses and videos to help you survive and thrive as an autism parent or professional.

Join the conversation in our private Facebook group: Our Autism Blueprint Private Facebook Page

Today’s Topic: 4 Ways To Help Your Child Cope With COVID-19

How your emotional state affects your child’s.
Ways to manage your emotions during this difficult time.
Why it’s important to presume your child’s competence.
How structure can help reduce anxiety.

Mentioned on the podcast:

Join us for this informative Facebook Live Masterclass as we go into more detail about how to cope during this difficult time. Simply click the graphic below to join our private facebook group, and log in during the meeting time.

COVID 19 resources & social stories

Little Puddins Social Story

UM-NSU CARD’s Let’s Talk About The Coronavirus (COVID-19) Whiteboard Social Narrative Video

National Autism Association: COVID 19 resources for families

The Autism Blueprint Classroom

An online platform for videos, courses and resources for autism parents and professionals.

CLICK HERE to learn more.

Join our launch team to be the first to know when it’s ready and receive valuable discounts.

Transcript of the Episode 4 Ways To Help Your Child With Autism Cope With COVID-19

This recent pandemic is certainly stressful for parents, but like most things in life, it’s even more so when you have kids on the autism spectrum. This is due to their need to know what’s coming next, their desire for routine and sameness, and difficulty self regulating. So today I’m going to share with you four ways to help your child cope. I’m also hosting a facebook live masterclass on the same topic with my colleague Katherine Lycke who is a marriage and family therapist. We’ll be diving a bit deeper into the the tips I’ll be sharing today as well as taking your questions.

To join us simply go to autismblueprint.com and click on the link to join our private autism blueprint FB group. And if you’re not able to attend live, it will be recorded and available for you to watch later.

SO lets dive into five things you can do to help your child cope with all the changes that are going on right now:

Manage your own emotions

Check in with your body from time to time- we hold emotions in our bodies so throughout the day, be sure to bring awareness to the part of your body where you may be holding tension; jaw, shoulders and neck are the most common. Take a few moments to stretch, loosen your jaw or drop your shoulders. Talk things out with friends or your spouse – or a therapist- if you’re feeling overly anxious. Many therapists are currently doing online appointments and working with you on cost- there’s actually never been a better time to start counseling. Go for a walk outside when you feel overly anxious or angry at your family members because they’r...

Next Episode

Maintaining Your Sanity As An Autism Parent During Quarantine | Autism Blueprint Quick Tips | ABP 79

Welcome to Autism Blueprint Quick Tips; A mini episode where I share a quick nugget of knowledge to help you on your autism journey.

Join the conversation in our private Facebook group: Our Autism Blueprint Private Facebook Page

Today’s Topic: Maintaining Your Sanity As An Autism Parent During Quarantine

How to regulate your body to combat stress.
Managing your expectations and guilt.
How to let go of perfectionism.
Reminders that this time is a learning curve for all of us.

Mentioned on the podcast:

Article: Advice On Raising Kids During Coronavirus: Be The World’s Okayest Mom

FREE Online Support Group For Autism Parents During COVID-19

We’ll be meeting via Zoom, Monday evenings, 7pm US Eastern Time for the next four weeks, starting April 6, 2020. There is no charge, but we will need a head count.

CLICK HERE to sign up

The Autism Blueprint Classroom

An online platform for videos, courses and resources for autism parents and professionals.

CLICK HERE to learn more.

Transcript of the Episode

Maintaining Your Sanity As An Autism Parent During Quarantine

During this unprecedented time, parents need guidance. But for autism parents, this quarantine stuff is particularly stressful due to our kids’ extenuating needs. Their desire for routine and structure, resistance to change, sensory needs, and for many- inability to adequately express their needs can make for some very challenging days. So there are some words of wisdom I’ve gathered both from my own experience over the past few weeks, in working with my clients and also from other mental health professionals. And today I want to share them with you. While most of my episodes focus on parents and professionals, today I want to just speak to the parents and offer what I hope will be a small lifeline.

Expectations and guilt

The very first thing I want to make sure you’re doing, is to lower your expectations of yourself. If you spend any time on social media you may be seeing that many your friends are taking up are hobbies at home, cleaning out closets, redecorating their homes, or writing the great american novel. You get the picture. But for our families, its usually all hand on deck- and it’s difficult if not impossible to get done what we need to let alone take on a new project. So I want you to be aware that you may be silently putting some pressure on yourself and then feeling guilty for not being able to keep up. Let that go! How? By first becoming aware of it, and then deciding it’s not serving you. From a purely logical point of view, you really don’t have time to stress about anything else right now. That being said, if you’re anything like me, sometimes a good closet cleaning helps manage your anxiety. If that’s the case, make some time to do it and enjoy it. But because we have so many have to’s, if you don’t want to, that’s totally okay.

Be the “okayest’ parent

Perfectionism is rampant in our society. And there’s just no room for it in a n autism household, especially now. I read an article the other day called Advice during the coronavirus; be the worlds okayest mom. https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/advice-on-raising-kids-during-coronavirus-worlds-okayest-mom-163152537.html?soc_src=yahooapp

It really helped me put life into perspective right now and allowed me to let go of some of the expectations I had of myself. It’s a crazy time when all parents are be...