The holiday season, including Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and New Year’s, offers opportunities for joy and connection, but can be overwhelming for neurodivergent children. Sensory challenges, changes in routine, and social expectations can make these festivities stressful. As a parent, your support and understanding can help your autistic or ADHD child feel more comfortable and engaged. By adapting traditions and focusing on their unique needs, you can create a holiday experience that is both meaningful and manageable. Here’s how to help your autistic or ADHD child thrive during the holidays while honoring their unique needs.

"Inside Out 2," the sequel to Pixar’s beloved exploration of emotions, promises to delve even deeper into the intricate world of our inner emotional lives. Just like its predecessor, this movie offers valuable insights into how we experience and manage our emotions, making it a powerful tool for understanding real-life emotional challenges, particularly anxiety.

In "Inside Out 2," we continue to follow the journey of Riley and her emotions – Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust – as they navigate the complexities of adolescence. The film beautifully illustrates how these core emotions interact, influence our behavior, and help us respond to the world around us. By personifying these emotions, "Inside Out 2" provides a visual and relatable way to understand the often abstract and overwhelming nature of our feelings.

Psychosis, though often associated with adults, can also occur in children, albeit less frequently. Recognizing the signs and symptoms of psychosis in children is crucial for early intervention and support. In this article, we'll explore the manifestations of psychosis in children, the prevalence of hearing voices, and when psychosis may be indicative of a severe mental illness versus a transient experience.

Demand avoidance is a concept that many parents encounter in their children's behavior. It's important to understand that demand avoidance, in general, is a normal part of human behavior. We all have moments when we resist doing something we're asked to do, whether it's a mundane task or a more challenging request. However, when demand avoidance becomes persistent and significantly impacts a child's functioning, it may be worth exploring further.

Understanding and supporting a child with Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA), a profile of autism, can be a challenging journey. However, by adopting a strengths-based, neurodiversity-affirming approach, we can help our children to thrive. Let's dive into some strategies that can be helpful.

In this article, we will focus on Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA), a distinct and often misunderstood profile of autism. PDA is a term coined by Elizabeth Newson in the 1980’s to describe a specific profile of autism characterized by extreme anxiety, demand avoidance, and a need for control. Some people prefer the term Pervasive Drive for Autonomy to represent PDA because of the desire to maintain control and autonomy in one’s environment. Unlike other forms of autism, individuals with PDA often display a high level of social understanding and can be highly skilled at masking their difficulties, making it challenging to identify their needs.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects a significant number of children. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 6.1 million children in the United States have been diagnosed with ADHD. This disorder can impact a child’s ability to concentrate, pay attention, and control impulsive behaviors. In this blog post, we will discuss what ADHD is, its symptoms, causes, and treatment options for children.