The subtitle of my book, Turn Autism Around is An Action Guide for Parents of Young Children with Early Signs of Autism. But I really want to spread the word that my approach, this information, and the courses can help older learners too, especially those functioning at a younger age. In this Hot Seat episode, I’m joined by Lauren Emmett, a mom of two, with her daughter Charlie and her 9 year old son Wilson, who was diagnosed with autism at age 3.
During our conversation, we go over the results of Wilson’s digital one page assessment, where we discuss areas like safety, problem behaviors, self care, food preferences, and language skills. Every child is going to have different strengths and weaknesses, so the best way to get started is to evaluate those areas and prioritize where change needs to occur first.
Lauren struggles with trusting Wilson’s safety in certain situations. Wilson is a picky eater and struggles with mouthing, and while he is talking, he is not conversational. I discuss some procedures and ideas with Lauren, like pursuing medical information for some of his mouthing and chewing and even some of the tantrums surrounding waiting for exciting days. We also discuss the intraverbal subtest and the VB-Mapp to practice and learn more conversation skills. Finally, we discuss ways to increase variety in Wilson’s diet and evolve the level 1, 2, and 3 foods. As a mother who has been helping her son at home and through therapy services since before his diagnosis at age 3, Lauren feels great about implementing some changes and even just remembering it’s okay to keep going. Change occurs, and skills are learned over time.
Shortly after Wilson’s diagnosis, Lauren began blogging about her experience and autism journey with her family. She had a goal to spread awareness, advocate for change, and encourage a message of kindness and inclusion as a way to make the path brighter for her son and daughter. Through that, Lauren created her clothing company, Little Rebels with a Cause, where she sells t-shirts and merchandise with inspiring messages for the special needs community.
