What I Wish I Knew...

One of the most important Autism Parenting tip, that I wish I had gotten all those years ago is to make sure to make time for yourself.

It sounds really simple, and some of you may think that is really obvious. But the reality is that when parenting a child that is on the spectrum you’re always “switched on”. Spectrum parenting means always looking steps ahead to prevent problems, solve issues and off course a lot of things just take more time for your child that’s on the spectrum. All these things make that there is always something important to do. However, you have to make sure that you are on that priority list too. For a long time, I have not been on that list myself. Which eventually led to a burn-out. Something that is quite common among parents that have a special needs child. And as with a lot of things, it’s better to prevent than to cure a burn-out.

The good news is you can start in a small way, by take just taking a few moments each day. Make yourself a cup of tea, go for a walk, read a book, take a bath, do some meditation or whatever has your preference. It’s these small activity’s that allow you to calm yourself, and especially your brain down. Also writing down what has happened, or what you still have to do, can help to switch off, that constant thought process. Off course there are bigger things that you can do. But especially in these pandemic times, most don’t have the luxury of taking a lot of time. But as with everything it starts with a small step, which eventually can have a big impact.

Let me know what you do to take that small moment for yourself.