Takeaway: Social anxiety in primary-age children is affected by their genes, life experiences, and self-image. But parents can help children overcome these anxieties by using a positive parenting style. Read More
Takeaway: Empathy helps us be more caring/connected people, but it’s a challenging skill to develop. So, we parents need to help our children understand the roots of empathy (e.g., recognising and honouring emotions, taking other people’s perspectives, etc.) and encourage them to exercise their ‘empathy muscles.’ Read More
Takeaway: Smart and gifted girls with autism are often skilled at hiding their differences. And this makes it much harder to notice that they need help. But if we diagnose them early, we can strategically nurture their strengths, support their weaknesses, and free them from having to struggle alone. Read More
Takeaway: To teach children with autism how to regulate their emotions, we need to (1) Explore what emotions are using ‘emotion cards’ and ‘social stories,’ (2) Rate emotions on an emotions-thermometer scale, and (3) Use basic attention-redirection techniques like mindfulness and deep breathing. Read More
Takeaway: Resilience is your child’s ability to rebound from challenges and tough times. And thankfully, it’s something we can teach children to develop — either at home or through therapies like CBT, ACT, and more. And the great thing is that we can match your child’s personality and needs to the type of therapy that will best help her. Read More
Takeaway: Speech and language delays can significantly lower your child’s quality of life. But you can help by using everyday activities to trigger her natural desire to play, learn, and communicate. And for children with more significant speech and language delays, specialists have an entire toolkit of advanced teaching techniques. Read More
Takeaway: By the end of toddlerhood (age 3), your child will likely be able to (1) play outdoor games and ride a tricycle, (2) understand ‘cause and effect’, (3) speak in short sentences, (4) play alongside friends, and (5) feed herself simple meals using a fork and spoon. So, if you’re concerned that she’s missing these milestones, consider consulting a specialist. Read More
Takeaway: A child’s life can be unnecessarily traumatic if her autism spectrum disorder (ASD) goes unnoticed. Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule [ADOS] is one of the evaluation tools. It’s a reliable, standardised test trusted by specialists around the world. And it’s used not just to detect ASD, but also to measure the extent of its impact on a child’s abilities. Read More