Autism Healthy Habits

Posts Tagged ‘Autism Spectrum Disorders’

Revisiting a Focus on Autism Healthy Habits

At the Autism Society of North Carolina’s 2018 annual conference, Mindy Govan and Alicia Lenhart, then Director and Assistant Director of ASNCā€™s IGNITE program for young adults on the spectrum, provided conference attendees with many tips they could use to build autism healthy habits for their loved ones or themselves. Those tips continue to be…

Public Policy Update: ā€œiā€ Services in 1115 Waiver May Help Those Waiting

North Carolina is in the process of seeking approval by the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services to add ā€œiā€ home and community-based services (HCBS) under our stateā€™s new 1115 Medicaid plan. These ā€œiā€ HCBS services would offer additional supports to people with disabilities who are eligible for Medicaid. NC DHHS has requested that most…

Parent to Parent, Part 2: Practical Considerations for End-of-Life Planning

In part one of this two-part series, we addressed the fact that parents and caregivers for loved ones with disabilities such as autism will need to plan in advance for their eventual death to ensure the appropriate steps are taken for their loved one in their absence. In abstract terms, this process includes envisioning the…

Parent to Parent, Part 1: Addressing the Hardest Questions of All

Often, parents and/or caregivers of individuals with autism are told by friends and family how resilient we are. While others may see the daily struggles we face, they are probably not aware of the anxiety we may have when we think of the inevitable: the time when we will no longer be here to care…

Planning for School, Step 2: Getting Organized

Editorā€™s note: This is part of a series of articles. Click here to read the first one. By now you should know which plan your school district has selected to begin the school year. If you are not sure, contact your childā€™s school or check the district website. We do know that every student will…

Planning for School, Step 1: Understand Your Options

Anxiety is running high these days, and one of the big stressors is what the coming school year will look like for our kids. On July 14, Gov. Cooper announced that each of the school districts in North Carolina will operate under their Plan B scenario for reopening under moderate COVID-19 conditions, with the option…

Working through the Challenges of Wearing a Mask

As wearing a mask becomes our new normal, supporting an individual with autism to wear one for any amount of time might feel like a mountain to climb. In this blog, I will discuss potential reasons it can be particularly challenging for individuals with autism to wear masks, some alterations/adaptations to try, and suggestions for…

The Health of Our Aging Adults

Over 30 years ago, after our suspicions were confirmed that our young daughter did indeed have autism, we asked a question that many of you also may have contemplated: ā€œWhat is the normal life expectancy of someone who has autism?ā€ We were given a fairly encouraging yet vague answer: ā€œWe really donā€™t know for sure,…