By Kristina Tindall
Tyler's Mom

There's never a one size fits all when it comes to teaching social skills, and having a child with autism can be more challenging. As a mother who raised a child with autism, I would like to share a few tips that I found helpful and I hope you will too.

First of all, there are many social stories that start with the very basics: "Hello, my name is ______, what is your name?" So simple, but it's a start. I read many books that would have stories with short dialogue between two characters. It didn't have to be a specific social story, but I picked out books that would have this simple back-and-forth conversation.

My son watched videos on social skills which were mainly provided by his teachers in school.

I also drew him pictures of different social situations which kept his attention a bit longer.

His teachers created an extensive binder of photos and short stories that had different types of social situations that would be familiar to him and his dad and...

When you child with autism enters high school, you may feel relief and a little anxiety. You may feel relief because how far he has come and anxiety because of the many social situations your child will face. This is completely normal of any parent as we all want our children to do well in different situations.

High school presents a variety of stimuli, such as crowded class changes, bell ringing, different teachers to adjust to, and many teachers and their teaching styles. If your child has an IEP, then he can receive assistance through many of these, but the social situations still remain. Your child will be interacting with many different students during the school day. But…what if you would like your child to branch out of his comfort zone and do a little more in terms of socialization to help him in the long run?

Find a Mentor

Finding a trusted mentor for your teen is easier than you think! For starters, reflect on the young adults or older teens you know that also know...