Description
This book empowers parents of autistic young people aged 11 to 20 to help them promote resilience in their child. Full of suggestions and simple activities, this easy-to-use resource will help guide parents on how to build the foundations of resilience and independence for situations such as negotiating sexuality and relationships, entering employment or living away from home. It includes information about the main developmental stages for preteens and teens on the autism spectrum, and will take parents through life events and milestones at different ages and identify where difficulties and barriers to resilience may arise and how to address them.
Table of Contents
- The Parents’ Practical Guide to Resilience for Preteens and Teenagers on the Autism Spectrum by Je
- Introduction
- Chapter 1. Resilience and Autistic Preteens, Teenagers and Young Adults
- What is resilience?
- What impedes resilience?
- Why do autistic people need resilience?
- How can resilience change your child’s life for the better?
- How does a person acquire resilience?
- What does resilience look like for teens and preteens on the autism spectrum?
- Key concepts around resilience
- Protective factors for resilience
- Challenges to resilience
- Autism and the ‘two puberties’
- The value of an autistic/neurodivergent peer group
- Controlled challenges and supported risks
- Chapter 2. Resilience and Autistic Children Aged 11–15 Years
- Common characteristics of autistic children aged 11–15 years
- Getting a diagnosis in preteen or early teenage years
- Autistic characteristics and resilience
- What are risk factors for resilience?
- Thinking about sexuality
- Issues with other teens
- Resilience and bullying
- What are protective factors for resilience?
- Promoting and supporting independence
- Autistic peers and role models
- What does resilience look like at this life stage?
- Chapter 3. Autistic Children Aged 11–15
- Starting high school
- Activities to help build resilience and confidence around starting high school
- Homework and exams
- Activities to explore different perspectives
- Managing bad news
- Activities around receiving bad news
- Puberty changes
- Activities around the experience of puberty
- Social/emotional puberty
- Letting go of unhelpful activities (e.g. internet addiction)
- Issues with bullying
- Activities supporting resilience and coping strategies around bullying
- Indications of bullying
- Boyfriends, girlfriends and crushes
- Activity around boyfriends, girlfriends and crushes – OPEN FORUM
- Using public transport or taking a school bus
- Activities to support using public transport and/or the school bus
- Death of a grandparent or other relative
- Starting a bank account and learning to manage money
- Activities around managing money
- Chapter 4. Common Characteristics of Autistic Young People Aged 16–20 Years
- What is life like for autistic teens and young adults?
- What does resilience look like at this life stage?
- Forging their own identity
- Belonging, friends and peer groups
- Significant changes – moving to further education and/or work
- Getting a diagnosis in early adulthood
- Social interactions
- Forging their own identity
- Boundaries and limits
- Academic pressure
- Managing the transition to adulthood
- Protective factors and risk factors for autistic young adults
- Navigating available services
- Building self-advocacy skills
- Promoting independence and self-reliance
- Chapter 5. Young Autistic Adults Aged 16–20
- Being told ‘no’ by parents – teenage wishes for independence
- Activities around boundaries and availability
- Attending the school dance, formal or prom
- Activities around school dances, formals and proms
- Parties and social events
- Activities around parties
- Decisions about alcohol and other drugs
- Exercises around the experience of drugs and alcohol
- Making independent decisions
- Activities around responsibility and decision-making
- Thinking about driving and learning to drive
- Activities around driving
- Leaving school
- Activity to help build resilience and confidence around leaving school – OPEN QUESTIONS
- Transitioning to further study
- Activity to counter perfectionism
- Transitioning to work
- Activities to help build resilience and confidence around transitioning to work
- Life skills for leaving home successfully
- Activities to help build resilience and confidence around leaving home
- Managing food – shopping, preparing, eating and cleaning up
- Activities around managing food
- Managing health
- Activities around managing health
- Managing sexuality and sexual health
- Activities around sexual health, sexuality and gender
- Chapter 6. Failing Successfully
- Why failing well is a vital skill
- Failure and mistakes are inevitable
- Making failure useful
- What does successful failure look like in autistic preteens, teens and young adults?
- Challenges for autistic young people around failing
- Impacts of not being able to manage failure well
- Teaching autistic children and young people to fail successfully
- Talking with your children and young people about successful failure
- Exercise around understanding responses to errors
- Building self-esteem and self-confidence for autistic children and young people
- What does self-esteem look like?
- Challenges to self-esteem for autistic children and young people
- Protective factors for self-esteem
- Useful Resources for Parents of Autistic Preteens, Teens and Young Adults
- Web-based resources
- Books
- Books for autistic preteens and teens
- Other resources
- Autism in popular culture
- Index
- Blank Page
