Autistic Masking in Children: Signs, Long-Term Toll, and How to Help
Is your autistic child an angel at school and a tornado at home? Learn what masking is, the toll it takes over time, and how to help your child feel safe being themselves.
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Child Just Diagnosed With Autism? A Calm Guide to the First Few Months
Just received an autism diagnosis for your child? Here are gentle, practical next steps for services, school support, and looking after yourself.
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The Workplace Vs. Being a Special Needs Parent (and some other things that are irking me)
Yes, yes, I haven’t been blogging here for most of 2022. I have my reasons, and they’re just some of those pesky things that are currently irking me. The Online Autism Community One word. Toxic. It was my hope, in starting this blog, to start an online community for autistics and their family members. For…
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What Is Red Instead, And Why It Matters
Back in January 2009, when we started our autism journey, I had no clue about the issues concerning the organization Autism Speaks. It wasn’t until I joined many online support groups, and even Twitter, that I learned about the issues concerning this organization. In April 2009, I blissfully sailed through National Autism Awareness Month and…
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Goals For January 2022
My goals for January 2022 are somewhat lowkey. After the last two years, I’m kind of hoping 2022 doesn’t even notice me and my family, at all. So, if you don’t mind, I’m just going to jump right on in with what I would like to achieve while I have this whole new year, new…
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Autism | Health | Mental Health | News
1 In 44 Kids Has Autism According To The CDC
The CDC recently announced that 1 in 44 children are being diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the United States. These new numbers come from a study based on data from 2018. Previous statistics were 1 in 54 children being diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in 2016. Autism numbers have been…
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What Happens When My Autistic Son Isn’t Cute Anymore
“Jason… you’re not cute anymore, so just stop it!” My eldest to my youngest, almost every damn day of the week. I knew this day would come, and I have been dreading it. And when I say dreading, I really mean desperately trying not to think about it. Ignorance has been bliss, and I have…
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4 Ways To Deal With A Critical Family Without Sacrificing Your Sanity
Special Needs and Criticism From Family Members Aren’t families fun? :::insert sarcastic tone and eyeroll::: If you have a child with special needs chances are you have dealt with some type of criticism from one, or multiple, members of your family. How do you handle their negative comments and/or backhanded compliments and slights? It is…
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My 5 Favorite Instagram Accounts For Special Needs Parenting
I feel like I owe everyone an apology. I had wanted to have Happily Ever Autism launched and active in April. I was working hard on it. But, as life has a way of doing sometimes, life here turned into a full blown, no nonsense, who’s your daddy sh*t show in late February, and I’m…
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Who Happily Ever Autism is For
Happily Ever Autism.com Was Specifically Designed for YOU (and here’s why) After my child was diagnosed in 2009, I headed right on over to the internet to do what most moms in this situation would do, research. But when I did a web search on autism the dominant page seemed to be Autism Speaks. At…
