Inclusivity opens up a myriad of topics. From race, culture, religion, and gender, to people with disabilities, inclusion is something that needs more discourse. If people start talking about inclusion, it would be an easier world to live in. For children on the autism spectrum, inclusivity is a right they deserve to experience especially in the early stages of their life, and for these children, it all starts at home. 

Just like we need food, water, and shelter to live, humans need to experience a sense of belongingness as well. When parents of ASD children foster inclusivity at home, they also help their children feel like they belong. This will encourage them to interact more with their peers and realize that beyond their uniqueness they are as much of a child as a child can be. 

Toda...

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Being a parent is not an easy task. It involves sacrifice, time, tears, and sweat. But despite this, they do not complain. Their selfless acts are a testimony of how a parent’s love can endure even the most challenging tasks.

Life is challenging for parents of special needs children. Their experience is extraordinary, compelling, and above all, inspiring. The truth is, becoming a parent of special needs children or kids with down syndrome will teach you lessons about both the positive and negative aspects of life. More than just becoming the source of strength for their children, parents of kids with special needs learn the value of resilience and being thick-skinned in a world where prejudice and stigma exist for their children. 

Let us take a look at how we can celebrate the parents o...

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Children with autism spectrum disorder or ASD are special individuals who are remarkably unique in their own ways. Their perspective on things is quite extraordinary. You’ll be surprised to see how empathetic, thoughtful, and ingenious they are despite their challenges and the stigma they face. 

Communication is a process that involves several elements including a speaker, message, channel, receiver, feedback, and at times noise. Most ASD children, however, may have developmental challenges when it comes to communication. For children with ASD, there may be an impairment in either the way they deliver a message or interpret it. Often times, this results in negative feedback or reaction...

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There are a lot of queries and preconceived notions about matters concerning autism by the general public. Strangely enough, bizarre questions such as “Is autism contagious?”, “Is it a mental illness?”, “Is it a result of a failed abortion?” and “Does immunization cause autism?” still exists. This is part of the reason why learning centers encourage discourse as it is key to raise the public’s awareness about autism. 

The contemporary media often has a single representation of autistic individuals – a misunderstood genius disorder. While it is partly true, the lack of representation still contributes to the public’s opinion when it comes to autism. 

People often make assumptions, and it’s only right to set the record straight about what autism is...

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Autism diagnosis can be overwhelming for parents. It may also be challenging to deal with. Parents may have a difficult time coming to terms with their child’s Autism Spectrum Disorder or ASD; more so if they have little to no knowledge about the condition. Parents could also struggle in search of ways for all members of the family to cope and receive support. 

The sad thing is, not everyone has access to the right guidance on the necessary steps to be taken after a child’s diagnosis. Fortunately, there are autism centers that provide information, treatment and advice, and partner with local resources for support.

In this blog, we will be talking about how the diagnosis affects siblings, parents, and the whole family.

Educating The Family 

Despite being diagnosed, your child will alw...

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Patience, persistence and practice – these are the key elements of discipline. Every parent has their own style of child-rearing. There is no one-formula-suits-all solution to disciplining a child, but there are principles that can guide parents along the way. Children naturally misbehave for many reasons – one of them is their budding curiosity as they navigate their childhood. From a baby, they learn to cry to elicit a response from their parents. The same can be told when disciplining a child-it’s all about eliciting positive behavior. 

Some parents believe that corporal punishment is the best way to discipline children, that is by inflicting physical pain as a way of discipline. However, it is not always the case...

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The experience of growing up as an only child is very different from that of someone who’s grown up with siblings. And that holds true since there is a certain dynamic between siblings that influences them as they grow up. As young children, we learn social interactions within the family, and siblings contribute to each other’s development of social dynamics. In short, the way siblings interact with each other as children, influences the way they interact with other children outside their family, such as with classmates.

It’s a different story for siblings of children with Autism. For children living with a brother or a sister with ASD, the experience is more profound, and the dynamics are more complex...

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Each child has the right to access education. After all, this is fundamental for their development. While it is right to say that education starts at home, there will always come the time wherein they would eventually learn in the four corners of the classroom. This right extends to children with special needs.  And for parents of neurotypical children, getting their child enrolled at school is easy. There are no extra procedures or a pile of documents to fill up. Needless to say, it goes rather differently for children with special needs. You have to go through a different process that involves an Individualized Education Plan or IEP meeting. 

Fortunately, if you live in a city like Dubai, there are laws that protect this right...

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As toddlers grow up, they develop fine motor skills that help them carry out their day to day activities.  In essence, fine motor skills occur naturally. This is what humans use to perform motor tasks, particularly with their hands. To simply put, fine motor skills are used to coordinate the movement of the small muscles in the hands for play, academics, and general activities. 

Without giving much thought to it, moving our bodies around is an amalgamation of complex and considerable amounts of skills. This means there is a lot of work involved with just walking, winking, and simply holding a pencil.  And several activities involve strength, balance, coordination, and fine motor skills...

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Whether your child’s still an adventurous nipper, an increasingly bold teen, or somewhere in between, all children have one thing in common- impulsiveness and curiosity.  As children begin to grip on the ropes of society and navigate through different stages of their lives, they become increasingly inquisitive.

However, sometimes, you may be turning the other cheek on your child’s excessive curiosity. You may not have realized it, but your child’s hyperactivity could be ADHD.

In fact, ADHD is so common in the UAE, that it’s blamed for road accidents. Psychologists imply that untreated ADHD might be the root cause of bad driving that leads to accidents in the Arab world’s second-largest economy. 

ADHD, if left untreated,  may open up a myriad of other complications such ...

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