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We aren’t teenagers anymore. We don’t need anyone’s approval. Be really clear about what your needs are and then be persistent about making sure that those needs get met.

If parenting was easy, everyone would do it. Let’s give ourselves credit for just doing our best.

Tell me I’m off-the-planet levels of crazy, but this film completely changed my perspective on my parenting. Completely - "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish".

Well, this can be easier than most parent realise. Let's start by giving our child tasks when they are young and then rewarding them when they do it.

This was so helpful that I just had to share it with you… Why our autistic kids and teens are so addicted to playing computer games?

This is unbelievably sad for me to write. I’ll bet this is something your child deals with. In fact, I sort of dare you to have a chat with your child and find out.

As parents, we know that our kids are the real heroes of their life-stories. Let’s be honest though, you are your little hero’s best supporter.

We get exhausted and we often feel alone. Parenting our kids with autism is worthwhile and amazing - but very, very hard.

Hi Parents, we all feel isolated and abandoned at times. When kids hit rough patches or NDIS gets tricky, here's our favourite people for helping families get "UN-stuck".

I'm about to introduce you to 3 young people who are improving their social skills so much!

What you’re about to see is straight out of Secret Agent Society, Session 3. It’s called “The Helpful Thought Zapper”.

Meltdowns happen. They are part of life… for now.

I got asked "What I can do to stop the arguments that happen 4 nights a week?" Well, here's what helps most families and it's waaayyyy easier than you'd think -

At Amazing Skills, many of us have children with Autism ourselves and we look forward to the bedtime routine about as much as you do. Also some of the bedtime dramas come down to emotional regulation skills, and we have programs that help your child to develop those skills.

There is absolutely no charge and so you can invite any of your friends and even people who we've never met before are inspiring us. We'd love for you to come and enjoy it (no babysitting needed - it's on Zoom)

You're a super-parent. You've got this. Also, if there's anything we can do to support your family, just reply and let us know.

A year ago, he was thriving and learning to make friends, but now he is back to being isolated again.

Hopefully, your child is plugged in somewhere locally with a Scouts group or a sport or something. But sometimes you just don't have that.

At school, your child may feel starved of success, thirsty for a friend or some sort of social interaction. The environment feels harsh and unsafe. No oasis in sight? You have more options than you realise. So what steps can we take?

People wrote back to me when they saw my email about a week ago. They said things like “I am shocked and angry that a psychologist would be so stupid as to tell a 15 year old that he will never have a job or a girl friend. I’m still angry about that.”

I have a great friend (James) who has Autism and he works for the government he and earns probably twice as much as the psychologist does at his JOB. He and I made a 10 minute video where I asked him lots of questions about what is life looks like (he is now 32). In it, we make super clear that he has a great job and he loves his job. I gave him a huge opportunity to tell us about how his job contributes to others. Life’s not perfect, but he is a very happy guy.

(Hint: You can do less than you're doing - and still be amazing for your child)

From what I can see, there are a lot of families who feel like they are hitting their head against brick walls with the traditional speech therapy, OT and psychology. Those therapies are FANTASTIC - but getting our kids to turn up smiling and keen is tough.

There are some things that you need to trust experts on. That would include things like space travel, medical scares, fixing your air-con, the solar panels on your roof etc etc.

Did you know that there are ways to increase the chances that a play date will go well? Here are the best tips that parents of children with autism who we work with have road-tested.

Children up to 7 years old both have a view themselves largely on what others say to them. From 8 years old, most children are aware of their own strengths and weaknesses. That’s when they need skills.

Clearly, it will take more than 3 questions to learn to develop conversational skills, but even knowing 3 good questions to ask prevents your child from freezing up and feeling completely awkward and unable to talk to others.

Let’s be honest - big events can be a big whirlwind for your child. There are so many out-of-routine new people and surprises, which can be a recipe for getting overwhelmed or melting down. Here are some ideas for helping our kids to be ready for the next big event and able to enjoy it.

You deserve to feel supported, understood and acknowledged as a parent of a child with Autism.

A lot of what parents perceive to be a lack of caring from schools is actually a complete lack of understanding of what your child is experiencing. 90% of teachers are compassionate, caring people who just need someone to help them understand. That is something that you as a parent have the power to help with.

Always remember that you are a limited resource and you only have a certain amount of time and energy to get by on. Your child is not expecting perfect parenting and we shouldn’t either.

Conversations are not just for the purpose of exchanging information. Rather, conversations are an opportunity for people to share their thoughts, opinions and feelings. We do that by asking relevant questions and listening to people’s answers and by talking about topics that other people share our interest in.

Find some great parents of kids with Autism in your school community and reach out to them. They won’t reject you because they know how you feel. Invite them for a coffee. Swap phone numbers with them. They are probably feeling isolated and misunderstood, just like you are.

This is such a vital skill-set for children with autism and we deal with it a lot! Let me give you the key points of what we teach kids so you can begin an ongoing conversation with your child at home.

We need to teach our kids to walk up to a group and hang out nearby and listen to what the group is talking about. Then our child can make a comment that expresses an opinion (in a positive way) about whatever they are talking about.

This is really challenging for children with Autism. However, there are clues we can look for. For example, if we don’t like what happened and we tell our friend “I didn’t like that,” do they respond by looking serious and saying “Sorry”, or do they respond by pushing us further and using a teasing/sarcastic voice? When people are playfully joking, but then told that you didn’t like it, they won’t tease us. They will stop.