Transcript: 

Hey everybody.  I hope you’re having a great week.

This week’s video is another frequently asked questions video.  This week’s video is – people always ask: “What do I think autistic kids need?”  It’s really hard to answer this question broadly, because every autistic child and human is unique.  But, if we have to think in very general terms, in this video, I’m going to give you a few things I think all autistic kids – and maybe all kids – need.

The first thing that I think all autistic kids need, would be loving, caring, encouraging and supportive parents who are willing to help their kids learn to do what they’re good at and encourage them to do the things that they love and that bring them joy.  Sometimes, autistic peoples’ passions, hobbies and interests may be discouraged by their parents, and it’s kind of sad because an autistic interest is something that we’re so into because we love it so much.  It’s like “IT DOESN’T MATTER IF YOU LOVE IT.  YOU CAN’T LOVE THAT THING.”  If your kid is really, really passionate about art, don’t discourage them from doing art.  Encourage them to grow that, because when we spend time doing things that we love and enjoy, it’s recovery time.  It’s recharge time from our experiences in the world.

Another thing that I think would be helpful for autistic kids, is for parents not to focus too much on the weaknesses, because – trust me – your kid knows their weaknesses.  People will be pointing them out and they will notice when they fall short.  When their peers are doing things easily and for some reason something that is easy to their peers is very difficult or impossible for them, they notice.  You don’t need to remind them.  What you can do is help them grow, help them build strengths to compensate, but they don’t need you pointing out all of their flaws constantly.

Another thing that I think would be very helpful for many autistic kids – maybe not all – is help with identifying emotions, especially young kids (and even some older kids).  Like anxiety and anger and these types of feelings, because sometimes you don’t understand how feelings work and just having a really good understanding (when someone is old enough to understand) how emotions work in the body and what they are on a logical level is really helpful.  Understanding what adrenaline is and why it makes you feel the way you do – it’s an unpleasant feeling.  When you feel that in your body as a kid, you just feel that horrible feeling; you feel bad and you don’t know why.

Those would be some things that I think would be helpful for any autistic kid to have growing up.

So anyway, guys, thank you so much.  If you liked me doing this video, give me a thumbs up and I’ll try to do more like this in the future.  Don’t forget to subscribe because I do put out content fairly regularly.

I’ll talk to you guys later.  Bye!

If you like what I do, and would like more, please consider subscribing on Patreon. Transcriptions above paid for by the Patreon Subscribers.  I truly appreciate you!