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Essentials
ATTITUDE IMPACTS BEHAVIOR
The key to master teaching.
Insight:
Modern biology and molecular science has now mapped the physiological connection between what we think and feel (our attitude) to how we behave. Thoughts trigger neurotransmitters which in turn stimulate nerves that affect metabolism, heart rate, hormones, and ultimately impact behavior. Read some of this science in the Learn More section.
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Recommendation:
Use your attitude (your thoughts and feelings) as a superpower-strategy to boost the positive effect of all of the other recommendations to maximize your child’s development… Everything you say, all of the instructions and commands you give your child, and everything you do, including supervising daily self care routines to playing with your child will sound and look better or worse, be effective or not, depending on how you are feeling at the time. Become aware of your thoughts and feelings when you are with your autistic child, and you can tap into a whole new level of effectiveness.
Practice these two strategies:
1. Increase your moment-to-moment awareness of your attitude. Start to pay attention to your thoughts and feelings minute-by-minute while you interact with your child. Are you feeling frustrated? Are you thinking about work? Are you feeling gratitude and joy? Know what you think and feel in every moment you spend with your child.
2. Choose your attitude. Just like Olympic athletes practice a ‘winning attitude’ before a race, you too can decide in advance what type of thoughts and feelings will most help you be the best parent and teacher for your child to “win” in their learning. For example, think “I have all the patience I need to let my child try to tie their shoe laces as many times as it takes”, and then feel the calm that follows this thought. Choosing your attitude takes practice and gets easier.
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Your Feelings Can Affect How You Parent
Emotions affect the way you think and behave.
Research Summary
As a parent of an autistic child, when you hear the word “emotions” you probably think of a range of feelings, from frustration when your child repeatedly kicks the back of your seat in the car to the pride you feel when they learn something new. How you feel about your child’s behaviors matters. This research from a professor at the University of New South Wales found that emotions can affect not only which thoughts we have, but how we think as well!
The research showed that your brain can be affected by emotions. From the way you speak to your child to the order in which you plan your day, feelings can impact it all! This means that your parenting behaviors can be shaped by how you feel. As you continue to support and love your child by deciding what to do for them, make sure to focus on how you are feeling, too. More patient, playful, loving thoughts will translate into more effective parenting.
To read the original published research, click the linked article title below:
Reference: Forgas, J. P. (2023). Affect and Emotions in Social Cognition: How Feelings Influence Thinking. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Psychology.
How You Deal with Feelings Can Impact Your Child’s Development
The emotions you experience as a parent can influence your child’s development.
Research Summary
hink back to a time recently when you had a really difficult day. Were you feeling sad, frustrated, overwhelmed? How did those feelings change the way you behaved as a parent that day? Emotions are a normal reaction to everyday situations, and increasing awareness of how you feel can give you more control over how you react to your child. This article explains how parents’ emotions can shape a child’s emotional and social learning. By increasing awareness of your own emotions you can more strategically create a healthy environment for your child.
To read the original published research, click the linked article title below:
Reference: News, N. (2023, April 8). How Parents Feel About Feelings Can Deeply Affect a Child’s Development. Neuroscience News.
Know what to do and when.
Actionable goals to best support your unique child, each prioritized so you know what do to first.
Maximize your resources.
Less than the cost of a single therapy session.
Start right away. No waitlists.
Practical strategies you can do at home.
Know what to do and when.
Actionable goals to best support your unique child, each prioritized so you know what do to first.
Maximize your resources.
Less than the cost of a single therapy session.
Start right away. No waitlists.
Practical strategies you can do at home.