Tips to support children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

In this video, Julia McAndrews, lead child and adolescent family therapist at the Rogers clinic in Skokie, IL, offers four tips we can use to empower children with autism spectrum disorder and celebrate their gifts of neurodiversity.

Julia says that people on the autism spectrum have the gift of being able to see the world through a different lens. Some of her past patients have described seeing the world as a movie where they can rewind and playback memories. Others have had a vivid imagination of their future or think of everything from a mathematical and factual standpoint. She also points to unique and highly focused interests as another gift of neurodiversity.

“I’ve learned more about cats, elevators, and superheroes than I ever thought I would,” Julia says. “The ability to be fully enamored by something is a huge gift that’s common to people with autism. Not to minimize the difficulties that come with it, but we’re given so many different outlooks because it is a wide spectrum.”