Lesson #10: "Plan For The Life Ahead: High School and Young Adulthood" In this final episode of 10 Lessons, Dr. Rick summarizes the lessons covered throughout the podcast, and speaks with three families about how they each navigated their children on the spectrum through high school and beyond. Other areas of discussion include Diploma vs Certificate, Guardianship, and College.

Show Notes

Organizations and Support Groups

Transition to Adulthood and Employment:

Other Helpful Resources:

Great Reference:

Lesson #9: "Getting Ready for True Academics: 5th grade - If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere." In this episode, Dr. Rick talks with the McCormick family about their perspectives on how they successfully navigated their children through school.

Show Notes

Lesson #8: "Making Friends: How to Promote Social and Self Awareness (Who Cares About Theory of Mind?)" In this episode, Dr. Rick speaks with Jeff, Heather, and Kate; as well as Jill and Liam about their experiences with forming friendships, as well as social and self awareness.

Show Notes

Lesson #7: "How to be School Savvy - Give The Children M&M’s (Meaning and Motivation)" In this episode, Educational Consultant and Advocate Sara Huvaere speaks with Dr. Rick about how to advocate for your child's educational accommodations, knowing your rights as a parent, and how to help make your child's education meaningful and motivating.

Show Notes

Lesson #6: "Learn to Read then Read to Learn: The critical importance of the 3 R’s" In this episode, meet 3 families who share their practical insights on how to help children on the spectrum ‘learn to read and then read to learn’. The twins, Amelia and Abigail, are homeschooled and learn to read fairly early with lots of creative ideas from their parents, especially mom; Alex has a reading disability but learns to read later in his school career because the family was persistent and found the right teachers; and Kate was hyperlexic and could read phonically at a very young age but had trouble with reading comprehension. Please note that a substantial number of autistic children will not be able to read because they are not developmentally ready but if the child shows the ability described in this podcast as being at Greenspan levels 6 to 7, they have the potential to read.

Show Notes

In Lesson #5: "Welcome Misbehavior: The Immature Expression Of Legitimate Feelings!" In this episode of 10 Lessons, Dr. Rick talks with The McCarthy family about misbehavior, how it often manifests as a result of children not having the means to express their legitimate feelings, and the importance of recognizing those feelings. He also discusses the 3 types of parenting patterns, the 3 types of behavior, and the importance of not ruling by emotions.

Show Notes

In Lesson #4: "Please! Delay Kindergarten!" For the child with autism, delaying kindergarten offers them an opportunity to make a full year of developmental progress as they get ready for the academic and social demands of school. In this episode Dr. Rick describes the 7 Habits of Highly Successful Kindergarteners and interviews two sets of parents who describe the creative ways they helped their children with autism and worked with the schools to promote those 7 habits. Sharing the diagnosis with classmates is also discussed.

Show Notes

In Lesson #3: “When Will My Child Talk? Interaction, Imagination, and Emotion, O My!” In this episode, Dr. Rick interviews Dawn and Alex Ham-Kucharski. Dawn is an author with a new book, Autism from Diagnosis to Adulthood and Alex is Dawn and Rich Ham Kucharski’s son, a young adult with autism. The lesson in this episode is that the whole family matters. Dr. Rick, Dawn, and Alex explore the paradox that focusing too much on the needs of the child with autism is not the best way to meet the needs of the child with autism! The interview focuses on how to increase the ‘love charge’ of the family by nurturing the husband and wife relationship, acknowledging the three common sibling reactions to autism, and balancing the autistic child’s needs with the needs of the rest of the family. Both Dawn and Alex tell it like it is with all the ups and downs of coping with autism and its impact their family’s life.

Show Notes

In Lesson #2: “The Whole Family Matters: Parents who take care of themselves take better care of their families” In this episode, Dr. Rick interviews Dawn and Alex Ham-Kucharski. Dawn is an author with a new book, Autism from Diagnosis to Adulthood and Alex is Dawn and Rich Ham Kucharski’s son, a young adult with autism. The lesson in this episode is that the whole family matters. Dr. Rick, Dawn, and Alex explore the paradox that focusing too much on the needs of the child with autism is not the best way to meet the needs of the child with autism! The interview focuses on how to increase the ‘love charge’ of the family by nurturing the husband and wife relationship, acknowledging the three common sibling reactions to autism, and balancing the autistic child’s needs with the needs of the rest of the family. Both Dawn and Alex tell it like it is with all the ups and downs of coping with autism and its impact their family’s life.

Show Notes

In Lesson #1: “When you do what the child loves, the child with autism will love to be with you.” Dr. Rick interviews Jeff and Heather about their daughter Kate and what it takes to get started with a  successful intervention program.  They share their struggles with grief and getting Kate’s diagnosis of autism, about trying out different therapies until they found what worked, and how intensive early intervention and playfulness (doing what the child loves) helped Kate to improve in her ability to form relationships and develop a sense of belonging with her friends and classmates. Dr. Rick introduces the key methods that help all children on the spectrum connect with others and grow developmentally.

Show Notes