Parenting Severe Autism

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A calm morning routine gets shattered, and I share what I hear in my son’s real tears when he tries to connect and gets pushed into overload. I also talk through the “aftershock” effect on sensory triggers and end with a few lighter updates that still teach big lessons about supporting an autistic adult with dignity. 

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We read through a run of 2019 school emails that show how fast life can spiral. 

We talk guardianship, money, work stress, rejections, and the small home routines that still help our son feel safe. 

• legal guardianship
• how severe autism can make steady work nearly impossible for a family 
• the school’s behavior team admitting they lack capacity 
• asking for copies of staff and specialist videos to understand decisions 
• outside placement leads
• being rejected from programs and what that does to a parent’s trust 
• touring a facility and confronting the reality of adult services 
• school-day accommodations around routine, lunchroom size, snack timing, soaps, and toothpaste 
• heavy metal detox attempts 
• therapy tradeoffs 

Please remember, you can help me keep this podcast free for those who need it simply by donating to the Buy Me a Coffee program. 
You can always contact me at contact.parentingsevereautism at gmail.com. 
Hey, let me know if you have anything to share about your experience with schools as of late, whether it's good, bad, or otherwise. 

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A single email from school can change your whole day when you’re parenting severe autism and already running on fumes. We share what it looks like when classroom behavior reports, delayed meetings, and vague “behavior team” guidance collide with the reality at home.

We start with a few real-life moments that many caregivers will recognize.

Then we get into communication and receptive language, including why English slang and sound-alike words can be especially confusing for autistic kids with speech and language challenges. I also ask listeners to weigh in on how this plays out in other languages and cultures.

From there, the tone shifts into the heavier stuff: a last-day-of-camp meltdown, plus the surprisingly effective de-escalation trick a great staff member uses to help our son regulate. 

Finally, we dig into the school timeline and the advocacy lesson at the center of it all, and what it feels like when parents are left out of behavior planning while the system “figures it out” on your child.

If you’re navigating IEP meetings, challenging behaviors, attention-seeking cycles, or caregiver burnout, listen through and take what you need.

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We share what it looks like when school support collides with severe autism, from the first weeks at a new high school to the moments we realize critical details are being missed. I walk through the exact language and protocols that help our son regulate and why consistency across adults is the difference between progress and meltdown. 
• remodeling and environment changes at home to reduce frustration 
• heat, low energy, shallow breathing and the suspected link between vitamin B complex and behavior or speech decline 
• the moment our son says “I’m stuck” 
• why life skills, OT, speech and socialization matter more than academics for our child 
• early high school wins like the popcorn and coffee cart job 
• working phrases that interrupt escalation
• insisting the school call dad immediately for any self-injury 
• frustrations with vague incident reporting and the lack of timely OT support 
• reflections on staffing, caregiver consistency and a child’s need to feel cared for 
Please remember you can support this podcast in many different ways. Of course, you can always buy me a coffee by clicking the little support icon on your podcast player. You’re also able to visit my storefront by following the link in my show notes. Please let me know if you have any tips, tricks, or anything like that regarding school these days, please email me at contact.parenting severe autism at gmail.com. 

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Vacation stress collides with severe autism routines, and can push a family to the edge. We share what happened on our Illinois getaway, then zoom out to the bigger lesson about family stress, boundaries, and the tiny moments of humor that keep us going. 

• caregiving isolation and what it feels like when support runs thin 
• why special needs travel often requires more than a simple hotel room
• what Grand Bear Resort near Starved Rock advertises versus what works 
• a sweet sighting of a nonverbal teen having real joy 
• the danger of using a child’s disability as a tool in adult conflict 
• reaching for help instead of letting pressure build 
• funny connection moments as de-escalation 

Please remember you can always support this podcast first of all by sharing to others who have not yet heard it. And you can buy me a coffee, you can check out my merch. And if you can't support financially, that's totally fine. I would even be delighted to hear from you in email. So you can send me messages at contact.parentingsevereautism at gmail.com. 

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We go back through the emails from our son’s first year in a new high school and relive how quickly “support” turned into constant crises. Then I share the most surprising update I have had in years!

• school fees shock and using McKinney-Vento homeless status while doubled up 
• early attempts at communication through typing and why it feels complicated 
• IEP meeting overload and what caregiver burnout looks like in real time 
• why regular school is not built for many severe autism needs 
• adult autism communication breakthrough 
• small functional wins


please share your stories with me and check me out on my live streams. Leave me hearts and comments and stuff, and let's see how that goes. 

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A “senior year” photo comes home and hits us like grief instead of celebration, opening up everything we wish educators understood about profound autism and the gap between labels and reality. We also share what regulation looks like in our house, from sensory touch and breathing to the surprising toll of loud, nonstop noise. 
• the emotional sting of “senior” messaging for a child who will need extended services 
• hoarding and studying turning into agitation and destruction 
• frequent IEP meetings and the limits of school preparation for severe autism 
• why constant transitions can create school-day overload 
• the exhaustion of fighting for our child 
• using touch while teaching boundaries 
• massage, yoga-style slow breathing, and noticing chronic muscle tension 
• loud remodeling and what it can do to regulation and sleep 
You can always email me at contact.parenting severe autism at gmail.com. Make sure you check my summer supplies shopping cart. 

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A Mother’s Day “Happy Mother’s Day” song should be simple, but when you’re parenting severe autism, even the sweetest moment can sit right next to exhaustion you can’t quite explain. I’m sharing what’s been going on in my house lately, including the quiet fear that your family is holding together on the outside while things feel shaky underneath. If you’ve ever thought, “I’m the only one living like this,” I say the part out loud that we all need to hear: you’re not alone.

Then I get into the behaviors, because the patterns changed in a way I didn’t expect. The picture smashing and frame breaking took on a new meaning when I realized which photos were being targeted, and it made me question what my son might be feeling but can’t say. From there, the story turns into a full-on midnight mystery: coffee, milk, a dragged blanket, and the slow realization that the “mess” was a routine aimed straight at Grandpa’s stuff. It’s gross, it’s maddening, and honestly it’s also weirdly funny once you finally see what’s happening. We also talk about the reality of living with locks, padlocks, and home safety setups that other people don’t understand.

I share an update on self-injurious behavior like arm biting, what helped reduce it for us, and what popped up next when the biting got harder to do. If you’re dealing with headbanging, biting, property destruction, or sleep-disrupting routines, you’ll hear the unfiltered version of how it looks in real life, plus the small communication wins that make everything feel worth it again.

If this connected with you, subscribe, share the episode with another autism caregiver, and leave a review so more families can find this support. And I’d love to hear your stories, what’s working, and what you’re stuck on right now.

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We juggle a new school year for our high support needs severely autistic son while we question staffing, trust, and classes without enough help. We also share what happened when natural remedies and cannabis products worked unpredictably, plus a bigger idea about respite communities that could use technology to fill real care gaps. 
• Shifting into a new school era and tightening our focus on staff 
• Needing one-on-one support and sometimes more at school 
• Frustration with mainstreaming vs functioning level 
• Trying herbalism, homeopathic tablets, and essential oils as coping tools 
• Seeing “opposite” reactions and losing faith in what what we believe in 
• A funny morning script plus pizza day attitude after a bigger dose 
• Exploring safer lifestyles and respite communities with AI support 
• Asking for ideas to market the concept to the right people 
Don’t forget to send your comments, questions, and stories to me at [email protected]. 

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We talk through what happens when severe autism elopement becomes so constant that we start padlocking gates and doors, then realize those same locks can trap us when seconds matter. I share the fear, the guilt, the dark humor, and the safety steps that finally make our days a little more survivable. 

• padlocking after repeated escapes 
• the moment he scales the fence and I cannot get out 
• how elopement forces impossible split-second choices 
• how our long-term work and caregiving plan collapses  
• desperation searches for safety tools and finding AngelSense GPS tracking 
• a woods search when he disappears 
• his running routes 
• the spiraling parent guilt story and the reminder that it is not you 
• first day of school stress and the constant baseline of aggression 
• a surprising improvement with arm biting and a rare proud moment 
• a full clear sentence during bedtime chaos 
• the workaround that makes walks calmer 
• noticing better focus and speech attempts with vitamin C and B complex 
• the local emergency box and special needs stickers for responders 
• building familiarity with police and fire so crises go safer 

And please remember, you can always buy me a coffee for as little as one dollar. You just click the little donation thing on your player. 
If you want to click my link at the bottom of this episode or any of my episodes, it would help me out and it doesn't cost you any more. 
Please remember you can always reach out to me at contact.parentingsevereautism at gmail.com. 

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