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Picture your child at a birthday party. The music is loud, kids are shrieking, the lights are bright, and someone just handed them a plate of cake. To you, it looks like fun. To your autistic child, it can feel like... Continue Reading

What Elopement Behavior Means Elopement is when a child leaves a safe, supervised space without permission and without recognizing the danger involved. You might hear it called bolting behavior, child wandering,... Continue Reading

Are There Different Types of Autism? Today, there is just one official diagnosis: autism spectrum disorder, or ASD. The word "spectrum" is doing a lot of work in that sentence. It means autism shows up differently... Continue Reading

Does your child quote whole lines from a favorite show, repeat a phrase you said yesterday, or use a string of words that does not quite fit the moment? For many children, especially autistic children, this is a... Continue Reading

Toe walking is common in little ones who are still finding their feet, and most of the time it fades on its own. Sometimes, though, it sticks around, and many parents start to ask whether toe walking and autism are... Continue Reading

You walk into a session and your child's RBT is holding up a card. She says, "Touch the cat." Your child reaches, hesitates, then picks the dog. The RBT gently guides his hand toward the cat. Five minutes later, she... Continue Reading

The vacuum cleaner kicks on, and your two-year-old falls apart. The grocery store lights make him hide his face in your shoulder. He pulls the tag out of every shirt before he will wear it. Or maybe the opposite is... Continue Reading

You hand your three-year-old a cereal box, and they read the brand name aloud. They have never been taught. A few weeks later, they are sounding out street signs from the back seat. It feels like a small miracle.... Continue Reading

Hand flapping is a repetitive movement where a child rapidly waves, shakes, or flicks their hands, usually from the wrist. It's a form of self-stimulatory behavior, often called "stimming." Kids on the autism... Continue Reading

What Is a BCBA? A BCBA is a licensed clinician who develops and oversees ABA therapy programs for children with autism. They hold a master's degree, have logged hundreds of hours of supervised fieldwork, and have... Continue Reading

Word-for-word repeating has a name: echolalia. It's common in young children, it often shows up in autism, and once you understand what it's actually doing for your child, you can start responding to what they're... Continue Reading

What Does RBT Stand For? RBT stands for Registered Behavior Technician. It is an official credential issued by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB), the same organization that certifies BCBAs. You may... Continue Reading