I wanted to make sure everyone here saw this one. Autism Care Today (ACT) is currently accepting applications for grants of up to $5,000 to help eligible families access autism-related supports and services. The application window is open September 15 through October 15, 2026. And $5,000 isn't a small amount when you're raising a child with additional support needs. It could mean access to a therapy, equipment, a program or another resource that has been sitting on the wish list because insurance doesn't cover it or the out-of-pocket cost is simply too high. Even if you've never applied for a family grant before, don't automatically assume you won't qualify. Take a few minutes to look through the requirements. 👉 Apply and learn more through Autism Care Today: https://www.act-today.org/apply-for-grant/ And if you know another family who might benefit, please pass this along. I want this community to be a place where we share opportunities like this when we find them. I'll continue posting grants, programs and other opportunities that could help our families as I come across them. The Life Skills Co. is not affiliated with Autism Care Today and has no involvement in or control over eligibility, applications, selections or grant awards. Please direct questions about the program or application to ACT.

If your child or student is past the initial stage of learning the shower routine — turning on the water, getting wet, using soap and rinsing — the next question is: Are they actually washing their whole body? That’s a different skill. Knowing how to take a shower doesn’t necessarily mean knowing which body parts need to be washed, where those body parts are or recognizing when an area has been missed. That’s the idea behind our new Shower by Number visual. Instead of teaching the overall shower routine again, it breaks the body into 10 concrete areas — hair, face, neck, chest, armpits, stomach and sides, private area, upper legs, lower legs and feet. The student simply matches the number on the body to the number on the guide and works their way from 1 to 10. I started this system when working with my own son. We used stickers to start and a rudimentary body map. But it worked. And slowly he built up the range of what he needed to wash. For parents, special education programs, OTs and life-skills classrooms, this can become the next step in teaching shower independence: moving from “I know the shower routine” to “I know how to wash my entire body.” PS - a post on how to use mirrors coming soon!

Before we teach toothbrushing, there’s something we need to figure out first: Can your child physically do the movements we’re asking them to do? This is one of my favorite simple ways to check. Grab two plastic cups and a dry erase marker. Draw spots in the cups, hold them on either side of your child’s head (or glue them to an old headband), and have them practice reaching around to brush away all of the marks. I took an old toothbrush and glued the eraser of a dry erase marker to it. It looks a little silly — and that’s part of what makes it fun! But we’re actually looking for something important. - Can they reach the front? - Can they move their hand far enough back to reach the molars? - Can they change the angle of their wrist? - Can they reach both sides? - Can they coordinate the brushing motion while their hand is in those different positions? Sometimes we assume a child isn't brushing thoroughly because they don't understand the routine or aren't trying. But toothbrushing requires motor planning, coordination, range of motion and body awareness in addition to understanding the steps. This little activity gives you a chance to practice those movements outside of the mouth, without toothpaste, saliva, taste, texture or the sensory demands of actual brushing. If your child struggles to reach certain areas on the cups, that's useful information. Instead of repeatedly telling them to “brush the back teeth,” we now know there may be a physical skill that needs to be practiced first. Try it at home and let me know how they do! Could they erase every “tooth,” or did you find a spot that was harder for them to reach? If you're looking for any of the visual supports, you can find them here: https://cleanpluscomfort.com/collections/toothbrush-time

I’ve been thinking about something that I think we, as special needs parents, can sometimes forget. We have to intentionally build our children’s self-confidence, too. We spend so much of our time teaching. How to communicate. How to get dressed. How to use the bathroom. How to shower. How to navigate school. How to be safe. How to become more independent. And when your child needs significant support, so much of your relationship can naturally become about helping, prompting, redirecting and teaching. But somewhere in all of that, they also need to hear: - You’re good at this. - I knew you could do it. - You figured that out. - I’m proud of you. - You should be proud of yourself. (This is a BIG one) I think this is especially important for our children who are nonverbal or communicate differently. Just because they may not tell us that they’re proud of themselves doesn’t mean they don’t feel it. Just because they don’t ask us, “Do you think I can do this?” doesn’t mean they aren’t looking to us for that answer. And when so much of their day involves adults identifying what they need help with, I think we have to be equally intentional about identifying what they’re capable of. - Let them overhear you telling someone how well they did something. - Give them a real responsibility at home. - Ask for their help. - Celebrate the attempt, even when they don’t quite get there. - Give them a chance to figure something out before jumping in. - Find the things they’re genuinely good at and make sure they know it. Our kids spend a lot of their lives being told, directly or indirectly, what they can’t do yet. Home should also be the place where they learn: - I am capable. - I contribute. - I have things I’m good at. - People believe in me. We talk a lot about building independence in this community. But I think part of building independence is raising a child who believes they are capable of doing things for themselves in the first place.

I posted a couple of weeks ago a Lunch Time flyer to help build independence in your child's morning routine. I've set it up for my son to start using for his first day of school today. This is a "follow the numbers" routine. Anytime you have a sequencing project, numbers or pictures guiding your child from one step to the next can not only help with task development, it will reduce stress throughout the activity. We are starting with the full run of the entire lunch because we've been slowly building up to this level. Depending on your child's age and tolerance, start small. Introduce the checklist and have them shadow you as you pack each element and check it off. Then graduate to having them check while you pack. Then have them back their first item... Routines can be hard to build but once they're in place, they add comfort and stability! I am reattaching the lunch flyer to this post. Let me know how it goes!