Many thanks to Ann Jeffree  for the original photography, and Cath from Wholehearted Marketing. Thanks also to those who have supported my development of this series. No one truly works alone.

It’s time. I’m sharing with you the most poignant aspects that have helped my wonderful Taz become the awesome fellow he is. Those things we have worked through, that gave him the most life enhancing differences. First, I will list them, then I will cover each one in more detail. Following that, I will be happy to answer questions, chat and support people through understanding.
I’m thankful for studies in Psychology and Psychophysiology, as they prepared me to run a continuous home therapy program for Taz, and he has thrived. Sure he still has difficulties, but his different style of thinking gives him strengths too. I’m going to share the main aspects which have helped him learn to be a social member of the community, but maintain his core character, and the strengths that accompany it. I hope to help other parents and their children in the spectrum by sharing this. I also hope to teach other parents as much as I can to help them be instrumental in their children’s successful lives.
I have put them in an order of sorts. I believe some aspects are necessary to achieve others, but you may find your order differs. I’m not here to dictate how it’s done, so please follow your instincts. It’s not a life test that you will fail if you choose the wrong direction at one point. I’ve made mistakes, changed direction, and even had to backtrack and begin some things again. Thankfully, kids aren’t permanently altered by one parental mistake unless it’s catastrophic, (involves death or abuse). Chances are our parental efforts of judgement from day to day won’t even touch that level of significance. It’s worth trying ways to help your children, and I went with my gut every step of the way, so maybe you will like what I share. It may inspire you to work with your child differently, and you could also come across parts of what I have learned that wouldn’t work for you at all. The thing is, you KNOW your child way more than I do, so take what you choose and leave what you don’t. Either way, your life likely isn’t easy, so here are some keys to different doors, and to ideas which you may not have seen before.
Below is a list of the key aspects I feel have been part of Taz’s development and integration in the world. I hope to share these concepts, arming parents with the knowledge to support their child on a daily basis.
Autism Keys List
1. Coping styles
2. Behaviour
3. Communication
4. Trust
5. Adaptability
6. Embracing obsessions
7. Emotion

For the next 7 weeks, I will give a deeper description of each of these keys, one by one. I hope you find them helpful.