If you are the parent of a child with exceptional needs, I know how challenging it can often be. My autistic son is now almost nine years old. And over the years I’ve worked systematically to help build a support system for not only him, but for our whole family. And guess what, it worked!Continue reading Goodreads Giveaway! It Takes a Village: How to Build a Support System For Your Exceptional Needs Family
It’s been almost six years since my son was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. He’ll be nine next month. He was three at the time of the diagnosis. But I knew long before that. He had three older siblings, and I’d been an educator for almost twenty years. At eighteen months, when he regressed inContinue reading Autism Awareness: Ten Things I’ve Learned Over the Last Six Years
“ My 8 year-old autistic son recently gifted me the title of “The On-Purpose Mom.” And while in moments of frustation, I assume he means this as a derogatory term, I consider it a term of endearment. Because yes, son, it’s on purpose when I expect you to get dressed independently in the mornings. It’sContinue reading The “On Purpose Mom”
Tonight, snuggled amidst a pile of Mario Brothers plushies, you’re in bed at 8:00 p.m. on a Sunday. Your little voice drifts from behind your closed door to me at my computer in the kitchen. I assume you and your Mario friends are adventuring before winding down for the night. As this innocent scene playsContinue reading To My Autistic Son After a Difficult Weekend
Dear New Insurance Company, My autistic eight-year-old son has been in behavior therapy since he was three. Before he started, his daycare had kicked him out. He had no friends. He engaged in aggressive and self-injurious behaviors. He melted down over the slightest disruptions to routines. He couldn’t tolerate new environments. I didn’t know howContinue reading Dear New Insurance Company, Why? From the Mother of an Autistic Son
Barclay was three-years-old, and nonverbal, when he was first diagnosed with autism. He didn’t know how to play with toys appropriately. He’d line them up and if the rows didn’t perfectly align, he’d meltdown. He wouldn’t watch or engage in age-appropriate movies or television shows. But one day, I noticed something peculiar. I had onContinue reading My Baby Boy He’s No Longer, But My Baby He’ll Always Be
I take every opportunity I can to share my passions to reach as many people to help as possible. In this episode, I share my work both through Mayflower Media as a book coach and helping authors make book trailers, and my work with families of children with exceptional needs through Big Abilities. It’s onlyContinue reading Amy Nielsen on Meet the Elite Podcast
Dear Big Ability Subscriber, This is a letter of gratitude. My first post to the Big Abilities blog was in September of 2018. Putting our family’s story out there was scary. But it was also cathartic. It was a way to make something concrete that felt very abstract. Autism was new to us back then.Continue reading A Letter of Gratitude to the Big Abilities Subscribers
Hi friends! This book was published years ago with a different publisher. It’s now with Wild Ink , revised, recovered, and better than ever! Please take a chance on Goldilocks and buy one for an elementary school or autism family close to you. Thanks!Continue reading Goldilocks and the Three Bears: Understanding Autism Spectrum Disorder
I raised girls for more than a decade before I became the mother of a son. When I was pregnant with my first son I was worried I wouldn’t know how to be a good boy mom. Now I have two sons and I realize, all I needed was love. They’d teach me everything else I needed to know!Continue reading The Bathroom Always Smells Like Pee and Other Joys of Raising Boys
Living in the Tampa Bay area, one of our favorite “stay-cations” is Clearwater. And one of our favorite restaurants in Clearwater is Backwaters. It’s ocean-front casual dining with a local feel that we love. When we started going, an “approved by my autistic son” mac and cheese was on the menu. Due to his limitedContinue reading Inclusion is Often Just an Ask Away
Hi Friends, I just wanted to share my new book trailer for It Takes a Village. Please share with any families of children with exceptional needs that could use extra support. It can be purchased at Amazon or AAPC Publishing. With an authentic and conversational tone, It Takes A Village is an inspiring book that seeks toContinue reading It Takes a Village: How to Build a Support System For Your Exceptional Needs Family
Hi Friends! I just wanted to share my new book trailer for Goldilocks. Please share with your child’s teachers, school librarians, neighbors, and friends. This is how we assemble allies for autistic family members. Thanks! Amy You can purchase Goldilocks at AAPC Publishing or at Amazon
My seven-year-old autistic son is new to public school. Due to COVID, I homeschooled him for Kindergarten, and he went to an amazing autism charter school for first grade. The summer before second grade we moved and public school was the only option. To say I was terrified would be an understatement. But, here weContinue reading How to Assemble Allies For Your Autistic Child
Raising children is both rewarding and terrifying. Rewarding because you are shaping a child into an adult. Terrifying because—well you are shaping a child into an adult. When my three adult children were growing up, my goal as their parent was only one thing. It wasn’t to give them everything they wanted. It wasn’t toContinue reading 5 Tips For Raising Good Humans
Thirty seconds remain on the countdown clock. I sprint through the Mushroom Kingdom. I must save Princess Peach. I smash Goombas and Koopas. I pound bricks and hoard coins. Resurrection comes at a price and I’m short. The ground rumbles. Bowser’s closing in. Behind two white clouds, a castle appears. I’m so close. A bridge.Continue reading A Day in My Autistic Life: If My Mom Could Read My Mind
Last night I tossed and turn through sleep stages. At one point, I was conscious enough to hear my son’s sound machine through the speakers of his baby monitor. But, the relaxing ocean waves lulled me awake rather than back to sleep. As per ritual, I felt around on the nightstand for my glasses. ThenContinue reading A Brown, Fuzzy Head on a Baby Monitor
As I write this, my seven-year-old autistic son sits next to me at a little table. He’s watching a YouTube video tutorial on his iPad while he follows along on a Roblox game on my old laptop. We just finished a family game of baseball so both of us are having some downtime. Since todayContinue reading How My Autistic Son Nailed 2022
Teachers know the best way to help students become better readers is for them to practice. At nearly every grade level they require students to read fiction. And the more students interact with books, the more likely they’ll grow into pleasure readers. But reading fiction can be problematic for autistic readers. Autistic individuals may notContinue reading Reducing Fiction Barriers for Autistic Readers
This is the story of an autistic boys’ meltdown shown from the points of view of a bystander, the mother, and her son.Continue reading The Bystander, The Mother, and The Son
All parents have felt that knot in their stomach at the start of the school year. Trusting someone else to love and protect your child is scary. But for parents of an autistic child, the fear is more like a throat clench. Autistic students are more at risk than their non-autistic peers for bullying, abuse,Continue reading How My Autistic Son is Thriving in General Education and the Steps We Took to Get Him There
Florida offers its residents hundreds of miles of warm sandy beaches, an abundance of oceans, lakes, and swimming pools to keep cool and thrilling theme parks. But there is a tradeoff to this lush, tropical paradise—hurricanes. And while hurricanes are stressful for anyone living within the cone of trajectory, for individuals with autism, the disruptionsContinue reading How Bendy Helped My Autistic Son Cope With Hurricane Ian
Barclay has been watching YouTubers for years, so when he asked me to help him record his first video, I was happy to help. While we have lots to learn about quality, I’m confident we will get here in time. Barclay wants all children with autism to know they can do ANYTHING!
Ever since my seven-year-old autistic son, Barclay, was able to stand on a chair and reach the counter, I’ve had him in the kitchen with me. He loves to collect the tools needed for whatever dish we are whipping up. He then selects the ingredients and places them on the counter in the order inContinue reading Lessons Learned From Making Red Velvet Cake
If you have a child with exceptional needs, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, and they attend school, daycare, therapy, or spend time with a sitter, it’s a good idea to send a personalized “About Me” brochure to those caregivers. An “About Me” brochure is a brief, tri-fold document that provides very basic yet detailed informationContinue reading How to Create an About Me Brochure at The Autism Helper
My husband and I always talked about moving to the West Coast of Florida someday. But nestled in Central Florida, our autistic son Barclay was in a top-rated autism charter school and his amazing ABA center was just a few miles away. We thought it would be years before we could take him out ofContinue reading A Goodbye Letter to Our ABA Center
This year to celebrate Autism Acceptance Month, I pledge to answer one question about autism per day. Day 6: What community accommodations exist for families of an autistic individual?Continue reading Autism Acceptance Month Day 6: What Community Accommodations Exist for Families of an Autistic Individual?
This year to celebrate Autism Acceptance Month, I pledge to answer one question about autism per day. Day 5: How does a diagnosis of autism impact a family?Continue reading Autism Acceptance Month Day 5: How Does a Diagnosis of Autism Impact a Family?
This year to celebrate Autism Acceptance Month, I pledge to answer one question per day about autism. Day 4: What should a parent do after an autism diagnosis?Continue reading Autism Acceptance Month Day 4: What Should a Parent Do After an Autism Diagnosis?
This year to celebrate Autism Acceptance Month, I plan to answer one question about autism per day. Day 3: How does a parent pursue an autism diagnosis?Continue reading Autism Acceptance Month Day 3: How does a parent pursue an autism diagnosis?
Big Abilities 