“The Benefits of Messy Time” originally appeared at freespiritpublishingblog.com. Copyright © 2022 by Free Spirit Publishing. All rights reserved. When my daughter Olivia was a toddler, her best friend was Will, the two-year-old down the street. Will didn’t say much, so Olivia talked for both of them. He adored trains—his “choo-choos.” All summer before preschool started, we’d spend as many days as we could in Will’s “train yard.” His train yard was a three-by-three-foot pile of landscaping rock his parents had dumped in the backyard just for Will. Puddles formed the occasional moat. The whole thing was a muddy, mucky mess—and an absolute magnet for a pair of toddlers engaged

“National Bullying Prevention Month” originally appeared at freespiritpublishingblog.com. Copyright © 2020 by Free Spirit Publishing. All rights reserved. This month, our nation is focusing more on bullying prevention. But the fact is, bullying happens every single day of the school year. The statistics tell us: 1 in 3 students is the victim of bullying. 1 in 3 students bullies someone. Nearly 9 out of 10 students have been “bystanders,” or those who see or know about bullying. Kids tell us: “Every day I get called weird, freaky, and stupid—and way worse than those.” “I hate going to school because people spread fake rumors about me. They don’t even know me!”

“How to Set Positive Summer Screen-Time Limits for Children” originally appeared at freespiritpublishingblog.com. Copyright © 2021 by Free Spirit Publishing. All rights reserved. Confession: I’m writing this with three screens in front of me. The laptop I’m typing on, the phone I’m using for an interview, and the iPad playing an episode of The Office like white noise. (The fans blowing in the room aren’t blocking out household sounds, so the folks at Dunder Mifflin are helping do the job.) I suspect this will be a familiar scenario for many of you who are working from home. Screens are our routine. And now our children have screen routines of their

“Summer Screen Time Advice for Kids with ASD (and Their Families)” originally appeared at freespiritpublishingblog.com. Copyright © 2020 by Free Spirit Publishing. All rights reserved. Welcome to the summer of 2021! As it has been for everyone, the past year and a half has been challenging and life-changing for those of us caring for someone on the autism spectrum. We’re all emerging from time spent mostly at home, where we found new ways to combine work, school, therapies, and play. Elizabeth Verdick: As my 19-year-old son Zach said the other day, “Those of us with ASD or who are introverts may be sort of shell-shocked going out into the world

“June Is Potty-Training Awareness Month … Who Knew?” originally appeared at freespiritpublishingblog.com. Copyright © 2020 by Free Spirit Publishing. All rights reserved. June is a perfect month to share toilet-training tips, because it is officially Potty-Training Awareness Month. As it happens, I’ve been thinking a lot about diapers—and not just because my geriatric dog now wears them. My nearly three-year-old nephew Andrew has recently taken the potty-training plunge. His parents, first-timers, were pleased to report that the process wasn’t as drastic as they’d expected. They went in with a plan and stuck to it. Motivation was the key. So, how do you get your child motivated to say good-bye to