Here’s a story about rocks.

A couple of months ago we went on a van trip, driving from Perth to Adelaide over 3 weeks. Absolutely rad. One evening, night my daughter picked up some rocks on the way to the shower block.

She asked if she could bring them into the shower. I was a bit distracted thinking about where our towel was (turns out I’d forgotten it 🙃) and I automatically said ‘no’. To which she wisely asked me ‘why?’

I realised I didn’t have a good reason for not allowing the rocks into the shower… so I changed my ‘no’ to a ‘yes’.

She was delighted and had a very happy shower, washing the rocks while we both got clean too!

How often do you say ‘no’ to your own child’s requests (whether they vocalise the request or communicate it with you in another way?). How often does your ‘no’ lack a clear reason WHY?

If you can’t justify why you’re saying ‘no’, perhaps try saying ‘yes’ more to your child and see how that helps your connection with each other grow!

If you want to learn more ideas for connecting with your autistic (or possibly autistic) child in a neurodiversity affirming way – I hope you’ll check out my online, on-demand course Connect & Grow.

This course is for curious parents of autistic (or possibly autistic) children aged around 1- 5 years old. Course access lasts for 12 months and you’ll get access to any updates and extra videos.