As a caregiver, it’s easy to feel like I’m saying the same thing over and over. “Do this. Don’t do that. Time to get ready…”  Over time, constant verbal prompting can create prompt dependence, the expectation that another person will always tell you what to do next. The environment has taught the person to wait … Continue reading Designing for Self-Direction: Replacing Verbal Prompts with Everyday Tools

As parents and caregivers, we’re expected to plan for the stages leading up to the end of our lives, while also preparing our children to live without us doing all the things we’re doing now. Confronting so many aspects of the future is existential. Maybe we’re not equipped to tackle everything at once.  Even talking … Continue reading What if I’m abducted by aliens?

Many of us have used tools like emotional thermometers, visual schedules, or coping strategies to help our child communicate and respond to their feelings. We teach them that feelings are information, not emergencies.  Adults need those tools as well. Caregiving often asks us to consider impossible questions. What happens when I’m gone? What if something … Continue reading Flinch Factor

At the end of fifth grade, when I picked up my daughter from school, her 1:1 paraprofessional would tell me about her day. One afternoon, before the paraprofessional could say a word, my daughter ran up to me and announced in the snarkiest voice, “I had a good day.”  The sentence and the attitude were … Continue reading From Super Parent to CEO