Children and Families

Autism has historically been viewed through a lens that focused primarily on children, particularly boys with more obvious social, communication, or behavioural differences. While autism…

Many parents first become concerned about autism when their son reaches adolescence. Although autism is a lifelong neurodevelopmental difference present from early childhood, the teenage…

Autism has been recognised and understood in many different ways over the past century. What began as descriptions of a small group of children with distinctive social…

Autism has traditionally been explained using medical and psychological theories that sought to understand why autistic people think, communicate and behave differently from non-autistic people. Over the past 40…

Many autistic children can be observed to ‘stim’. Parents might notice their child repeatedly flapping their hands, rocking back and forth, humming, spinning, pacing, or repeating certain sounds. These behaviours can sometimes…

Signs of autism in a 2-year-old may include differences in communication, social interaction, play, sensory processing and emotional regulation. Examples can include limited response to…

Selective mutism is an anxiety disorder where a child is unable to speak in certain situations, despite being able to speak comfortably in others. It…

Toilet training may take longer for autistic children because differences in communication, sensory processing, anxiety, emotional regulation, flexibility and interoception can make it harder to…

Sensory differences affect how a child experiences and responds to sensory information. Some autistic children are highly sensitive to sounds, lights, textures or smells, while…