Bullying and social rejection at school
Autistic students face higher rates of bullying. Changes in mood, school refusal, or ‘behaviour’ after school are often the first clues. Document, report, and demand a plan.
Topic hub · sleep, food, behaviour, bodies
Every day: sleep, food, behaviour, bodies
Most of what looks like behaviour has a cause, and a surprising amount of it is physical. Start with whatever happened this week.
He eats six foods and three of them are beige
Food selectivity is the most-discussed autism topic online, the least well served by professionals, and the most likely to attract unhelpful advice from relatives.
Friendships and social time
Many autistic children want connection and still find unstructured social time exhausting or confusing. Quality of friendship matters more than a large social calendar.
Constipation is the most missed cause of bad days
Gut problems are several times more common in autistic children than in their peers, they are frequently silent, and they show up as behaviour rather than as a complaint.
Hygiene and body care for autistic children
Brushing teeth, bathing, deodorant, and hair care are multi-step sensory tasks. Explicit teaching, adaptive tools, and dignity beat power struggles.
Daily living skills — building independence in small steps
Dressing, hygiene, money basics, cooking starts, and travel practice grow faster with visuals, chunking, and practice in real life — not lectures. Here is a practical ladder for home and school.
A meltdown is not a tantrum, and the difference matters
A tantrum has a goal. A meltdown is a loss of control that has to run its course. Treating one like the other is why so much advice fails.
Family gatherings, outings, and trips
Holidays, restaurants, museums, and travel can work — with preview, sensory plans, exit routes, and permission to leave early. Here is how to prepare so the day is not only survival.
Before you accept that this is just autism, ask what hurts
Head-banging, hitting, and biting are often driven by pain, sensory overload, or unmet needs nobody has looked for. Rule out physical causes before a behaviour plan becomes the only story.
Puberty, hygiene, privacy, and consent
Body changes, new sensory experiences, and social rules arrive together. Clear, concrete teaching works better than hints — and privacy, consent, and dating need the same plain language as hygiene.
When routines change — helping autistic children cope
Unexpected change is one of the hardest loads for many autistic children. Preview, visuals, and smaller steps turn chaos into something the nervous system can handle.
Sensory differences in autistic children
Many autistic children experience sound, light, touch, movement, and taste more intensely or less intensely than others. Changing the environment usually helps faster than trying to train the child to tolerate overload.
Nobody in this house is sleeping
Sleep is the load-bearing problem. When it goes, behaviour, eating, learning and your own ability to cope go with it. It is also one of the most treatable things on this site.
Stimming — what it is and when to worry
Stimming is common in autistic children. Most of the time it is regulation, joy, or sensory seeking — not a behaviour to extinguish. Here is how to support it and when safety needs a plan.
What actually helps — support, not a medical fix
Autism is not a disease to be cured. The useful question is what reduces distress, builds skills, and improves quality of life for this child and family. Here is how to prioritise.
Toilet training and toileting delays
Many autistic children toilet-train later than peers. Medical causes, sensory issues, and communication access matter more than “try harder.” Here is a practical order of steps.
Visual supports — schedules, first-then, and waiting tools
Many autistic children understand the day better when they can see it. Visual supports are not babyish — they are accessibility tools for time, sequence, and change.
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