Parenting Tip #1: Get your child involved in household tasks.

In the May-July 2016 edition of Autism and Asperger’s Digest, Cara Koscinski wrote about teaching household tasks to young children to promote later independence. This is definitely something I need to do more. So, I had my children help clear the table and load the dishwasher after dinner. They followed my directions with no complaints. Perhaps, it helps that my ASD child really likes dishwashers right now (and he got to push the buttons after). It also led to a discussion about where to put things when we clean up (garbage vs green bin vs recycling), and how to load a dishwasher properly. Overall, a positive experience. Koscinski, C. Teach cooking, money management, cleaning, shopping & other critical skills to young children with ASD if you want independence later. Autism Asperger’s Digest 2016 May-July: 28-29