Oooh Madeleine! Free-thinking girl.
Or this book, which tells children that labels are silly, and it's about who they are inside: Red: A Crayon's Story https://www.amazon.com/dp/0062252070/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_JVCcCbXANDCVW
Check out the book What to Do When You Worry Too Much - it’s based on cognitive behavioral therapy which is the gold standard treatment for anxiety. There’s another book in the series focused on perfectionism that might be helpful too. Seeing that other kids struggle with these issues too, and that there are specific skills she can learn to overcome them, might be really helpful in itself. It also might help her be more open to having a professional “feelings doctor” work on these skills with her if things get to that point.
What To Do When You Worry Too Much is a great book for her to read together with you. There's another one in that series that focuses on anger as well.
This is something we used. Also, when our 3 1/2 year old hits us now we tell him we can't be around someone who wants to hurt us and we leave the room. Baby gates are great for creating that space.
Hands Are Not for Hitting (Board Book) (Best Behavior Series) https://www.amazon.com/dp/157542200X/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_HSZH2EGQRBPP7BJYJD8E?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
We're not in the clear yet, though, as our kid is still pretty damn mean. At least he doesn't hit us as much as he used to :/
I guess you’ve probably already seen this but in case you haven’t
https://www.amazon.co.uk/All-Cats-Are-Autism-Spectrum/dp/1787754715
You don’t say how old your son is, that might change what’s useful for him.
ETA: I self identify as autistic and have read the updated version of this book and found it to be generally quite good. I haven’t tried using it with my kids yet to explain it to them but my oldest is only 5 (though I suspect is also autistic).
Man, a vacation sounds nice right about now. Way to fight the burnout bro!
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Edit: If you want a fun book to read to your younger kids, may I recommend:
Grumpy Monkey by Suzanne Lang
My kids love this one - there's ample opportunities to do funny voices.
I used <u>Red: A Crayon's Story</u> when explaining myself to my kids. It's great for younger children, but an 8-year-old should still find it enjoyable. Plot spoiler: a blue crayon comes mislabelled as red, and is encouraged by everyone to try to draw red things, with laughable results. Finally discovers that drawing blue things actually works, despite the label.
Also check out the Customers who bought this item also bought… section on Amazon.
> He was basically ok in that he’s got anxiety,
....you do know that "anxiety" is a diagnosable condition just like OCD and autism, right? It sounds like he has generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and maybe some specific phobias as well, though of course I'm a random stranger on the internet not a doctor. Did the doctors give him a diagnosis? Did they recommend a specific type of treatment? CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) is the gold standard treatment for anxiety disorders in both kids and adults. I highly recommend you look for a CBT therapist who specializes in childhood anxiety.
edit to add: I also recommend the book What to Do When You Worry Too Much, both to help explain anxiety to him and his siblings and to give you some strategies as you're getting started with a therapist.
There’s a great children’s book out there: Have You Filled a Bucket Today? It should be required reading for kids. And it helps explain how to make the world abetter place a la karma.
Just as an aside ... don't know if you have seen it .. there is a book called Red: A Crayon's Story that many children and also adults love. It can also help children understand, and it can motivate them to listen to what they feel would make them happy.
When my 8 year old daughter was having issues with this, We got this from a school psychologist, that my wife works with. It has really helped with here anxiety and worries. Its something we have been reading regularly with her.
https://www.amazon.com/What-When-Worry-Much-What/dp/1591473144
I hope it helps.
Take a look at the children's book named "Red, a Crayon's Story". It's one of my toddler's favorite books, and I personally love the message. It's about a blue crayon that has been labelled red. Here's a link to the book on Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/Red-Crayons-Story-Michael-Hall/dp/0062252070
There is a kid book i just came across you should buy that instead it's so cute and apt for a grumpy day https://www.amazon.com/Grumpy-Monkey-Suzanne-Lang/dp/0553537865/ref=gp_aw_ybh_a_12?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=HZYAZPC42ZBW5HE08J4Q
I've been trying to quit the coming 20 th is my day marked for this no more delaying. Don't be a grumpy monkey let it pass you will a happy one!!
Awesome job on day one!!!
I love cats and can't imagine my life without them. My therapist recommended a book I haven't gotten yet (hoping to get it for Christmas). It's called "All Cats are on the Autism Spectrum."
Nice, Candy is good! I wish i could eat more candy but i have to sleep and be a adult to be able to work tomorow. Else i would eat candy all night 😻me eating human candy and feed my cat, cat candy. Back to what i wrote, I think of dogs as non-autistic and cats as autistic because of this book
You should read 'All Cats Are on the Autism Spectrum' by Kathy Hoopman, it's quite cute.
There is a book called "All Cats are on the Spectrum"
It's a lighthearted book to inform about autism. I should realllyyyy get it since my special interest are cats.
no! its on amazon here
Personally for me , the other version (all cats have Asperger's) ; it's kinda dumb cause I was 16 when I was diagnosed but it really helped me understand why I always felt kinda odd and it helped with why I didn't think like everyone else.
Also I've been told that all dogs do indeed have ADHD.
Cats, because my parents literally introduced my diagnosis to me through the book All cats have Asperger Syndrome by Kathy Hoopmann.
The book is now rebranded as All cats are on the autism spectrum.
I know 4 may seem young, but have you considered finding a therapist who specializes in play therapy? A lot of play based therapy helps children even as young as 3 to identify and begin to use developmentally appropriate coping skills.
I'm also a big fan of using books with younger kids as it can make emotions more concrete. I really like this series:
Teaching her to identify emotions and label them can go a long way in appropriately communicating her feelings. They books also have very basic coping skills (quick deep breathing exercises, etc) that you can use with her when she is upset. You can remind her to name her emotions and then use a coping skill when she becomes upset.
book recommendation >Little Spot of Emotion Set
helps kids learn to identify and process their emotions
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This series helped my kiddo a lot and we used to have epic meltdowns that could last well over an hour and hitting. It was a really hard time for me and kiddos relationship.
My kiddo also has ADHD which got to a point where they wanted to try medication (age 8; we supported them) because they had hard time coming back from big emotions. They are the same kiddo but its really great to see the skill sets they learned are now something they can access when they are upset.
My five year old has found this book/workbook to be really helpful. It’s recommended for ages 6 and up so would depend on your child’s maturity:
What to Do When You Worry Too... https://www.amazon.com/dp/1591473144?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
Do you often point out when you're happy/excited/elated/eager/etc? Assuming this is just about his verbal identifying of emotions, heavily modeling that behavior yourself might help.
My son is younger, but he was like this. He would say "I'm frustrated and sad" or "I'm mad but I'm not sad" fairly frequently to express basically any negative emotion, but wouldn't give voice to his happy emotions despite clearly having them. After I started identifying my own happy emotions more, he did too.
Also, I'm pretty fond of the A Little SPOT of Emotion books set for emotional identification and regulation.
You’re doing a great job! If you’re looking for another resource, lots of parents and daycares swear by the book “Teeth are Not For Biting” to help with this phase.
https://www.amazon.com/Teeth-Biting-Board-Book-Behavior/dp/1575421283
The hilarious #1 New York Times bestselling picture book about a chimpanzee in a very bad mood--perfect for young children learning how to deal with confusing feelings, especially during the transition back to school.
Jim the chimpanzee is in a terrible mood for no good reason. His friends can't understand it--how can he be in a bad mood when it's SUCH a beautiful day? They have lots of suggestions for how to make him feel better. But Jim can't take all the advice...and has a BIT of a meltdown. Could it be that he just needs a day to feel grumpy?
Following up on what the other person said, they have a lot of autistic behaviors and at least one person has argued they should be a symbol of autism instead of the stupid puzzle piece. There was a book written a couple years ago about it: https://www.amazon.com/All-Cats-Are-Autism-Spectrum/dp/1787754715
This article breaks it down as well: https://excitedcats.com/can-cats-be-autistic/
You need to stop being so selfish and think about how your behaviour affects those around you.
May I recommend the following reading...
https://www.amazon.com/Have-Filled-Bucket-Today-Bucketfilling/dp/099609993X
We had cats when my daughter was born, so I can't speak to that part of the question, but as for how it went...
When she was a baby she was OBSESSED with them. A cat would walk through the room and her eyes would get big, her mouth would open wide, arms out - just sheer "excited baby." It was adorable. My old man cat would flop down near her and tolerate it while she grabbed at his tail and tried to get it into her mouth, while the younger cats steered clear of her.
Now that she's older, it's pretty clear that animals are her special interest. She wants to be pet the cats and be their friend (sometimes chasing them down, which is counterproductive) but she also wants to boss them around and chase them out of places, and so the cats continue to steer clear of her. They've never lashed out at her, though. My old man cat passed on two years ago at age 20; she deals with his passing by giving him a very adventurous ghost cat afterlife. At one point he'd dyed his ghost fur purple and adopted a flamingo.
If you manage your kid's expectations, teach them good pet manners - pet them gently, don't chase the cat or get up in its face, etc. - and prepare them, I'd think it'd go well. I mean, all cats are on the autism spectrum; the cat's needs for space and socializing on their own terms ought to be relatable, though not all five-year-olds are going to get it.