Dear Parents, Your Teenager Doesn’t Need a Career Plan

The truth is, dreams come from one’s internal compass, not from external sources, pressures, or societal norms and expectations. Furthermore, teenagers need space to explore, reflect, experience, and process and come to their own truths, their own path.

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Top 3 Tips for Helping Your Teen With Autism Get Back to School

The transition from summer back to school can often be a challenging time for children and teens, especially for youths on the autism spectrum. Because autism covers a large spectrum and presents differently in every person, there are several ideas for ways to help your teen or child with autism feel that they belong and have significance during this time of change. Keep reading for top 3 tips for helping your teen with autism get back to school.

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Quick Connection: The Power of Walk and Talks

Have you ever tried a walk and talk with your teen? This could be a walk for exercise, sure, and it can also be entirely leisurely. In either case, walk and talk is communication strategy, a tool to remember when you have a pressing idea to process with your teen or when you can tell they are feeling stressed, overwhelmed, or frustrated. Being next to your teen, or "sideways talking," as opposed to face-to-face, can open the space for conversation-- literally and metaphorically. This orientation often feels less confrontational and more spacious for young people. For some teens, it can be safer to be next to adults when it comes to tough conversations and topics, or even asking for help.

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Real Talk for Teens: Back to School

This article is an invitation for teen readers to self-reflect and visualize a positive back to school experience. You are invited to create a vision of yourself living your best life next school year. This visualization is one that you can return to any time you start to feel bummed out or anxious or overwhelmed before school starts. It can also be used when you are at school, and you’ve caught an emotion that is weighing on you or keeping your mind in a place of worry. Furthermore, you can create and invest in this visualization as a safe space for you to access, a way to comfort and take care of yourself.

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The Power of Setting Boundaries

As parents, caregivers, and supporters, it’s important to set limits in order to protect our energy and time. Boundaries support us in living with intention and getting our needs met. Furthermore, each one of us has the powerful responsibility to determine our boundaries and to create a life that reflects these values.

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Talking to Teenagers… About Stress

Teens who are experiencing stress may quickly change habits or routines, and when you become aware of this as the parent or caregiver, it can be easy to go into investigation-mode. You want to know what your teen is facing so that you can help them solve it and find relief. These moments require you to slow down, breathe deep, and focus on connection first; keep reading for strategies on how to talking to your teenager about their stress and overwhelm.

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