✨Different✨ Accommodations for our Autistic Daughter While in Argentina
My seven year old daughter is autistic and in June of 2024, we moved to Argentina for six months. While here we have tailored some of the accommodations that we do for her and are doing some things differently to adjust to our life here in Buenos Aires.
Going Shopping Social Story
Since coming to Buenos Aires, I have had to take the kids shopping on my own a lot more. This is a new experience for us because, in Tennessee, my daughter goes to school and my son naps at home where my husband works, or I can take my son to my parents house or I have the luxury of ordering groceries. In Argentina, though, it's really hard for us to get stuff delivered to us for a large variety of reasons and I don't have the added support, but I still have to get things done so I've had to take the kids out more. We're been going to the grocery store, clothes and toy shops, bakeries, and anywhere else that we need to. Sometimes it's just to give us something to do, but either way they're just in stores more. I noticed that it was really hard for my daughter, and despite thinking that I had sufficiently prepared my seven year old autistic daughter to go shopping, she was still having a difficult time. So I wrote a social story especially for her about going shopping.
How I'm Doing Homeschool While We Are Traveling
We've been here in Argentina for almost two months now and there's a lot happening with that I want to tell you about what we're doing for homeschool.
Using the Spanish Visual Schedule Board to Supplement Our Spanish Lessons
I’m going to show you how we’re using our Spanish visual schedule board while we’re living in Argentina with the help of our local Spanish tutor.
How We are Prepping Our Daughter for 6 Months Out of the Country
My family is going to Argentina for six months. We are leaving in the beginning of June and coming back in the middle of December. We are going for my husband's job and we're pretty excited about it! The question I've been getting a lot, though, is how are we preparing our daughter for this big change and this trip? For context, our daughter is seven. She is autistic and change is hard for her. So I wanted to share a couple of things that we are doing to help her with those transitions.
Putting Together The Autism Binder
So my seven year old is autistic, and when she was going through the process of being diagnosed, a family member recommended that I start putting everything together in a file. The file included her evaluation, anything I was concerned about, her IEP, etc. and that turned into this binder. Each year I add to the binder, and it's time to do that now. I need to add the stuff from this year into the binder, also get a new binder. So while I'm reworking the whole thing I figured that I could show you everything that goes into this as well as all of the supplies that you need, including the $5 download that I created that makes putting it together a breeze.
What We Are Doing During Our Daughter’s Break From Occupational Therapy
So as you all know by now we are moving to Argentina for six months. Conveniently our move happened to also coincide with Jackie's occupational therapist of 2 years going on maternity leave. She's been in occupational therapy every week for almost three years, but we decided that it would just be a good time to have a natural break instead establishing a relationship with a whole new therapist. However, occupational therapy has been really great for Jackie and it's also been great for me because when I'm struggling to help her work through something, I can run it past her therapist and she helps me brainstorm ideas. I knew that we needed to figure out something to do while we are having our break from OT, so let's talk about it!
Snack Boards and ARFID
I know every single content creator out there has some version of a snack board they make for their kids, but since my daughter has ARFID I wanted to share ours because it is actually a really big deal for our family.
Updating My Daughter’s Visual Schedule Board
My daughter's visual schedule board needs a little bit of an update. She's three years older than when I originally made it, and the frame I was using just doesn't have enough space to put as many activities throughout the day as my daughter would like.
Why DIY Works Well With My ADHD
As you know by now, I have ADHD. I was diagnosed with it when I was 16 and I have had treatment for it since then, including taking medication. I also love to DIY. It's actually something that has been really therapeutic for me and has turned into my full-time job. It's something I've always been open about, but I'm noticing more and more that a lot more DIYers on the internet are talking about having ADHD as well. So I thought I would talk about why DIY is such a good fit for me personally and my ADHD.
Home Decor That's Neurodivergent Friendly
I wanted to share some neurodivergent friendly home decor ideas. As a reminder, I have ADHD, my husband has ADHD, our daughter is autistic, and we have a 10 month old. These things work for our neurodivergent house, they might not work for yours, but there's some ideas to start you off.
How We Keep a Routine During Winter Break
Keeping a routine during a break from school is especially important to our Neurodivergent house. My husband and I both have ADHD, our daughter is autistic and we have a new baby this year as well. I have inattentive ADHD, which means that I thrive not on a schedule and left to my own devices. I am perfectly content to lay around and do nothing all day. On the other hand, my autistic daughter desperately needs a schedule and routine in order to do well throughout the day. So let's talk about how we manage that during a break from our normal routine.