The word “hurdles” is an interesting one. As a noun, it means an obstacle or difficulty that one has to overcome. Yet as a verb, hurdles means jumping over an obstacle or barrier — literally overcoming that difficulty blocking your path. 

This dichotomy really hit me as I watched amazing athletes with disabilities gather for the Tokyo Paralympic Games this year to compete at the highest levels of sportsmanship.

Right now, so many parents are wondering the same thing: “How can I help my student develop the resilience needed to bounce back from a truly challenging 18 months?”

I have a surprisingly simple answer: focus on having fun this summer. We can address pandemic-related academic deficits in the fall; focus on your child’s mental wellbeing for now.

At a certain point in childhood, all children naturally start comparing themselves and their abilities to those of their peers. Yet for children with complex challenges such as ADHD and learning disabilities, this juxtaposition can feel less like a comparison and more like a gauge of perceived “normalcy.” 

When you’re the parent of a teenager, you can expect to have challenging conversations. 

Adolescence is a tumultuous time in a child’s life, and it often requires families to have deep discussions about big, sometimes uncomfortable, topics. At the same time, it can be challenging to initiate these conversations, especially if your teen is not enthused by talking about their feelings and emotions. 

When that teen is also diagnosed with autism, the complexity of these conversations increases dramatically. 

When is the last time you sat down and tried to describe the emotions you were feeling, either by saying them out loud or writing them down? 

Perhaps you keep a journal. Or perhaps you openly speak about how you feel to a spouse or a friend. Or maybe you are one to simply keep your emotions to yourself. 

As a parent of a child with special needs, the head of the nation’s premier school for children with complex challenges, an author, and a bibliophile, I often come across such books -- resources that I know can help families support their children, and that can help children become self-advocates. 

Because I am often asked for these book recommendations from friends, families, and colleagues, I’m excited to announce the start of the TQS Book Club: a series of blog posts that will introduce books, authors, and resources aimed at helping families of children with complex challenges shine.