This Special Life

18/09/2025

The following 5 activities don’t require any materials. So next time you want to plan a quick trip to the park with your autistic child, you can be “stuff free.”

5 Fun “Stuff Free” Outdoor ActivitiesAugust 26, 2020 by Courtney Gutierrez, M.Ed., BCBA, LBAOutside time is an important part of childhood development. Playing outside provides many opportunities to work on skills that might not happen inside. Outdoor spaces are places to practice following dire...

18/09/2025

17/09/2025

https://thisspeciallife.com/technology-and-your-autistic-child/

Technology and Your Autistic ChildAugust 28, 2020 by Courtney Gutierrez, M.Ed., BCBA, LBAWe live in the future. You may have heard that phrase recently. As a parent in the 2020s, you may remember a time before smartphones. You may remember a time before iPads and tablets were a common part of therap...

17/09/2025

In this article, we will discuss some strategies you can adapt to your own family meal time.

Teaching Home Routines: Family MealsSeptember 4, 2020 by Courtney Gutierrez, M.Ed., BCBA, LBAIf you are a parent of a child with autism, you may be in “survival mode” when it comes to family meals. Many modern families do not have regular sit-down family dinners. Busy schedules and more than one...

16/09/2025

In this article, we will discuss how to set up your home learning space for success.

How To: Set Up a Home Learning SpaceSeptember 9, 2020 by Courtney Gutierrez, M.Ed., BCBA, LBAThere are many ways to set up a home learning space for your child with autism. Many families have limitations like space, organization, budget, and multi-use rooms. This can make it difficult to set up a sp...

16/09/2025

In this article, we’ll discuss these questions. We’ll discuss the ways parents can rise to the occasion, without burning out.

Should I Give Up On My Child’s IEP?September 11, 2020 by Courtney Gutierrez, M.Ed., BCBA, LBAThe coronavirus pandemic has changed how our children will experience education, maybe permanently. Remember back in the spring, when we all thought our kids would be back in school by this fall (at the ve...

15/09/2025

Her book details the first few years of her journey raising a special needs child.

Book Review: Heather Lanier’s Raising a Rare GirlOctober 14, 2020 by Courtney Gutierrez, M.Ed., BCBA, LBAHeather Lanier’s new book details the first few years of her journey raising a special needs child. In the book, Heather weaves together several strands of storytelling. The first strand is h...