Our guest, Shannon Andreson, is a parent of a young adult on the autism spectrum and leader in education and autism advocacy. She helps us shift our thinking about summer. For many special needs families, irregular schedules and long summer days can be daunting. But Shannon’s reframing helps us see summer's flexibility as an invitation to build support and independence and to recognize resources close at hand. In this conversation, we highlight a visual tool that may help you reframe to see structure and abundance in your day-to-day. Don't miss Episode 26 for the second part of this conversation with Shannon.

Show Notes

Charting the LifeCourse schedule tool (bottom of page). Note: The schedule is nestled into a group of tools related to respite, or small breaks for caregivers throughout the day. You can use the schedule to illustrate your own day (and small chances to rest) or the way your child spends his or her time. Caregiver respite is a huge area of need and a rich area to explore with LifeCourse tools. Communities Engaging Autism hosted two events in Spring of 2022 on this topic. We’d love to connect with you to walk through possibilities and resources for finding small moments to put on your own oxygen mask on. for your family. Connect with us at info@cea4autism.org

Wait a minute, what is LifeCourse? We've talked about it on the podcast before, but it's been awhile. Check out Oxygen Mask Podcast Episode 20: LifeCourse Tools for Planning and Advocacy to learn more.

Disability Hub MN links to LifeCourse

Acknowledgements

This podcast episode was made possible thanks to a grant from the Minnesota Department of Human Services.