New Year, New Growth: My Super Tip for Making 2024 the Best Year Yet as an Autism Mom

Thriving Moms of Autistics

Hi Moms! Happy New Year! There were many joys and challenges in 2023. There will always be ups and downs raising an autistic. There will always be ups and downs for any human being.

We celebrate things that most people take for granted. We have experiences and challenges that others do not always understand.

My new year’s resolution is the same every year. It is to grow and be my best. I haven’t always had that mindset. My mindset was much more fixed when I was younger.

I know what it’s like to be on both sides of the coin, which is pretty common for most human beings. We learn and grow as we get older. That is why I am committed to helping other moms grow.

In this episode, I share the most powerful tool to help you thrive in your autism journey and manage the challenges you will inevitably face in the new year.

Find the full transcript for this episode at www.thrivingmomsofautistics.com/61

Please share the podcast with other moms to help them grow in their autism journey. You can also do this by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. I appreciate you!

The Benefits of Growing Your Mindset as a Mom of an Autistic

I have explored mindset in previous episodes. You can catch past episodes on this topic by going to Thriving Moms of Autistics, scrolling down the bottom of the home page, and clicking on Growth Mindset under topics or clicking on the link in the transcript.

To recap, an example of a fixed mindset is “I can’t do this.” Whereas a growth mindset example is “This is hard, but I can learn.”

Autistics often struggle with perfectionism and OCD, which creates a fixed mindset. One of the greatest gifts you can give your child is to model a growth mindset.

We learn by example and repeated exposure. We help our children succeed when we encourage them to focus on effort and progress rather than perfectionism.

Another benefit is that your mindset creates an experience of grace and hope. When we choose a growth mindset, the hard stuff gets a little lighter.

The challenges are still challenges, but what changes is how we view the challenge and deal with it.

Our load doesn’t feel so heavy. We give ourselves some grace and have hope for what is to come.

Christmas is a magical time. As moms, we work hard to make it joyful and fun for the ones we love. It is satisfying to see the fruitful outcomes of your hard work.

Our son had an unusual holiday. He was hyper focused on something he wanted that was no longer made. He had a really hard time moving on from that. A social story helped but things fell apart Christmas morning.

It was disappointing. I had to take a step back and remind myself that he needed time to process it more fully. I knew that once he did, he would be more logical and calmer.

He is still little and learning. I knew that I needed to model calmness and ideas to help him grow in the experience.

In these times, we benefit from not getting lost in our own emotions and changing our mindset. Sure enough, he processed in his time and grew from the experience.

Ways Moms Can Nurture and Grow Mindset in Themselves and Their Autistic

Here are some practical tips to establish this in your own life:

1) Be intentional rather than leading with emotion- This takes practice and awareness. Be aware when your emotions are rising and take action to support growth rather than getting fixated on the negative.

Model this for your child and help them work through issues as well. Ask them, Is this a big problem or a little problem. Define that for them.

Guide them in solving the issue and moving forward even when the outcome isn’t what they had planned.

2)