THE NINTH CLOUD
IMAGINE EXPERIENCE - EXPERIENCE IMAGINATION

Your child is 14. Or 16. Maybe 17. And you are still standing in the hallway at 7:45 a.m. reminding them about deodorant. The world around you is not quiet about this. There are relatives who suggest “they should know by now.” There are professionals who gesture toward independence as if it simply arrives with puberty. There is the persistent, low-grade pressure implying that your continued involvement is the problem — that if you just stepped back, they would step up. This a

When a teacher says, “They’re absolutely fine at school,” and you’re peeling your child off the floor at 3:30 p.m., it’s very hard not to assume the problem is you. The pattern looks simple from the outside: regulated at school, dysregulated at home. Underneath, it is not simple at all. 1. School costs more than it looks For many autistic kids, simply getting through a school day is like running a mental marathon in slow motion. Classrooms are not neutral spaces. A recent sy

You’re not running late because your child is being difficult. You’re running late because putting on shoes — for some autistic and neurodivergent children — is genuinely one of the hardest parts of the day. And understanding why that is doesn’t make the mornings easier overnight, but it does change what you’re actually dealing with. 1. The shoes aren’t the problem. The transition is. When you ask your child to put on their shoes, you’re not just asking them to put on shoes.