As an autism spectrum parent, I’ve had to get creative to find ways to break through my son’s ability to block out the world. Actually, don’t all parents deal with that at some point? I’ve got twelve tricks for you to try.

1. Show & tell–When my son was younger, I used this parenting trick a lot. I had to physically teach him how to listen. I would say, “Show me listen”. Then my son would need to stop what he was doing, put his finger to his ear, and look at my face. This was a verbal cue to get him to walk through the process of changing what he was doing and pay attention. I don’t use it as much now, but it still works.

2. Put your hands up–Another verbal cue I use is “Put your hands on your head!” Again, this stops the action. If my sons’ hands are on their heads, they’re not also on the toy they just can’t stop playing with or grabbing at a squabbling sibling. If you’re introducing this to your child, include the need to look at you after his hands are on his head.

For the other ten parenting tricks, you need to head over to Tricia Goyer’s blog. I am honored and truly thrilled to be a guest over there today. I’m a fan of her historical fiction and homeschooling articles, and she invited me to write a post for her. It doesn’t get much better than that for a writer! So, take a few minutes to read my other ten ideas for getting your child’s attention without yelling and see how they work for you. Visit Tricia’s blog now!