Blog
How to Work Through Your Child’s Rigidity
How to Work Through Your Child’s Rigidity You are all too familiar with the feeling: your child insisting on taking the same way home every day, down to the exact part of the sidewalk. Maybe they need to be picked up by the same person, at the same time, every day...
Understanding High Functioning Autism
High functioning autism, a subset of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), refers to individuals who have average or above-average intellectual abilities. They can exhibit strong verbal skills and may demonstrate exceptional talents in certain academic or creative fields. ...
How to Explain Social Cues to Your Neurodivergent Child
Navigating the complex world of social interactions can be particularly challenging for neurodivergent children. Unlike their neurotypical peers, these unique learners may not instinctively pick up on social cues. These children may return home from school, claiming...
How To Take Action When Your Child Is Bullied
If your child has been repetitively bullied, you know the torrent of emotions it can bring up: anxiety, outrage, sadness, and, more than anything, helplessness. Feeling helpless, however, does not mean you are completely powerless. As a parent, your role is pivotal...
Using Visuals to Make Transitions Easier for Unique Learners
Transitions are difficult for all of us. Suddenly switching gears, stopping what you’re doing no matter how invested you are, embarking on a new journey…for many people, changes in the day are not always welcome. For children with unique needs, such as those with...
5 Tips to Hone Social Skills at Home
We are officially halfway through summer and, even though you planned an ideal summer for your child, full of camps and vacations, social skills seem to have taken a backseat. Or, maybe your child is having a great time in our Extended School Year program or another...
4 Ways to Support a Neurodiverse Child in the Home Environment
Happy summer! Time for a slower pace, a lot more free time, and more family adventures. However, for those with children with autism, ADHD, or anxiety, summer can feel like a major disruption to a well-oiled machine. With so much predictability out the window, and...
5 Ways To Maintain Routine for Your Child Over the Summer
Those summer months are on the horizon, and for those children not attending school over the summer, it is a break from hectic mornings, endless homework assignments, and packed schedules. At the same time, all children, and especially unique learners such as...
Neurodiversity: What Does It Mean and Why It’s Important
“Neurodiversity” and “neurodivergent” are quickly becoming widely used terms in both education and society. Though they once were terms used to describe specific conditions, now many people are self-proclaiming their neurodiversity, focusing on the idea that brains...
ADHD vs. Autism: Similarities and Differences
At West Hills, we pride ourselves on delivering truly individualized instruction, and getting to know the in’s and out’s of each unique learner that comes into our classrooms. A label is never the primary decision maker of a student’s curriculum or education plan. ...
