Why Create A Well-Defined Plan?

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Why Create A Well-Defined Plan?

All of us have our hopes up that life is going to get better. We are anticipating less sickness, more health. Less restrictions, more freedom. Less fear, more certainty. And the return of the control of our own lives.

The first step to gaining control of our lives is to create a well-defined plan.

Planning Is Essential

While we are still hoping to have a better year this year than last, it is becoming increasingly clear that we are going to have to plan to make some things happen ourselves. We can’t depend on the change we want and need to happen automatically. Relying on things outside of ourselves to get better on their own is still a risky proposition. (Click here to read Vacation Are Supposed To Be Fun and Relaxing, Right?)

“A well-defined plan of action is going to be necessary to avoid losing ground and achieve the work that needs to be done.”

What Change Do You Want To See?

What do you want to see happen in your world? How about with your child or loved one on the spectrum? What’s your plan to make sure that this is a better year than last year; to make sure your child or loved one moves forward in becoming more independent, safer in public, more effective in school or at work, or has more positive social interactions and relationships? (Click here to read Walking the Parenting Tightrope of ASD.)

A well-defined plan of action is going to be necessary to avoid losing ground and achieve the work that needs to be done. It won’t happen if we just wait. Even worse, not having a well-defined plan might be taking the same kind of risk as sending our kiddo off a cliff with a cardboard airplane.

As parents of kids with ASD, we have to plan for our children because most can’t plan for themselves.

People With ASD Probably Won’t Plan For Themselves

When it comes to planning, are people with autism different then their neurotypical counterparts? The difference in the brain’s neurological architecture has a tremendous influence on how individuals on the autism spectrum think, process the world, store and retrieve data, and plan… if they plan at all!

And their facility with executive functioning impacts their use of numerous forms of planning tools so that when they attempt to implement, they do so often without success. Lack of the ability to create and execute a plan is not the result of a character issue with people on the autism spectrum. It is related to brain neurology. So that leaves us with the question … “How does ASD influence an individual’s ability to plan for themselves?”

There are many aspects to ASD processing that can be related to planning difficulties. In general … The neurological processing that is part and parcel of ASD includes very linear, compartmentalized, and rigid processing, storing and retrieval of data.

This has a far-reaching effect on the ability of the person to navigate the world. Creating and executing a plan is rarely a simple process without hitches that require flexibility. Flexibility is not a skill most people with autism have. (Click here to read more about Recognizing “Can’t” vs “Won’t”.)


If you need help creating a plan, schedule a 30 minute free consult:


Thank you for taking time to understand more, but knowing isn’t enough! Let us help you take the next simple step toward implementing your knowledge for your relief or the relief of others.

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