The Loving Push. Debra Moore, PhD

you to “Hope Theory,” because it has major valuable lessons for parents raising children with challenges. Psychologist Charles Snyder was another researcher fascinated by the concept of hope and how it affects our health, work, education, and personal meaning. He outlined two pathways to hope.

      First, he said hope is built on setting realistic goals. Our kids on the spectrum need help with this step. Ideas from parents, teachers, and other mentors are critical. If our kids aren’t exposed to various career options, experiences, and possibilities, they can’t have any realistic goals. With no exposure to feasible occupations, they are more likely to restrict their goals to unrealistic ones like becoming game designers, even though they don’t have any skills in that area other than playing video games.