Teaching in Life for Life
The power of expectations & responsibility for children with autism.
Practical insights and techniques for parents, caregivers, teachers, and therapists to help children with autism and other developmental disorders learn about life and improve their communication skills.
Set expectations
Clear, developmentally appropriate expectations give children the opportunities they need to grow.
Build responsibility
Responsibility transferred to the child, day by day, through real participation in daily life, builds independence.
Grow communication
Language grows through connection, not drill. Every interaction is a teaching opportunity.
Meet Dr. Nancy Z. Schwartz, Ph.D., CCC
Forty years of practice, distilled for families.
As a passionate advocate for children with autism and other developmental disorders, I share practical insights with parents, caregivers, teachers, and therapists. Over four decades of clinical work have shown me, firsthand, the power of relatedness — of being with a child — to support their learning about life and their communication.
Together, we can empower children to thrive.
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From the blog
Latest articles
- Declarative Language
Creating declarative statements:
May 11, 2026
Declarative language sounds easy to use. You just have to make comments instead of directing the child. While it seems like it should be easy, it is hard! Years of practice of telling the child what to do needs to be undone. You have to think of what to say and say it at a level that the child will understand.
- Participation in Life
What does a child learn by being involved in activities of daily living?
December 29, 2024
When a child participates in an activity of daily living, such as making a salad, clearing the table or doing the laundry, she learns much more than a static sequence of steps.
- Participation in Life
Earning the Right to be Independent
November 6, 2024
When I first start working with a child, I don't allow the child to do tasks independently. I want the child to be engaging with me to do the task and to be learning from me.
- Participation in Life
Learning a Task!
September 23, 2024
Any individual does not truly learn a task if someone is telling him what to do in a rote fashion. To truly learn, one needs to be an active participant in the process.
- Language
Where does language fit in?
August 31, 2024
When children are involved in life activities, language skills have a basis for emerging. Vocabulary is developed through exposure and usage within context.
- Language
THE VERB: The Importance of the Action Word!
August 31, 2024
Verbs must be taught to the child. If verbs are not taught, the child cannot formulate basic sentence structures that are used for commenting, directing, reporting, picture reading.
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