There are a lot of tools parents are told to use when things feel hard—charts, consequences, scripts, plans. And while those absolutely have their place, there’s one quiet form of medicine that rarely gets talked about:

Laughter.

Not the forced, “let’s make this fun” kind.
The real kind.
The kind that slips in sideways and stays.

The kind that becomes an inside joke that lives in your house for years.

Because the first week back is hard — for both of us.

The first week back at school is never easy. But when you’re parenting a neurodivergent teen, it can feel like walking a tightrope — hoping you’ve done enough, packed the right lunch, and remembered all the supports they’ll need when the overwhelm hits.

We’re feeling it this week. The nerves, the resistance, the tension in the air.