Summary This week Huma, Karina and Alison chat about mates and playdates! They explore how to introduce their neurotypical children's friends to their autistic child, how to manage your own anxiety when introducing your child with Autism to someone new, how to prep your child for a playdate and so much more!   Topics 00:00 - This Life, The Chronicles of Autism Moms podcast, series 1 episode 12 – Mates & Playdates 00:27 - Alison kicks off the show 01:25 - Huma, What are your highs and lows of playdate experiences? 02:45 - Were you worried about how you're feeling or about how you would be perceived as a parent? 05:15 - After the dust settles, can your child see that his behavior resulted in not having the friends he wants? 06:22 - I was heartbroken to see that my son is not part of the group 07:05 - Karina: My son doesn't feel the need to be with friends.  He's older now and they play with video games so he doesn't mind as much, but when he was younger and they played with toys, he was there because I wanted him to be there. 07:42- Do we organize playdates because our kids want them to are we fulfilling our own needs and desires because we want to encourage social skills out of those? 08:13 - Alison: I organized playdates because I wanted to encourage his social skills 08:54 - How do we arrange playdates for our neurotypical children, how do we make that a successful, positive experience for the children? 10:09 - Alison: I always feel I have to prepare for family or friends coming to my home for the first time to try and stage the interaction between them.  I don't know if it's the right thing but I feel more calm if I prepare. 10:50 - Karina: I feel very blessed that I have a great group of friends who accept my family 11:38 - Alison: I want to protect my family from judgement that may come out of the experience 11:55 - Huma: The birthday story. I remember the pain and embarrassment 13:55 - Organizing playdates with really young kids or older adults and that's fine. 15:40 - Huma: my main goal is for my son to be accepted by his peers 16:04 - How do you manage anxiety with situations where you find unpredictability? 18:30 – Top Tips for navigating Mates & Playdates --- To learn more about playdates, watch Learn Autism’s video: Playground Games To learn more about Autism, visit: www.learnautism.com To watch this podcast, visit our YouTube Channel. --- Keep in touch with us on Instagram  @chroniclesofautismmomspod Download the Learn Autism app today: