Lonnie Pacelli's Blog, page 65

Lesson 23 - What is your definition of "anything"?

Six-Word Lessons for Dads with Autistic Kids on Amazon, kindle, iTunes, Nook and moreAs fathers, we innately have visions of our newborn children being the next Einstein, Lincoln, or Gehrig. Discovering your child has ASD can feel like cold water being thrown on your expectations. Raising a child with ASD means being more open to what success will look like for your child and realigning your expectations of him.

See all 100 lessons at GrowingUpAutistic.com.

Lesson 20 - Good PM's don't Boil the Ocean

Six-Word Lessons for Project Managers on Amazon, kindle, iTunes, Nook and moreOver-zealous PMs hyper-focused on pleasing their sponsor at times are too eager to inflate scope.

Keep scope right-sized to the problem statement and use seasoned advisers to help you not say "yes" too much.

​See all 100 lessons at 6WordLessons.com.

Lesson 21 - They have delayed speech and language.

Six-Word Lessons for Dads with Autistic Kids on Amazon, kindle, iTunes and NookThose with ASD typically lag in speech and language progression. When Trevor was two years old he was barely saying 10 words, which was a stark contrast to Briana, who was rifling off entire sentences by age two. His comprehension was also delayed. He began private speech and language therapy at age two to help him interact using words.

See all 100 lessons at GrowingUpAutistic.com.

Lesson 21 - Controlling scope isn't just saying "no."

Six-Word Lessons for Project Managers on Amazon, kindle, iTunes, Nook and more.Project Managers frequently equate controlling scope with saying "no" with no due-diligence on the validity of the request.

It's not just about saying "no" to requests. Understand the request, and the consequence of not doing it first.

​See all 100 lessons at 6WordLessons.com.

Lesson 16: They don't read other people well.

Six-Word Lessons for Dads with Autistic Kids on Amazon, kindle, iTunes, Nook and moreBecause those with ASD are so into their own world and are very literal by nature, they have difficulty "reading" other people and observing social cues like facial expressions, moods, or tone of voice. Trevor had a lot of difficulty with this growing up, but has grown more aware of social cues as an adult. For example, he now understands sarcasm and will say, "That's sarcasm, right?"

See all 100 lessons at GrowingUpAutistic.com.

Lesson 15: Prototypes envision how things could be.

Six-Word Lessons for Project Managers on Amazon, kindle, iTunes, Nook and moreIt's difficult for stakeholders to see how a solution will meet needs from requirements and flowcharts.

Make good use of systems prototypes to communicate the to-be people, process and technology systems.

​See all 100 lessons at 6WordLessons.com.

Lesson 17: They have peculiar repetitive body movements.

Six-Word Lessons for Dads with Autistic Kids on Amazon, kindle, iTunes, Nook and moreSome with ASD may flap their hands, run in circles, or do some other body movement. Trevor would rock from side to side in bed before going to sleep. This started with birth and continued into his early elementary years. He would also run in circles in the living room and talk to himself, which seemed to calm him.

See all 100 lessons at GrowingUpAutistic.com.

Lesson 14: Wrong technology: the slipper doesn't fit!

Six-Word Lessons for Project Managers on Amazon, kindle, iTunes, Nook and moreAt times chosen technologies are a poor fit due to misunderstood, absent or ignored requirements.

No technology is going to meet 100% of the requirements. Know the gaps and decide how best to handle them.

​See all 100 lessons at 6wordlessons.com.

Lesson 14 - They avoid looking into your eyes.

Six-Word Lessons for Dads with Autistic Kids on Amazon, kindle, iTunes, Nook and moreThose with ASD typically avoid eye contact. With Trevor, we found that it wasn't that he disliked eye contact, it was just something he didn't normally do. Patty and I consciously worked with him to look us in the eye when talking. As an adult he mostly establishes and engages in eye contact during conversations.

​See all 100 lessons at GrowingUpAutistic.com.

Lesson 12 - Custom versus packaged. We are "different."

Six-Word Lessons for Project Managers on Amazon, kindle, iTunes, Nook and othersTechnologists frequently take a stance of developing customized solutions versus configuring packaged solutions.

Be open-minded when evaluating packaged solutions; let the requirements drive good enough decisions.

See all 100 lessons at 6WordLessons.com.