When you first find out that your child has autism, things will start to inevitably change. While you will need to make necessary adjustments to your daily life to accommodate a special needs child, there’s no need to despair. Very often, adapting a few practical day-to-day life tricks and tips make the most impact and create the smoothest transition to becoming the best parent for your child. Here are 5 life hacks for mothers living with autistic children:

1. Choosing the right headphones for your child is important

Picking out headphones for your autistic child can be tough process. You have to be able to find the right ones that work just right with your child’s audible sensitivity as well as ensuring physical comfort around the ears. However, it’s worth it once you find the right pair, even if it comes out costly.

Once you find them, make sure to buy more than one pair of those perfect headphones – for the child’s room, for the car, or in case one breaks. You want your child to be able to always find his/her headphones easily and put them on any time there is too much noise or when a break is needed. Once you find that perfect pair of headphones, your child’s life – and yours – will be improved immeasurably.

2. Devices are not always the bad guys

Although you might think that your child spending tons of time on electronics is a bad thing, it can actually help out tremendously. Your child might be able to connect with others through these electronic outlets, and other activities, such as reading e-books or watching YouTube videos often prove to be very valuable, educational and convenient. Your child can actually use these experiences to benefit considerably and grow in a variety of ways. Information and social connection helps autistic children become a part of the world, not escape it, and electronic devices are emerging as a legitimate gateway to achieve such integration.

3. Use your phone’s hot spot

Being on-the-go or in a loud place can be a difficult experience for an autistic child. These are the places that your child will most likely have meltdowns. A hack for this situation is to just turn on your phone’s hot spot. When your child connects to the hot spot, he/she can put on those headphones and read a book, watch a video, or keep busy in other ways to get by during these trying moments. This is a great hack that has helped many mothers keep their autistic children calm in stressful environments.

4.  It’s acceptable to hide in your bathroom as long as your need

If you ever feel that you just need some alone time, although it might sound strange, you can hide in your bathroom for as long as necessary. You might need to lie about bodily functions to get some time to yourself, but that’s totally okay. Taking a few moments to yourself is much better than pushing through when you’re on the brink of crumbling, and staying vigilant about your mental health is critical to being a great mother.

5. Good enough is really good enough

Sometimes you might feel like your life is a little chaotic. Your child is not sleeping – so you’re not sleeping – and your laundry is piling up and your kitchen is a mess. You’ve been ordering pizza for dinner every night and you don’t know what to make of your life at the moment. One of the most important hacks for a mother with an autistic child is learning to say “so what?” You have to know that sometimes good enough is really good enough. If your child is happy and you are getting to enjoy him/her, everything’s going well. Sometimes good enough can even be the best.

Always remember that you are not alone out there are, and that there are always people who can help if you are struggling. Enjoy your children while they are still young, and use these hacks to help you.