Many times in life we are required to just do hard things. In today’s society, doing hard things is becoming more increasingly unpopular. Instead of going outside to play, which burns calories and helps to maintain proper muscle tone, children stay inside to play video games. Instead of earning enough money to invest in a car of their own, teenagers beg for a brand new car. Instead of plodding through challenges in their marriage, adults often quit within the first five years of the relationship and start over with someone else.

But how does one develop the perseverance of the ancient samurai...

Establishing routines and patterns of behavior are important aids for children. Much of family conflict revolves around getting from one place to another or from one activity to another. Parents come for counseling because their children resist getting up in the morning, feel anxious over homework, dispute parent’s instructions, or delay in getting ready when the family needs to get somewhere. These difficulties can last into the teenage years and can leave the emerging young adult incapable of coping with independence and responsibility.  Some household adjustments can help remedy the challenges in the present and prevent future problems.

According to the American Heritage Desk Dictionary, the word apprentice is defined as “one learning a trade under a skilled master; or a beginner.” I find both of these definitions to be relevant to the work I do each day, as well as the way I think about apprenticeship in relation to the remediation of autism spectrum disorders or related neurological disorders. Apprenticeship in job training has been around for hundreds of years, dating back to the middle ages. The idea of apprenticeship itself has been around much longer than that, since the dawn of history. Humans have been learning from “masters” forever, and it is what allows the human race to survive...