Autism: From Struggle to Strength — 3.5 Ideas from Harry Psaros

Harry Psaros — Autism: From Struggle to Strength

“If you set the tone of positivity, great things happen.” — Harry Psaros

Harry Psaros is the author of, “From Struggle to Strength: A Father’s Journey with Autism and the Power of Hope and Positivity.”

Harry writes about his Autism journey with his oldest son Gus and shares the mindset that brought his family from awareness, to diagnosis, to a treatment plan that led to Gus ultimately attending college.

3.5 Ideas from Harry Psaros:

1) What Would You Say to a Parent Who has a Newly Diagnosed Child and is Struggling?

• “That was me. We went up and received the diagnosis at the Cleveland Clinic. I started to realize that it wasn’t a label, but a pathway to improvement. It’s all about positivity, mindset and perspective. If you change your perspective, it makes it a lot easier.”
• “I started to realize, by accepting it, and working with my wife, we can immediately initiate improvement. Don’t think of it as a label. You’re opening up a gateway to improvement. Move forward.”
• “The child is NOT going to progress forward if we didn’t accept the diagnosis. My son would never have sniffed college. It wouldn’t have been close.”

2) Your Book Cover Has Boxing Gloves Next to the Words ‘Hope and Positivity’. What’s that About?

• “I boxed all through Pitt. I tell people I was an average athlete, but a really good fighter. So I wanted to bring the fighters mentality to raising a child on the spectrum. When you enter the ring, you go in with chest out determination.”
• “I went with boxing gloves cause I did love boxing and it’s so universal, I thought it’d be recognized. And gold is the color for hope. It taps into the fighting mentality. Plus I want to talk about hope. Every day you wake up, you want to help that child.”
• “I’m gonna make this kid better. And I’m not taking no for an answer. You got to have that mindset. So I wanted to bring a little bit of edge to the book.”

3) What’s Your 2% Rule?

• “Think of this as Atomic Habits on steroids. Every day when you wake up, think of one thing you could do to make them 2% better.”
• “What can we do to help that child? I would wake up every day and go, okay, is there a social interaction I could help them with? Is there an activity of daily living I could help him with? A lot of these children have motor issues, can I help him brush his teeth?”
• “Taking that kind of martial arts mindset. I need to improve every day and help my child. It’s looking at your child and improving them 2% each and every day, knowing that those 2% wins collectively are going to lead the big wins down the line.”

3.5) What Can We Learn from Ted Lasso?

• “Google the Ted Lasso Effect. What that show did was revolutionize the way people parented, coached, and led. Because it tapped into emotion. What it showed is if you set the tone of positivity, great things happen.”
• “You can apply the Ted Lasso Effect to your child. It’s a masterclass on communication and psychology. It’s not psychobabble, it actually works.”

Connect with Harry Psaros:

• Website: Harry Psaros
• Book: From Struggle to Strength — A Father’s Journey
• IG: Harry Psaros
• LinkedIn: Harry Psaros

“Life is Built, Not Born.”

Joe Ciccarone

#Episode144