Q: Crows are intelligent, and will quickly learn if you provide food regularly, and a regular source of food is very attractive to any wild animal. Keep it in small, shallow containers for the crows and other birds to drink. You will want it to be sturdy, so that cats looking for a drink, or a bird, will not knock it over easily. Make sure the water stays ice free during the winter. You may not get crows right away, as your food supplies may attract squirrels, blue jays, and other small birds. You may need to spread food for several days before crows follow the blue jays to your food supplies.
A: Once you have started spreading food, create a regular feeding schedule. Have water available. Be patient.

Q: Different negative behaviors likely have different causes, and thus different solutions. Typically, it is too difficult to address all of these at once. Additionally, focusing on one thing is more likely to be successful. If your autistic child can explain why he or she does what he does, that is an excellent place to start. The behavior may be a solution he or she has come up with to solve a problem (such as humming in class to drown out unpleasant sensory input). In this case, your goal is to expand their repertoire of ways to solve the problem. Encourage self-advocacy. Teach the child to speak up, using words or AAC. Reward this by paying attention and respecting what they have to say. Explain other people's thoughts and feelings in a clear, concrete way. It may help to draw stick-figure pictures, with thought bubbles, where you and the child can write down what others are thinking. To identify possible reasons for the behavior, keep a log of what happens before the behavior, the behavior itself, and what happens afterwards. It won't be as direct as asking the child, but if the child cannot speak or use AAC, it is your best bet. Example log entry: At 4:30, Joey came into the kitchen and grabbed two cookies. When I told him he could not have them, he began to throw a tantrum. When he calmed down, I gave him a cookie. After math class, Marcia and her peers went to the school assembly. Marcia grew increasingly agitated as we waited, and began chewing on her fingers. This escalated until she was viciously biting her own arms. An aide took her to the office so she could calm down. Joey's tantrums are the result of a desired item (cookie) being taken away after he tried to access them inappropriately. Brainstorm possible reasons: perhaps Joey is very hungry at 4:30, and wants to express that he needs something to eat. Marcia began biting herself as she waited for the assembly. School assemblies can be quite loud, and perhaps they feel frightening or painful to her. Anxiety about a painful assembly could cause the biting. Be aware that what causes an autistic person to act out may not be obvious to non-autistic people. For instance, it may not be obvious why at first that a child has issues in one bathroom, but never the other. However, it may turn out to be a flickering light or fan that irritates the child, but they cannot express this. Remove the stressor, and/or teach them a way to handle it when it arrives. If it is successfully addressed, the problem behavior will cease. Joey can be taught to ask for a snack ("I want a snack, please"), or taught to show you a picture of a snack when he is hungry (Picture Exchange Communication System). Marcia bites as a way to cope with the stress of waiting for a painful assembly. She can be given chewy jewelry for when she needs to bite, taught to say "that hurts" when she is hurting, and kept in class with a helper and a box of crayons during assemblies. Go back to making a log, and trying to figure out what causes it. Research how autistic people have handled situations like this. The internet is full of autistic writers. The hashtag #AskAnAutistic is an easy way to contact them. If you have correctly identified the cause of the problem behavior and provided a solution that works for the child, then they will begin to use the better strategy instead. This will take some time and gentle reminders, but if the child is capable of using the new strategy, it will happen. When the child uses the bad strategy, gently remind them to use the new one: "What do you say when you want a snack?" Never hold their needs hostage. Address a frightening or overwhelming situation right away, regardless of whether they handled it "correctly" or not. The child needs to know that you will help them if they are hurting. When the child uses a good technique (e.g. speaking up or getting a stim toy), praise them for doing well. Explain that you're glad that they're self-monitoring, and taking steps to get what they need. For example, "Thank you for telling me that it hurts, Marcia! Now that I know, I'll make sure you don't have to do it again."
A: Target only one behavior at a time. Talk with the child about the behavior, if possible. Keep a log, if you can't ask the child. After keeping this log for several days to a week, try to identify the cause of the behavior. Fix the underlying problem. If the problem behavior does not decrease, then you have not found the right solution yet, or they are not developmentally ready. See what happens. Celebrate their initiative.

Q: Part of being a good boyfriend is staying loyal and committed to your relationship with your girlfriend. Avoid flirting with other girls or blowing off your girlfriend to be with friends. Show her you are committed by spending quality time with her and paying attention to her when you are out socially or with a group. Part of being committed to your girlfriend is also trusting her and not being too protective or overbearing. Try not to control her life or her decisions. Instead of policing her actions or trying to control her, support and trust her. Deepen your relationship by pursuing activities or interests that you have in common. Focus on things that you both share and enjoy. For example, if you both enjoy travelling, plan a trip together overseas. If you both like to watch movies at home, designate one night movie night and watch all of your favorite flicks together. If you and your girlfriend share a home, make sure you pull your weight. Split the household chores with her, such as taking out the garbage or cleaning the kitchen. Try to keep your contributions to maintaining your home equal and fair. If you both have issues around household responsibilities, make sure you talk about it honestly and openly. Work through the issues together and find a compromise where you both are happy. Keep your relationship spontaneous and exciting by planning surprise dates or leaving special gifts for her to find. Let your girlfriend know you appreciate her by surprising her on occasion. You may surprise her with something simple, like a bouquet of flowers or a small gift. Or you may surprise her by taking her out for dinner or to do an activity that you know she would enjoy. Be open to your girlfriend surprising you with special dates or gifts, as well! Pay attention when she is generous and giving to you, so you can also feel appreciated and loved. Always thank her.
A:
Stay committed to her. Find things you have in common and explore them together. Share household responsibilities if you live together. Surprise her with special dates or gifts.