How to Parent a Child With Autism

After careful evaluation, your child has been diagnosed as someone with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Now what? How do you live with this and how do you help your child have the best life he/she can? Autism has many associated essential features. The first is an extreme isolation and inability to relate to people and significant difficulties in communication. A typical characteristic of Autism children is there extreme lack of responsive to adults. A child who has this disorder is aware of people, but considers them no differently from the way he or she considers the desk, bookshelf or filing cabinet.

Steps

1. Learn and know that children on spectrum are normal but they may require different supports that Neuro Typical (NT) children.
2. Make sure that your diagnosis is accurate! If your child was diagnosed by a pediatrician, follow up with a doctor that specializes in ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorders) and have them do an evaluation to determine your child's placement on the spectrum. It is likely that they will also determine if your child has secondary diagnosis, (such as ADD/ADHD {Attention Deficit Disorder/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder}, Apraxia, SI {Sensory Intergration Disorder}, etc.) Many children on spectrum have secondary disorders and they require support for them as well as autism.
3. Check for Fragile X Syndrome. If your child is male, have him and the male parent tested for Fragile X. In some cases, males diagnosed with ASD are also children born to a parent with Fragile X.
4. Construct a plan for support for your child based on the areas of delay/deficit. If your child is of age to attend school, have your local district assess them to determine what services are beneficial to your child. There are a vast number of therapies that will benefit your child and each therapy is different. Much of this will be trial and error. Do not expect your child to benefit from every single therapy out there or even be in every therapy. Keep in mind that this is a SPECTRUM disorder and while the diagnosis is autism, there are different degrees and areas of delay and advancement. No two persons on spectrum are the same and no two persons respond to therapies in the same manner. Give any thing you try with your child a chance to work or not based on your desire for development for your child.
5. Learn all that you can about your child's present level of development.
6. Learn all you can about diets, medications and alternative therapies available. Again, YOUR child and your beliefs should play a role in what you do or do not try with your child. Understand there is no current cure for AS disorders. At the same time, there are a large number of persons on spectrum who have shown positive improvement from diet and medicinal intervention. When contemplating if you want to consider giving your child medication...you may want to ask yourself, 'if my child had asthma, would I give them medication?' If you answered yes, then why would you not medicate them if it would limit the adverse impact that autism may pose on their development. No one is saying that medication will do this for your child, but if it can in anyway improve their quality of life, you may want to give it consideration.
7. Get plugged into organizations that support families living with ASD. You are not alone and they will be your best source of information on programs, funding and research. This is also a great place to vent about things that only other persons living with a family member with ASD would understand. YOU are NOT alone, so don't isolate yourself.
8. Locate an organization that can provide Parent Education. Understanding what autism is (...and isn't) and how it impacts your child takes time. Having professional intervention help you understand the what's, how's and why's of your child go a long way to helping your child grow.
9. Become a student of autism from every angle. You will benefit your child and family as a whole if you understand the laws about educational rights, insurance (what your medical benefits are and if you have little or no insurance...you can seek state insurance {medicaid}, what your local school districts can and cannot offer for your child to be mainstreamed or if they will be required to pay for your child to attend a school that specializes in working with children with Developmental Delays/Disorders.
10. Take appropriate safety measures, if needed. If your child tends to "escape"/"run" (this is also known as elopement) and has little or no safety awareness, you may need to outfit your home with an alarm system. In some cases, your child may benefit from special devices to restrain them in cars and even in some cases in their own bed. In the case of a child who wanders from their bed and could endanger themselves or others, you may need to acquire a self-contained bed. In many cases, they are covered by insurance, but are expensive and often refused by the carrier as an unnecessary cost. The alternative is to not sleep at night for fear that your child may leave their bed and either get into something that could harm them or even leave the house. For those who have this apparatus, it is a necessity.
11. Love your child. You are the model of what others will think, and believe about your child. If you treat your child as you would any other child...others will too. It is perfectly fine to explain to someone that your child has autism, but never apologize for it and never make excuses.
12. Work with your child's medical professionals, social workers, physical therapists, speech therapists and teachers to help your child develop in a positive manner. Remember it's a team effort when it comes to dealing with your child's development.

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Tips

• Surround yourself and your child with professionals who are trained in childhood development. Not everyone who has a degree is qualified to care for a child with autism.
• Trust your judgment! If you feel that something will benefit your child, do all that you can for your child to get it...whatever that might be.
• Listen to other parents who have passed the milestones you are at...there is no need to reinvent the wheel.
• You are your child's best advocate, but you are only as good as what you know, so learn all you can about everything related to autism.
• Apply what works for you and your family and reject what doesn't. There are no general rules for how to treat children on spectrum, so don't expect to find a concrete approach to your child.

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