a. How does it feel to be the parent of your child?
I love my child very much, but it is a daily struggle just to accomplish simple tasks with my child. It is hard for other parents to understand and they are often unsympathetic to what I have to deal with. Sometimes it feels like all of the joy of having a baby is taken away because it is so difficult and they are so hard to work with. On the other hand I love my child and only want the very best for him. He is a very unique child with many gifts that shine through his difficulties.
b. How is your child developmentally the same or different from other children at the various ages?
My child looks developmentally the same as most children his age, but is socially and mentally not at the same level. While he is intelligent, it is in unique ways and doesn't follow typical mental development of other children. He is also not social adept, and does many things that other children his age know to be socially unacceptable. For instance he will have loud uncontrollable tantrums in public that are more characteristic of a much younger child.
c. What professionals/agencies do you deal with? What services are available to you and your child?
Since my child is pretty high functioning we do not have to deal with as many professionals as other families, but there are still extra resources we take advantage of. One of which is a personal aid in his class to help him stay focused and behave appropriately. Also, we hire a private tutor to work with him after school on certain days to help him stay focused and accomplish his homework for the day. Then once a week on Wednesdays we go to a meeting with a group that is specifically for families with Autism. First we meet as a whole group then the children are taken to a separate class where the work on their social skills and the parents have a group time to talk together or listen to a speaker. This is a good time to learn new strategies and to bond with other parents going through similar struggles. He also goes to see a therapist who helps him and us work together to improve his functionality in everyday situations.
d. How did you find out about the above services?
The school provides the classroom aid for my child. The meetings we heard about from connecting with various autistic communities in our area and on the internet. We chose to hire a college student who is working to become a teacher, because we knew she would work well with our child and be able to take some of the burden off of me to get him to do his homework every night.
e. What financial burden, if any, are you experiencing?
It is difficult to afford the medication and therapy for our student, while the groups we are involved in help they can be expensive. Our main financial difficulties are related to the fact that we have a child with autism. We have even had to borrow extra money in the past and it just gets harder and harder. Since my child needs so much of my time and attention I can't work as much as I should to help with our finances which makes our situation even harder.
f. What other information do you want to share?
It is hard for many other parents to understand the difficulties that parents with children who have special needs face. It is important for them to remember that there are many things that can contribute to a child's misbehavior. People should not just assume that a parent is not doing their job because there child is acting inappropriately for their age. Also it is important for those who depend on parents with autistic children to understand that many things are out of their control. If their child is having a rough day or gets set on one thing it could be an hour before their parents are able to get them back on track and out the door. So be understanding of the fact that time constraints are not always manageable for parents of children with autism.
Link to my glogster: http://beccao.glogster.com/autism-spectrum-disorder/
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