4 Tips for Families with a Child with Autism & A Chance to Win $2,100 from Apple

Staying strong as a family unit is always a challenge – and it can be a little extra challenging when one of the family members is autistic. There are ways to strengthen your family unit. Dr. Patricia Wright, the Easter Seals National Director of Autism Services, spoke to Family First and offers these tips for families to help build and keep a cohesive family unit.

1)      Predictability for the Child with Autism – Keeping to schedules and calendars are very important for a child with autism. One suggestion she offers is instead of saying “5 more minutes on the playground” which is a verbal clue, you use pictures, like a calendar, or a clock, which are visual clues. This can help the child with autism understand your intent better.

2)      Remember the Siblings – While Dr. Wright notes that most siblings of a child with autism do very well academically, it’s easy to forget that they do have a unique situation from most of their friends, most likely. That makes it especially important for parents to allow siblings to socialize with other siblings who have brothers or sisters with autism. An organization called Sibshops, part of the Sibling Support Project  which allows siblings to spend the day with other siblings of children with autism so they can discuss challenges and issues with other kids like them. So many times, the support comes from professionals and in this situation, it’s kids talking to kids, which is very powerful.

3)      Support Groups – Dr. Wright names two different national support groups that she notes can help parent find quality programs locally – Autism Society (www.autism-society.org)  and Autism Speaks (www.autismspeaks.org). She notes that while there are many support groups available, parents need to look for recommended programs to ensure they are finding the best resource for themselves.

4)      Respite Services – Dr. Wright says this is extremely important. Parents with typically-developing children get babysitters for some time alone. Parents of children with autism can’t just hire the teenager from down the street. Dr. Wright says this is an “under-championed service” because the focus is so often centered around the child with autism, not the family. But like any family, a family with autistic children needs a break too. She recommends the ARCH National Respite Network and Resource Center for finding respite services as well as the Easter Seals’ site which is searchable by zip code.

“Respite is not a luxury; it’s a necessity,” says Dr. Wright. Some services allow for children to be dropped for a Parent’s Night Out or you can hire someone to come to the house. “It’s ok to say ‘I need a breather’, ‘I need time with you,’ or ‘I need time with our other child,’” says Dr. Wright. Having one-on-one time with your typically developing child is very important too.

Dr. Wright recommends scheduling something regularly because it’s so easy to let life keep going and then you’ve waited too long. At least once a month is what she recommends. It’s ok to honor the fact that it’s stressful for parents. It’s an unquestionable necessity in life, she says; “we brush our teeth and we get a break.” You wouldn’t skip brushing your teeth, would you? So, you don’t skip taking a break either.

“Not every family is affected by autism, but everyone can help promote awareness,” says Dr. Wright. The Act of Autism link on the Easter Seals page includes an awareness petition you can sign and send along to friends. It also includes several corporate sponsors and contests to enter for additional support.

One of the contests you can enter now until September 30, 2010 is the 21^st Century Child contest sponsored by Century 21 Real Estate LLC. Parents can upload a photo of their child, autistic or not, and send that photo through their social network to build donation pledges. The child who drives the most donations will be named the 2010 21^st Century Child of the Year. Century 21 will donate up to $1 million for this contest. Prizes include a $2,100 Apple Gift Card for the grand prize, and an Apple iPad for the next six highest fundraisers.