Welcome to Corner Pieces, a site dedicated to helping
parents whose children have been newly diagnosed with autism.
The symbol for autism is a puzzle full of brightly coloured
pieces. Raising a child with autism can
be like putting together a puzzle without a picture of what it’s supposed to
be. And sometimes you have extra pieces
which don’t actually belong to the puzzle you’re working on. The guides and suggestions in various
parenting books, shows and magazines simply don’t apply to your situation. As you go on, you’ll learn a whole new set of
parenting tools and tips. But when you
first get started, it can seem too overwhelming to even sort out.
The first step in putting together any puzzle is to find the
corner pieces. I’ve tried to put them
together here for you. I have two
children with autism and a husband with Asperger’s and I’ve been learning about
the autism world since 2007. When I
first got this idea, I talked with all the experts we’ve worked with: speech
therapists, occupational therapists, behavioural therapists and developmental
psychologists. And the most important
experts of all: other parents of children with autism. I asked them what they thought newly
diagnosed families should know.
When my eldest son was first diagnosed, I was in shock. All I knew about autism was what I’d seen in
a few daytime talk shows and the movie Rain
Man. I had to learn quickly in order
to help him. There were so many
different therapies and treatment options to choose from and no one could tell
me what would be likely to help my child.
I learned to navigate the system and which options helped my particular
child. When my second son was diagnosed,
I already had the knowledge I needed.
His treatment program was set up much faster and I was better able to
guess what would help him. The
difference in the two of them is profound.
My eldest son is in a segregated class and we’re still working on major
communication and behaviour problems. My
youngest is in a regular school and doing well enough that a case worker sent
to check on him had to ask the teacher which child he was. I believe a significant part of the
difference is because I wasn’t having to learn the basics.
I want to give all parents that chance.
You can read my daily blog to get updates about my family, my life and what we find is working for us (and what isn't).
You can read my daily blog to get updates about my family, my life and what we find is working for us (and what isn't).
nice post
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