Prevalence

As I have been thinking about Autism and it's affect in the family I began to wonder how prevalent it is in the family. I feel that over the last ten to twenty years I have heard a lot more about it. It makes me think that maybe it is more common than ever. I wasn't sure so I decided investigate.
according to the CDC in 2006 out of 1000 children only 7 children had something on the autism spectrum. In 2008 it was up to about 11 children. It has shown a slight increase but not a huge jump. In this technology driven age people are trying to stay informed and through that they are trying to inform more people. This might be why I felt as though I was hearing about is more often over the last few years. Also many of the disorders on the autism spectrum have been only recently over the last 50 years even diagnosable.
The prevalence widely varies across the United States. The CDC had this to say about the data that they have collected: "The extent to which these increases reflect better case ascertainment as a result of increases in awareness and access to services or true increases in prevalence of ASD symptoms is not known"

What should you know?

What should you know about autism? If a parent finds out that their son or daughter has autism, what do they need to know in order to move forward. I think that this is important for people to think about and to really understand.
The first thing that a parent might want to know and find out is where does their child land on the autism spectrum. This is going to tell you a lot about what you might expect. Although it is important to know what to expect though, it is also important to  not make any final decisions on what your child can do and is capable of. What do I mean? Well for instance if you read somewhere that your child will not be able to communicate effectively or be able interact appropriate socially, don't completely rule that out for your child. Just as any other child will do, children tend to surprise us. Remember to keep encouraging and supporting your child to succeed.
Another thing that a parent might want to know when finding out about their child with autism is what they can do to help them succeed in their life and their ambitions. Therapy can do amazing things for children and will empower them to hone in on their strengths rather than their weaknesses.
A big thing that a parent should know is what kinds of things the schools in their district offer for a child with autism. The more research and knowledge that a parent can gain the better informed they will be to made good decisions.

Public Assistance

As I was thinking about my interview I began to think about socioeconomic status and its influence on children and families with autism. The family that I interviewed was from a middle class family with enough to support their child financially through all of his service. This made me think about the families that do not have enough money to pay for all of the therapy and treatments. What is out their for them? I wanted to find out what parents can do to help their children but not hurt their wallets.
I began to look for programs in place for people in this situation. I found the National Autism Association that not only provides grants for families struggling to pay for medicine and therapy but it also provides the parents with assistance in marriage counseling due to the huge strains that can be put on a marriage due to caring for an autistic child. They also have a Project Lifesaver that is designed to help locate and rescue missing people. Often times children with autism will wander a way and this program is dedicated to helping their families find them.
Another great source of assistance is the Autism Society of America. Their are a nationwide program that even has a toll free number for information and referrals. This society helps the community be more aware of autism and how to best assist people with it. They have camps and events for people with autism and their families so that they can continue to be more social and active. This is a great opportunity for families that may not have enough money to provide and set up their own care.

Autism Speaks is a program that works a lot with families with children in the school system. They offer families with free legal aid that are dealing with problems with their IDEIA hearings. They also can help people find grants that will help in local organizations that provide services and programs for autism.
The last place I am going to talk about is Autism Cares. This is a good source for families struggling with living expenses. They provide some money to families that are dealing with living expense problems.


Resources:
http://www.mainstreet.com/article/family/family-health/financial-help-families-facing-autism?page=2

As I was thinking about what it might be like to find out your child has autism I wanted to get some real experience. My mom's friend has a 12 year old with Aspergers syndrome. I was able to talk to her and see what it was like when she first found out. She said that she really didn't know anything about it before jimmy  was diagnosed. She said she was confused and definitely in denial. She said the first thing she did was go to the library and get all the books she could find on it. Her and her husband read about it and talked about it and kind of decided on a game plan. He was in third grade and they scheduled a meeting with the intervention therapist to go over where they go from here. She is very much a planner and it helped her to feel secure to know that there is a plan. I think this is probably a common feeling. He was set up with time in the resource room with the intervention specialists. He was a loud some modifications in the classroom but the biggest things that they worked on was getting him set up in boy scouts. He wasn't originally interested in it but his teacher suggested it to help with social problems. He was having a hard time making friends and she thought this might be a way to make some friends. He was able to make some bonds with the kids but he still struggles with making friends.

What kind of support might a parent find for their family? If a parent sees a negative change in their family due to the discovery of a child with autism, where can they find support? What is offered to the families? I wonder if their is very much that is out there that might not be costly but still effective? I know just having some sickness in my family right now that medical bills can be overwhelming. Things like therapy can be very costly. I wonder what kinds of things a school can offer the families?

Last week I began to talk about how autism can affect the rest of the family. I am going to continue to refer to the article I began talking about last week that hit on how autism can change family dynamics. I wanted to talk today about how finding out a member of the family has autism can affect  the other children in the family. The article was really interesting because it said that children who have siblings with autism are better adjusted to the world. They can cope with things in their adult life because they have had to mature and adjust to a life that is not all about them. It is important as a parent to remember to spend individual time with the other children. Often times with the chaos of therapy and doctor appointments and things like that can get parents so busy that they forget the other kids have needs too. It is important to make time, especially individual time, with each of your children. They need to know that you are interested in them and that you know that they are special too.

As I started to think about the parents desire to give the child the best possible life, I began to wonder how giving the child with autism "the best possible life" might effect the rest of the family. Not only is this going to have a huge impact on the parents and their relationship, finding out your son or daughter has autism is going to largely affect any other children a parent might have. I wanted to find some more information on what a family should expect and how they can better cope and grow together rather than apart.

I found a great article by Kathleen Doheny where she talks about a comparison that Kathleen Patrick once made about finding out your child is disabled. She has a son with pervasive developmental disorder. She said she read an article that really struck home with her called "Welcome to Holland" written by Emily Perl Kingsley, a mother of a disabled child. In the article the woman compares her experience of finding out a child has a disability with planning a trip to Italy and then you find out your going to Holland instead. She says "It's not horrible, just different." She even goes on to say " if you spend your life mourning the lost trip to Italy you will never enjoy the special qualities of Holland. After you're there a bit, she says, you notice the charm --tulips, windmills, Rembrandts." http://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/features/autism-and-family-relationships

I found that this idea of the condition not being this horrible thing that happened to you and your family, but instead it just being something different than you expected, really relate-able to most things in life. Almost everyday in life something happens to us that is different from what we expected it to be and we accept it and most of the time embrace it and move on. I would think that this idea would help keep the life changing news of having a child with autism more manageable.