Resources for families with children diagnosed with ASD.
Now that you have received your child’s diagnosis of Autism Spectrum disorder, there are some great resources out there for families and children with Autism. Unfortunately, sometimes all those resources are quite difficult to navigate so I am listing some of them here for you.
If you are new here, welcome. You can read about how our journey began and the stages that followed here.
Now you have the diagnosis and hopefully some first steps recommended by the doctor or neuropsychologist who did the testing and subsequent diagnosis. Where do you begin?
Of course getting a diagnosis early is key but if not, do not worry there are tons of resources for parents and children on the spectrum regardless of when a diagnosis was received.
Here are a few resources and ideas for places to begin.
Resources:
First step is to get in contact your local www.autism-society.org they have tons of educational resources, conference information and online classes as well as local events in your community.
Just enter your county and or city to see what is happening in your area.
Another great place for different types of resources such as insurance, applying for social security for your child and lots of other information is Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Once you are on the ASD site you will see a list of things on the left side, scroll down to links to other websites, click there and a list comes up of several different websites depending on what you are looking for.
The one I would suggest for those who just recently received a diagnosis is the 100 Days kit. This will help guide you through the the beginning of your journey.
One other great resource is the Profectum website. They have the free Parent Toolbox to help you begin to build a relationship with your child and help them grow.
They also have the Toolbox workbook on that site which is a webcast series you can do to record your observations. Both of these are amazing tools for parents and are great places to start.
Not only are these websites great resources for parents and their children, it is also important to connect with other families experiencing what you are.
Community
An important part of working through this journey is by building a community of families in the same situation.
This is one reason I started sharing more here, in hopes of building a community where we can support each other through this.
Facebook is a great place to start is to search your local chapters of Autism Spectrum support groups that meet in your area.
If you are looking for some social interaction for your child search your area for social recreation options that are available as well as after school care programs in your area.
Special Olympics is another great resource for children with special needs to get experience playing sports, having social groups and other experiences that they may not be able to otherwise.
These are just a few resources for you to get started as I did not want to overwhelm you with to much information.
If there is something particular you are looking for and can not find it, please reach out to me I am happy to help in any way I can.
Till next time
Xoxo
Sonya
Hope these posts help many who have children on the spectrum. Thanks for sharing, Sonya… I pinned!
Thank you so much Julie, it is my hope to help as many as possible. I appreciate you pinning outside your niche.
I know that you will help many parents who have a child diagnosed with Autism.
Thank you Paula, that is my hope.