April 2019

Parental involvement is important, but your child should also have a voice in his educational, medical, and treatment planning and implementation. As long as your child can meaningfully participate in any way, he should be involved in IEP meetings, discussions with therapists and physicians, and selection of additional programs and supports. Not all individuals on the autism spectrum are capable of actively making decisions about their treatment, but there is a danger in assuming all children with ASD are unable to help identify treatment strategies and targets. Many children with ASD may have strong preferences about which interventions they do or don’t [...]

While there is much more information available about autism spectrum disorder (ASD) than ever before, it can still be a complicated and confusing task to obtain a diagnosis for your child. There is information for parents and pediatricians about early warning signs that indicate the need for further diagnosis. However, depending on a family’s access to a qualified diagnostician, there may be significant differences in how quickly a child obtains a correct diagnosis. This is further complicated by differential diagnoses and comorbid conditions. To help guide you in this process, we provide the following background information about disorders that are [...]

As a parent, you are the expert on your child. You know his or her likes and dislikes, strengths and needs, struggles and successes. You have learned — through experience, trial and error, and instinct — what helps your child feel calm, happy, and secure. You are also your child’s strongest advocate in the goal of developing the skills he or she needs to live an enjoyable, successful life. You should feel comfortable having a strong voice in decisions concerning your child’s treatment. And the values your family holds can and should influence this process. Where is the nofelet?" - [...]

There are many myths and misunderstandings about autism spectrum disorder, and people with ASD. These are sometimes fueled by inaccurate information on the Internet and images portrayed in the mass media. One thing we know for sure is that individuals on the autism spectrum face the same challenges, experiences, frustrations, and joys as everyone else does. Another irrefutable fact is that autism is a spectrum with significant diversity. Each person with ASD has a combination of symptoms that makes him or her unique. Furthermore, the same person may experience his or her symptoms of ASD very differently from one situation [...]