A Spotlight on Family Resources
This article originally appeared in START Connecting in January 2024.
Families play an important role in helping children with autism throughout their lives. They often advocate for their child’s needs, such as accessing needed services, academic help, and social opportunities, while also guiding them to self-advocate and learn to have their own voice. When parents and caregivers have credible information and resources, they can better support their child in and out of school and make sure they get the help they need (Szlamka et al., 2024).
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As children grow into young adults, families can encourage independence and assist with important decisions through supported decision-making. Research shows that parents of autistic children often feel more stress than parents of children with other disabilities because of the unique challenges they face in finding support and resources, and working with providers on treatment and interventions (Kurzrok et al., 2021). It is important for parents and caregivers to know where to find reliable information on topics like school supports, self-determination, peer programs, ways of managing frustration through more effective communication, self-management strategies; and planning for life after school, including college, jobs, and adult life in the community.
START will share a new featured resource quarterly during the school year. Each resource will focus on a topic that is important to families and autistic individuals, offering an overview, its significance, self-advocacy tips, and extra tools such as checklists and templates.
We invite you to explore previous featured resources and share them with the families in your network:
- The PACER Center Introducing Your Child to the School Community Using a “Student Snapshot” Format shows how families can introduce their child to the school team using a “Student Snapshot.” This tool helps families and schools work together after summer break.
- The Organization for Autism Research (OAR) focused on siblings of autistic individuals. They provide a helpful guide for families called the Brothers, Sisters, and Autism: A Parent’s Guide to Supporting Siblings. This guide offers advice and tips to support the entire family.
Written by: Stacie Rulison, MS, M.Ed, BCBA, LBA, Consultant and Jamie Owen-DeSchryver, PhD, Project Faculty
Resources
The following are other credible autism and family resources that may be helpful to parents and caregivers of autistic children:
- American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Autism Resource Center: provides facts, frequently asked questions, video clips, information about medication, treatment information, books, and other resources for families, clinicians, and research information.
- Association for the Science in Autism Treatment (ASAT): provides information on autism treatments including research summaries, proven and disproven treatments and finding a qualified provider.
- Autism Alliance of Michigan (AAoM): provides parent navigators in Michigan to help families get diagnosis and treatment.
- Autism Research Institute (ARI): provides research and information for parents and caregivers, clinicians, educators, researchers, and autistic individuals.
- May Institute: Autism Resources for Families: offers free printed materials, videos, webinars on diagnosis, treatment and includes a parent guidebook.
- Michigan Alliance for Families: provides information on special education topics and contact information to statewide parent mentors who can assist with questions for families locally.
- Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence (OCALI) Autism Center: provides information, training, and resources on autism and other disabilities. Families can check out the “Grab and Go Gallery of Interventions” and the Family and Community Outreach Center to find information on autism, tools and resources, a newsletter, and a podcast with people with disabilities and their families, friends, coworkers, and more.
References
Kurzrok, J., McBride, E., & Grossman, R. B. (2021). Autism-specific parenting self-efficacy: An examination of the role of parent-reported intervention involvement, satisfaction with intervention-related training, and caregiver burden. Autism, 25(5), 1395-1408.
Szlamka, Z., Sebastián, C., Hanlon, C., & Hoekstra, R. A. (2024). Caregiver-centred empowerment for families raising autistic children: A qualitative case study from Argentina. Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice, 28(11), 2768–2778.