Taking Care of Yourself

Having a child with autism can be so hard. Everyone looks at you funny, they stare at you and judge. That is one thing that irks me. While we are trying to provide a living for our family we go home and struggle with helping our kids get through the day. One guy tweeted, “Autism is leaving work to go get your kid because he won't stop punching himself in the head” This is our reality every day. We may not know what their day will be like because anything can trigger there behavior. I told him he was an awesome dad. He said,” If by "awesome" you mean "tired, depressed, and socially isolated" then, yeah, I'm fantastic. Thanks, though.” It’s true, we go through so much and we feel isolated because our peers may not be able to relate. They do not understand our happiness when we tell them our 8 year old was able to speak a complete sentence because it’s foreign to them. Social networking has been a tremendous support for me and I continue finding awesome people that are able to get me through the day. So please parents, make sure you are taking care of yourself. Being physically available for our children is one thing. But sometimes mentally we are drained and need extra support. There are many place and websites available for you to reach out.

*Uniting Autism*

UnitingAutism.com

  

      This is my first Blog. This blog will mostly be about Autism. I am a parent in the process of starting a social website dedicated to supporting caregivers and parents of children diagnosed with autism. For the first blog, it would make sense to give a little background about myself. In March of 2010. I took in my two cousins whose mom died from breast cancer. The youngest child has diagnoses of Autism. He never received any intervention. His behaviors were all over the place. I quit my job in order to assist with the transaction. It was a very trying time. He was 5 years old, in diapers, and non verbal. He communicated through screaming, hitting, and banging and was given anything his heart desired in hopes of controlling his behavior. My husband and I put him on a strict plan where we pinpointed a behavior and gave him a reward for good behavior and punishment for bad behavior. Punishment was timeout or taking things away.     

     Today, he is 7 years old in the 2nd grade. I am happy to report he no longer screams, he is able to communicate his needs verbally and is able to read at a K2 level. He has made tremendous strides. During this process, at times I felt isolated because I did not know anyone who had a child with autism. I wanted to talk to someone to get through the difficult times. There were support groups but I was unable to attend.

     I always said to myself, “If only there was an online support system where I could talk to someone live at my house. This year I have decided to take on the dream. I have Masters in mental health counseling and worked in the field for over 10 years. I know firsthand how important it is to take care of you mentally. In order to take care of our children it is crucial we are mentally sane. I feel if parents of children with autism had live support, and were able to jump on the computer at anytime of the day to vent and have a conversation with their peer, it would make there day just a little bit easier. The free social site, (UnitingAutism.com) is currently under construction and I will continue updating you on its progress.