Why Do You Hurt Me?
Why do you have to hurt me? You don’t understand my life and yet the stabs you give can kill a person and a family. You don’t understand what it is like to never go out and live a normal life.
Why do you have to hurt me? You don’t understand my life and yet the stabs you give can kill a person and a family. You don’t understand what it is like to never go out and live a normal life.
When you have a child with autism, you may think that traveling is out of the question. It is difficult for many people on the autism spectrum to cope with change
Many parents don’t understand what baseline data collection is. Knowing this will enable you to write your own training programs for your children. You can assist your autistic child to be toilet trained, to learn to brush their own teeth, bathe themselves, and wash their hands after toileting.
With the strides that we may believe we are making in our community to spread autism awareness, we have to understand that we have not reached everyone. Just last year, an autistic child was kicked off of their flight because the child
Every single school age kid looks forward to every single day that they do not have to go to school. Every weekend and every break are eagerly anticipated like some kind of wonderful reward for making it through the school week.
Ever since we have been introduced to the “autism umbrella” or the “autism spectrum”, there has been some confusion about where Asperger’s syndrome comes into play. Does my child have autism or Asperger’s? Is there a difference?
Everyone has their own perspective on the sensory information we take in from our surroundings. We may love the feeling of a certain fabric against our skin, or the smell of cookies baking.
Do you have trouble redirecting your child to not get into their drawers and empty them onto the floor every day? If so then, this video and links are for you.
We have had kids even go into other children’s room to borrow clothes or empty out their dressers. Kids that also like to put on as many clothes as physically possible. As a parent this could become very exhausting. The exhausting part is… It is daily! To add a little more drama, your child has incontinent, and you do not know if all the clothes he/she applied are still clean. So just to be safe you wash all of them. This consumes time and energy; wouldn’t it be nice if we could prevent this from completely happening?
Here is an easy quick way to adapt your child’s dresser to give your family a little more normalcy in life.
Our quick fix product can be found at Lowe’s. “Tot Loks” by “Safety 1st”. Make sure before you install these locks, you unscrew or otherwise remove the handles that are already on your dresser. This makes it safe for your child when they do try to open their drawers.
The locks and key go for about $20.00. You can watch you-tube video here to see how easy they are to use. Please leave any ideas and comments on the video. We love hearing your insight. Other locks could also be found on amazon. You can still purchase the Tot loks at Home Depot or Lows. Here is a link to Tot Loks on you-tube on how to apply to Cupboards
https://youtu.be/axT902rPtpY
Respite care is a very general term that covers a wide spectrum of substitute care. “Respite” can range anywhere from just a couple hours to a matter of weeks and can be for a range of people from elderly ones to people with disabilities.
In this article, we will be focusing in on overnight respite care for autism caregivers.
You have some options when it comes to respite care for your child with autism, but they may vary from state to state. So let’s dive in.
One of the most common reasons for respite care for autism is simply to get a break.
One thing I want to sincerely mention is that you shouldn’t feel guilty about seeking respite care. Your child has special needs and that changes your needs as well. Without a proper respite, not only will you suffer, but if you are married, your marriage can suffer.
You need an occasional date night or a weekend getaway simply to stay sane and keep that spark alive between you and your spouse. It can kindle the flame enough to give you both the energy you need to support each other.
If you are not married, that doesn’t diminish your need for respite care. You are what holds your family together and you are the one who primarily cares for your child with autism.
If you fall apart, what will your family do?
That’s why it’s important to take care of yourself. Spreading yourself too thin doesn’t do anyone any good.
Here the most common reasons for overnight respite care:
Of course, we will have to speak in generalities to give you some ideas since the answer varies from state to state. Still, you should be able to find some good ideas for respite options for your family that you can then research further and implement for your unique situation.
Many families opt for a respite caregiver to come to their home to care for their child overnight. This option works well for children who might struggle immensely with a change of scenery.
This respite care option for your family has its benefits, but you should be careful about who you accept into your home. You should conduct a thorough interview with the respite caregiver before giving them the job.
Ask questions such as these:
I mentioned the training courses because many agencies offer free workshops that could be beneficial for your respite worker. Also, make sure to ask them about their concerns and listen to them closely because this will help you know just what kind of support and information you can give to the respite provider.
Pros:
Cons:
You can search in your area for an in-home care provider using a simple google search such as: “in-home respite + city name”
There are various out-of-home respite options available to you as an autism caregiver. These may vary wildly between states including financial support that you can get from government agencies when utilizing one of these respite options.
Here are just some options that you will need to investigate for your state:
If you or your child are represented by an agency you should speak with them and work closely with them to find out what your options are available to you in terms of financial support. Otherwise, you will have to find which local options are affordable for you.
Parent co-ops are typically free to join. A parent co-op is where local families band together and take turns watching each other’s kids. A huge benefit of this is that you have the chance to get to know these families intimately and you have the knowledge that they already know how to care for children with special needs. This is also a good way to meet support groups.
An important note about facilities, RHCs, group homes, and institutions:
When it comes to group homes or RHCs, these can both be viable for you if you have financial support or some other form of support from a government agency.
You should, however, visit the home first and conduct your own investigation and interview. Some facilities are poorly run and/or poorly staffed. You can easily gauge whether or not this is the case by visiting the facility in person and asking a few questions such as:
You should also take a look around to check for general cleanliness and engagement of staff.
Speak with your agencies, support groups, and anyone else who might have more information regarding local respite options, how much they cost, and their overall quality. We know you love your kids, that’s why we want to help you find the best respite options so that they will be well cared for and you can take a much-needed break.