Role of family after an ASD diagnosis
Updated: Apr 23, 2020
A child’s diagnosis with ASD does not only affect the child, it affects every member of the family as well. It is now the responsibility of every member of the family to place their primary focus on the child.
Here are some useful things parents, siblings and other family members can keep in mind:
Be informed and take the most amount of advantage of whatever services are available for your child. This will also help you stay strong and feel confident about how you want to help your child.
Talk about your feelings. Spend some quality time with your other children, if any, and be careful to not discuss Autism all the time. Each member in the family needs support.
Take great pride in even small achievements of your child. Instead of making comparisons, learn to love your child for what they are.
Keep reminding yourself that you are not alone. Everyone faces challenges in their own ways.
Siblings should be encouraged to talk about their brother/sister with autism and be comfortable with it.
Find ways to connect with your sibling who has autism. Find an activity that you can do together to do nothing but bond with them.
All other family members need to remember that judgments should be left out the door. Provide support to each other and respect all decisions made by the parents/caregivers. Everyone only wants the best for their child.
Helping each other out in small ways such as taking care of the child while parents want to go out for dinner one night or taking the child out for a carnival or even a simple meal at times goes a long way!
References:
1. https://www.autism-society.org/living-with-autism/autism-and-your-family/
2. https://www.autismspeaks.org/autism-and-your-family
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22869324
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