Enlisting and Providing Support

Some questions I have on Autism that my colleagues may be able to provide help and support with are as follow: What is one way of having the autistic child interact with the class as a whole? What are some warning signs to look at in a classroom if it is not known that a child might have autism? What are ways of helping parents cope with news that their child has autism?  

The resources and information that I’m seeking are parents that have an autistic child. They’re personal stories are a key way of understanding as a teacher what parents see helps their child in different situations. Mainly parents are the ones that know their child the best and getting information from them helps in connecting with an autistic child and any other kind of child as well. Another resource that I’m seeking is websites that have thorough details from actual experts on Autism. I have found many websites that just give brief or vague information and this can be stressing at times. 

Resources that I have found helpful have been the Autism NOW Center they aim at helping parents and other individuals that interact with autism and other disabilities. The Autism NOW Center provides high quality resources and information to individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and other developmental disabilities, their families, caregivers, and professional in the field. Focus areas include: Early detection, Early intervention, and Early education; Transition from high school into early adulthood; Community based employment; Advocacy for families and self-advocates and so many other areas that they are able to help in. Another resource I found was the Autism Resource Center in RUSH University Medical Center in Chicago. They provide assistance with services that help improve development of children with autism and related disorders. These are just two of the many resources I have found to be helpful and insightful.

 

My Personal Advocacy Journey

A quote that I find inspirational regarding the role that advocacy can have in the lives of young children and their families is “Always unique, totally interesting, sometimes mysterious” it is autism.

What inspires me about my advocacy plan is the fact that autism affects not only the child but also parents, teachers, directors and everyone that is part of the child’s life. This inspires me to bring awareness because in the end I just won’t be helping the child being affected by autism but their parents and other family members. I find it very inspiring because in the long run I’m finding a way to improve children with autism’s life style slowly but surely. It excites me putting my advocacy plan into effect because I know that once I put these steps into action I will be helping families and will gain relationships with children with autism, families and friends. My relationship with parents, children, and the community as a whole will increase and gain bringing everyone together in a nice and important cause: helping advocate on the topic of autism. What challenges and/or anxieties do you feel related to engaging in the advocacy efforts you have targeted?

What I believe will be the most effective in helping me overcome any challenging emotions that I might feel with regard to presenting and implementing my Advocacy Action Plan is to talk to coworkers and parents that have dealt with someone that have or know a child with autism. Also, taking it slow when starting to implement my plan, I shouldn't try to balance more than I can handle because in the end I will become more stressed and emotional in the process.

I can encourage others in their advocacy efforts by helping them with small details in their plan or if they are stump with ideas I can help motivate others to keep on going with their advocacy efforts. Others can encourage me by giving me pointers on what I can do to improve my advocacy efforts or what I could do to make it more appealing and effective to the audience I will present this too.  Also, we can share resources about the topics that we are advocating.