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Challenges for Parents
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Raising a Child with Autism:
The following are a variety of obstacles that parents of an autistic child must face:
- Accepting diagnosis
- Managing behaviours - in the home and in public
- Dealing with other peoples reactions to behaviours in public
- Managing routines or changes in routines
- Finding the right schooling and support programs at every stage of development
- Communication
- Finding time for family / respite
- Trying to treat all siblings equally
- Taking vacations, travelling
- Food choices and diet
- Teaching basic life skills
- Having to give up personal interests and desires to maintain harmony in the family
- Planning for the child's future
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Enrolling a Child with Autism in School:
It can be a challenge for parents to find adequate resources for quality programming in the school system. When parents are preparing to integrate a child with autism into a school and/ or are looking to find a school that best suites their needs the following are some questions and concerns that might arise:
-- Is the school board accepting of individuals with special needs and is this reflected at the administration and staff level?
-- Does the school have adequate resources to deal with special needs?
-- What outside resources are available to the school system and do they routinely make us of them - i.e. speech language pathologists, psychologist, physiotherapists
-- Does the staff have the necessary training and do they work with the support staff to implement a program to work with my child to ensure success in the integrated classroom?
-- Are the support staff empowered to implement the IPP that the teacher and parents develop?
-- Is the setting adequate to meet the diverse needs of my child?
-- Are the teacher and staff willing to develop and implement an IPP that will address the needs of my child?
-- Will the IPP challenge my child and yet respect where he /she is on a developmental level?
-- How will behaviors or disruptions in the classroom be dealt with?
-- How will progress be measured and how will we as parents be kept up to date?
-- Does communication on the development plan and it's success go both ways and how will it be achieved?
-- What recourse do parents have if we are not satisfied with the direction my child is going?
-- Is the school board accepting of individuals with special needs and is this reflected at the administration and staff level?
-- Does the school have adequate resources to deal with special needs?
-- What outside resources are available to the school system and do they routinely make us of them - i.e. speech language pathologists, psychologist, physiotherapists
-- Does the staff have the necessary training and do they work with the support staff to implement a program to work with my child to ensure success in the integrated classroom?
-- Are the support staff empowered to implement the IPP that the teacher and parents develop?
-- Is the setting adequate to meet the diverse needs of my child?
-- Are the teacher and staff willing to develop and implement an IPP that will address the needs of my child?
-- Will the IPP challenge my child and yet respect where he /she is on a developmental level?
-- How will behaviors or disruptions in the classroom be dealt with?
-- How will progress be measured and how will we as parents be kept up to date?
-- Does communication on the development plan and it's success go both ways and how will it be achieved?
-- What recourse do parents have if we are not satisfied with the direction my child is going?
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Parents and Teachers: Working Together
Parents and teachers can work together to create a collaborative home/ school environment to best meet all the needs of the student. A positive home and school environment can best help the child to achieve academic and social success.
This can be achieved by:
References:
Alberta Learning. (2003). Teaching students with autism spectrum disorders. Edmonton, AB: Alberta Learning. Special Programs Branch. 21 - 29.
retrieved from www.learning.gov.ab.ca/k_12/specialneeds.
This can be achieved by:
- Building an informed partnership between teachers and parents.
- Establishing a Team Approach for Program Planning
- Creating a home - school communication plan
References:
Alberta Learning. (2003). Teaching students with autism spectrum disorders. Edmonton, AB: Alberta Learning. Special Programs Branch. 21 - 29.
retrieved from www.learning.gov.ab.ca/k_12/specialneeds.