Parenting Autistic Children

You can't "catch" autism. You either have it or you don't. And today, about one in 150 children has been diagnosed with autism or an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which encompasses several related disorders such as Asperger's syndrome. They are all complex developmental disabilities that affect the development of a child's social skills, communication skills and behavior.

Autism is usually detected during a child's formative years—around age 3—so experts know that early diagnosis, intervention and treatment are the keys to helping young children with autism develop to their full potential. The primary goal of autism treatment is to improve the overall ability of the child to function.

Because autism symptoms and behaviors often change over time, treatment strategies are tailored to the child's needs and available family resources. In general, however, children with autism respond best to highly structured and specialized treatment. A program that addresses helping parents and improving communication, social, behavioral, adaptive and learning aspects of a child's life will be most successful.

Talk to your doctor about the best treatments and goals for educational services so you and your child can take advantage of all available resources. Read all you can on autism so you understand the symptoms and behaviors and the differences in medications or alternative therapies. Communicate with other professionals and parents, and learn from those who've crossed this bridge before you as they share insights into common autism concerns. In addition, become very familiar with all the public policies so you can be your child's advocate in gaining the best education and care possible.