Autism/Help at home

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Expert: - 7/6/2011


Question
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I have a 13 year old son diagnosed Autistic. I am a stay at home mom and I try to do most of my errands while my son is at school. But during the summer and weekends and well, when things come up and I have to go somewhere, I cant always take my son with me and most of the time, he does not want to go with me. I have two older sons, but leaving him alone with them has turned out to be a bad thing. A friend of mine told me about something called Respite Care and I am wondering if my son would qualify for that and if so how I go about getting it.

Thank you,
Melissa

Answer
Hi Melissa,

If your son has an "official" medical diagnosis, he may qualify for respite care or a day school type program. Some school districts run summer programs but I'm hoping yours would have informed you of this, already.

Contact the State children's services department, as a start. If they cannot direct you to resources, call the state department of education. County mental health services may also have contact information for you.

Kids who are on Medicaid may have more options than those who are not. You may have to hire a specialized sitter who will come to your home to supervise him while you get your errands done. This is a worthwhile expense if you can manage it. You need some free time to relax and do things the "easy" way. If he is not on Supplemental Security Income, I would get that paperwork rolling. This money can help cover this kind of expense.

Best wishes,
Catherine

Catherine Ridenour

Expertise

I can answer your questions about parenting your High Functioning Autisic or Asperger`s Syndrome child. In particular, questions about family life, discipline, siblings, finding resources, and working with (sometimes opposing) the educational system are welcome.

Experience

I am the parent of an Asperger's Syndrome child who is now 22 years old. She went undiagnosed for 14 years of her life, so I have done extensive reading and Internet research into the possible cause of her difficulties. Even a short 8 years ago, A.S. was practically unheard of by the public educational system.

We fumbled our way through her childhood and early adolescence without any effective outside support. In some ways, that may have been a blessing as we were focused on her abilities rather than a label for her disability. However, I can think of many times when knowing WHY would have been comforting.

Had we known very early on, some social skills interventions might have made her life in school easier. At this point, I like her for who she is so I do not regret how things have turned out. More importantly, she likes herself.

Education/Credentials
I have a Bachelor of Science in Education.

I have worked to educate myself about Autism in general and HFA/AS in particular.

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