Autism/Sharing a room

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Expert: - 4/10/2007


Question
Hi, my son is 2 years 8 months old and was diagnosed with autism 4 months ago. My question is regarding sharing a room with a younger sibling. We would like him to share a room with our 8 month old. They both sleep through the night, going to be and waking up at roughly the same time. Just wondering if this is a possibility or are we asking for trouble? He doesn't really interact with his brother except to walk away if he tries to touch him and sometimes hits him if he is in a bad mood. Would appreciate your opinion on this.
Thanks
Heather

Answer
Hi Heather,

If possible, it is probably best if they do not share a room. The main reason, at this age, is that your autistic son does not have any boundaries regarding his behavior toward the baby.

Children with autism do not realize that other people have thoughts and feelings. He has no understanding that he can hurt other people. While this is true of all young children, it will remain so for your son for a very long time. You will need to supervise him when he is around younger, weaker children. Having him in a separate room will give you some peace of mind and reduce the need for constant vigilence.

I encourage all parents of newly diagnosed autistic children to seek out a parent support group near them. It can offer many "tips and tricks" to make parenting your son easier.

Here are some web sites that offer good information and links:

http://www.neurodiversity.com/main.html (many links to books, articles and resources)

http://www.patientcenters.com/autism/news/resources.html (books and resources)

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/asperger/asperger.htm (the definitions and government links)

http://www.autism.org/temple/meds.html (about medication)

http://www.autism.org/ (many links to information)

http://groups.msn.com/TheAutismHomePage/toilettraining.msnw (toilet training)

http://www.angelfire.com/pa5/as/asteachersites.html (teaching resources)

Best wishes,
Catherine

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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.

NOTE:

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