Parents of children who have been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder tend to have many questions. It can be difficult to find resources that can give you the answers that you are looking for. There is a new Facebook group called Autism Answered. It might have what you need.
Social media, at times, can be an excellent resource. You can get on Facebook and find news articles that your friends and family have posted on their pages. Sometimes, the news they post might be helpful to you, but, there will also be times when it is not.
Today, when you use the word “autism”, most people have at least a vague understanding of what you are talking about. I have a sibling who has an autism spectrum disorder. When he was a little kid, no one had any idea why he was so different from the rest of the kids in his class. Back then, few people had heard the word “autism”, and those who did assumed it meant only the most severe examples of the spectrum.
Much has changed. There is now a ton of information, scattered across the internet, about autism. Parents who are raising kids who have an autism spectrum disorder have a wealth of resources to choose from. There are autism websites, autism awareness organizations, and a bunch of apps that either have information about autism, or are designed to help kids who have autism to communicate.
One of the great things about social media websites like Facebook is that you can interact with people who have read, and are responding to, the same news article that you just finished reading. You can post a question onto your Facebook page and let others give you some advice and helpful answers. Parents of kids who have autism can sometimes find answers about parenting a child who has autism this way.
I just discovered a new Facebook resource that parents of kids who have an autism spectrum disorder should check out. It is called Autism Answered. You can find links to several recent news articles that discuss autism. There is a link to where you can get involved with an Autism Discussion page.
Autism Answered started a discussion that parents can respond to. Have you tried Applied Behavior Analysis therapy for Autism? What did you think? Did it help? Share your experiences with other parents. If you have an autism related question, you can post it there. Other people will post advice. Autism Answered can also be found on Twitter @AutismAnswered.
Image by BLW Photography on Flickr
