Autism in Our Home - Resources

I can't tell you how thankful I am that we live at a time when A) There are proper diagnostics, B) There are resources for diagnosed issues, and C) There are advocates for people like our son! I was speaking with the coordinator of the school district's Autism program. She was a wealth of information! She suggested that we buy "Social Stories." And, she suggested that we do it immediately. It's a great resource! I am actually planning to make several binders out of the pages in the book. I plan to make a binder for each "event" or "environment" so that we can take them with us to different situations.

Some of Colton's autistic characteristics include a complete lapse in remembering, and properly completing personal hygiene events. We have to remind him to shower. We have to remind him what he needs to do once he is in the shower. We have to remind him to do his laundry. We have to remind him to flush toilets, brush teeth, wash hands, etc. This is a pretty "normal" characteristic. We keep his hair buzzed because he will never, ever remember to comb it. Rather than having it cause an issue, we just keep it buzzed.

Sitting still is rough! Church is ROUGHER! However, this is a book that is written in a way that Autistic people can understand, comprehend, and appreciate. There are also several resources in the back of the book that help a parent, or teacher, etc. to create their own social stories, depending on the Autistic person's characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses. We plan to make some of our own, including understanding people's feelings, wandering, stranger danger, etc.

I am so thankful for resources that are available to us to help our son navigate this world that is, at time, nearly impossible for him to live in.