"Where can I get practical information on problems most families face?"
Families of younger and even older children and adults with Autism may face many of the same problems that all other families face, but with some different aspects. Therefore we will need some more atypically adaptive problem definitions and solutions. We have a set of links about those usual parenting issues and some general advice on how to handle them if your child has an Autism Spectrum condition. If you seek more specific tips please email us.

SEVEN BIG PARENTING ISSUES WE ALL MUST FACE:

• Tantrums
• Toileting & Self-Care
• Eating Problems & Potentials
• Teeth Brushing & Provider Team Work
• Biomedical Protocols & Medical Procedures
• Car & Bus Seat Safety
• Sleeping & Waking

These guides describe tips that we have found work the best with most of our children and students with Autism. However, that said, we must give notice that they are very general in nature and may not apply well to all families and children. These tips online are just meant to provide basic samples of possible adaptive solutions within a developmental model of parenting, just to help you understand the nature of the kinds of adjustments you may need to make within this model. Because children with Autism and their parents need intervention stragtegies that are based on best Autism practice models of well-established Autism interventionsm which allow the child to be first carefully assessed and adults to develop individualized goals and strategies within a family-centered planning process, we do not propose that these tips can substitute for that process. Therefore, one way to make use of this information is to try it out and hopefully a tip will help. They usually do. However, even if they may not work now, they can still help if you can see them as a trial in a developmental assessment strategy for systematically assessing where mutual sensorimotor, communication and social awareness gaps and developmental nurturing glitches exist. Therefore remember that these are just general tips--so if they do not work do not blame yourself or your child. Whether they work or do not work, you both need to get connected to training in the models strategies that match with your needs and that work best for you with a skilled and experienced Autism guide. Check out the rest of the intervention models for that information. Do not worry dear parent. Everything is going to be O.K.

Note: All these links/articles were originally published with the author's permission in the The Net Journal of the Autism Society of Oregon. Summe.r and Fall 2003, and Winter 2004, Issues. Sharone Lee, editor and author. They have been returned to their home at Threshold, but they have been kept in our public access pages for all our parent's use.