Friday, June 7, 2013

Resources for Families and Parents of Children with Autism

With the continuous increase of autism diagnoses taking place every year, more and more families and parents are finding themselves in unknown terrain, with little information and support, not knowing where to turn next. In order to ease the transition for these families, I have compiled a list of top ten positive resources that are extremely helpful when looking for programs, information, and support.


1. http://php.com/services
This is a wonderful resource for parents created by Parents Helping Parents, which includes a list of programs available for a variety of disabilities including autism and information for each of those programs. On a scale of 1-5 this resource is has been given a 5. The webpage is easy to navigate, contains 23 links to programs listed in alphabetical order, and has extremely valuable information for educational and home based programs.   


Pacer Center is a great website for parents to find information and news regarding disabilities, laws regarding disabilities, and bullying. For this website I have given it a rating of 4. It a a great resource for information, but can be difficult to navigate and locate the exact topic you are searching for. 


This is a resource also provided by PHP in which they link parents to other parents who have similar experiences in a Peer Parent-to-Parent program that can provide support for each other, conversation, friendship, play dates, and advice. This resource is a 5 because it is clear and easy to understand, cites research to support the program, and is extremely helpful to parents and families alike. 
ep Magazine is a resource for parents that provides both online and print articles which is "the special needs resource." Exceptional Parent  receives a rating of 4 because it is a a great source of information for parents on a vast array of topics, but with so many topics it is hard to find specific articles families may be looking for and in need of more information. 

 Arizona Autism United is a great resource for parents and families all over the world, but especially in the phoenix, Arizona area. AZA lists resources for programs, providers, IEP advocates, and emotional supports. AZA receives a 5 for this resource because it is well organized, has very real support for parents in their communities, and even has resources and steps for parents of newly diagnosed children. 
Seeds for Autism is a wonderful resource for parents who are experiencing or planning for their child's future adult life, because they provide vocational and educational supports and programs for the individual as well as the family. This resource has a received a score of a 5 because it is visually appealing, easy to navigate, and they have many openings and dates for families to get into programs. 

Kids with Autism Can is a great organization and resource for families with autism because they focus on the strengths of their individuals and families they serve. The website has a tab for "inspirational" support for families with quotes, stories, sibling discussion, and creative arts. The website also has a "be informed" tab which contains information for programs such a bowling, iceskating, yoga, events, and parent groups, which is why it is receiving a rating of 5. 

The Federal Resource Center for Special Education is a great resource for families with children with disabilities because it outlines the needs of children with disabilities, as well as their families, such as wheelchair services, disability grants, sleeping, disability benefits, and healthcare. The website also outlines how to legally meet those needs. This website received a rating of 4 because it covers a vast array of needs and concerns parents may have for their children with autism, however, the site has advertisements that may be distracting to the purpose of the site.  

The National Respite Locator Service is an extremely valuable resource for parents of children with autism, because providing for the physical, educational, and emotional needs can be very taxing on a family. In order to help families meet those needs respite services are provided to allow parents time to relax, energize, run errands, and take care of their needs in order to better meet the needs of the family and child with autism. This resource receives a rating of 5 because it allows parents a quick and easy way to find individuals and agencies who provide these much needed services.

Family Village: A Global Community of Disability-Related Resources is a huge asset to families because it allows parents to interact with other parents having similar experiences with raising a child with a disabilities in areas of the world where they would typically be unable to do so. This resource also provides information focused specifically on life transitions, and approaches families can use each step of the way. Based on the resources large amounts of information, articles, and support of parent-to-parent communication it is listed as a 5 on the rating system. 

* Ratings awarded to each resource is based on a standard 1-5 rating system, with 1 being the lowest score and 5 being the highest. Elements considered in composing the score are, the ease of navigating the site and materials provided, visual input of the site, and level of support provided for families with a child with autism on each resource.