Parent's Perspectives

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Hi. My name is Nicole Henson. I am currently working on my Masters Degree to get my BCBA to become a behavioral Analyst. I love working with children who have been diagnosed with Autism. They are such sweet kids and I love helping them. I am employed at an elementary school helping children with Autism in the general education setting. I also have a brother who was diagnosed with Autism about 11 years ago. He is such an awesome kid!
For my masters program I am taking a class about how disabilities affect families. I am desirous to learn about other families perspectives on having a child that has been diagnosed with Autism. What were some of the challenges you faced? What were some of the successes you had? Were there certain things you were worried about? What is your perspective on your child's education program? Have you had problems with the educational system? What are some of the joys your child or children have brought you?
I really appreciate any comments and the time you take to make them!

Thanks!

Nicole Henson

Hi, Nicole - rather than answering you directly, I'm going to suggest you read through this forum. If you are looking for things to share or publish, you probably should contact individual posters and get their permission.

Some posts on the forum have been "indexed" by subject, and there is a sticky of that at the top of the board that may help you.

That's a lot of questions but I'll try to answer a few. Yes we had trouble with the school system. Even though DS was dx prior to entering kindergarten we still had to fight with the school to get an IEP. The principal could not wrap her head around the fact that my high functioning kiddo needed services and accommodations. One of the biggest challenges is to resist responding when DS is over-reacting in certain situations. Most of the time I can let his complaints roll off my back but when I am feeling irritable myself, it is hard. I worry that even though he is very smart that he will not ever be able to be independent. I try to act as if he will be but I still worry. He is only 7 so we have a long way to go. We are trying to provide services he needs as long as they are available and I will never stop being his advocate as long as he needs that.