Be your special needs child's advocate during air travel | Best Family Travel Advice

In today’s world of poor customer service and inconsistent policies, self-sufficient travel is the best. It may sound harsh, but nobody else outside your friends and family can be safely relied on to help you and your granddaughters. You can ask the airline to place a note in the reservation, but honestly, the advocacy is up to you.

Firstly, bring a letter from the children’s physician stating their medical needs and then request private screening at TSA. Communicate with the TSA agents at each step and ask for a supervisor if needed. Remain calm: they are not going to respect your situation as much as you’d like them to simply because most people don’t really understand. If you can ask a friend or relative to accompany you through airport security to the gate, that may free you up to care for the girls while the friend helps with belongings.

You may want to see if the girls would wear a mask. Hand washing with soap and water is best, but when on airplanes, use instant hand sanitizer and antibacterial wipes, wipe down tray tables and arm rests, and communicate your situation with flight attendants. There is a product that covers the seat called Plane Sheets. If using the airplane lavatory, do not wash hands in there, as there are so many germs on faucet, soap dispenser and door handle; instead use hand sanitizer at your seat.

via bestfamilytraveladvice.com

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Top Ten Things You Should (and Shouldn't) Say to The Parent of an Autistic Child

If you're the parent or caregiver of a child on the autism spectrum, Autism Awareness Month is not for you.  You are already aware of autism.  Like, really, really aware.  Aware that you need another cup of coffee, a Xanax, and possibly an advanced degee in Education Law.

Autism Awareness Month is for everyone else.  To help out, here's my Top Ten Things You Should (and Shouldn't) Say to The Parent of an Autistic Child.

10. DON'T SAY: "Wow, your son is great at math.  He's just like Rain Man."

      DO SAY:  "Wow, your son is great at math."

9. DON'T SAY: "He should probably be in a special class, so other kids won't make fun of him."

   DO SAY:  "We should probably be teaching our children more empathy."

8. DON'T SAY:  "You should try giving your kid more discipline."

    DO SAY: "You should try these brownies I made for you."

7. DON'T SAY: "Wow, your kids all seem to have a lot of problems.  Have you ever heard of Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome?"

    DO SAY: "Wow, you're really on top of things for your kids.  It must be hard, but it seems like you're doing a great job."

via starkravingmadmommy.com

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Autism Diagnoses Still More Likely in Richer Neighborhoods - Yahoo! News

Poor children with autism are less likely than richer kids to have the condition diagnosed, but this disparity has decreased in recent years, according to a new study.

Researchers analyzed data on children in California and found that the average age of autism diagnosis fell from 5.9 years among children born in 1992 to 3.8 years for those born in 2000.

Of the 4,906,926 children born in California between 1992 and 2000, they found that 18,731 (0.38 percent) were diagnosed with autism. The prevalence of autism in the state increased from 29 per 10,000 children in 1992 to 49 per 10,000 children in 2000.

The study appears in the April issue of the American Sociological Review.

via news.yahoo.com

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Asperger’s Syndrome: Struggling to Be Next to Normal « Fern Life Center

My oldest child, Cameron, who is now 21 years old, was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome (AS) when he was in 5^th grade. He is graduating next semester with a four-year college degree and an intention to proceed to graduate school. Any parent with a child on the “Autistic Spectrum” will recognize the journey that we took to get to that diagnosis and to this place. I am writing this blog to help others out there who are teachers, caregivers, family members, friends, and/or healthcare providers of these very special kids. I say special not in a sense of somehow handicapped, but special as in unique and with something to offer the world that comes through a lens of rigorous authenticity. People with AS are known for their unrelenting honesty and inability to tell even the whitest of lies to please another. What a wonderful gift for society to receive; members who have integrity that is so deeply ingrained that it is actually almost impossible to lie.

The reason I had my child evaluated was because of a parent teacher conference gone bad. Cameron’s 5^th grade teacher felt I was too “enmeshed” with him and was milking the system for the individualized educational plan (IEP) he had in place. She felt that he would function just fine without my “interference”. His IEP stipulated he was to have someone sit next to him at the front of the room that didn’t fidget or interrupt in class. That particular 5^th grade class was full of boys who had been diagnosed with Attention Deficit with Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Cameron was falling through the cracks. There had never been such a distorted ratio of boys with ADHD and so few girls in this elementary school before and the teachers were at their wits’ end trying to teach them and maintain order. Kids with AS frequently sit in class and daydream of their latest passionate interest and can get lost in the river of education as a result. I had asked for one of the quiet, steady girls to sit next to him so he wouldn’t get distracted and come home not knowing what was discussed in class.

When the teacher told me I was the problem, I thought to myself, “maybe she’s right, maybe Cameron and I should both be tested and see what is going on. Let’s face it, I AM stressed that my son doesn’t pay attention in class, is distracted on the soccer field by an ant hill, hums quietly to himself at the dinner table, and doesn’t get invited to birthday parties. Maybe reading about birds of prey, building mobiles of birds of prey, going to the Museum of Natural History in Salt Lake City for the birds of prey exhibit EVERY WEEK, making masks that represent birds of prey, doing a hawk on his birthday cake, and generally immersing myself into the world of birds of prey with Cameron is a big mistake. (Birds of prey were his current passion and he could tell you EVERYTHING about the subtlest feature of each of the birds of prey in the wild you could possibly want…and much, much, more).

via fernlifecenter.com

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Website offers top tips on caring for people with learning disabilities | News | Nursing Times

A new website, offering practical tips on supporting people with learning disabilities, is proving popular with healthcare providers for its hands-on approach.

www.Netbuddy.org.uk provides solutions to issues many learning disability nurses will recognise, such as: how to administer medicines comfortably, how to manage constipation, how to communicate with someone who is non-verbal and how to cope with challenging behaviour.

All the tips are contributed by people with first-hand experience of learning disability.

Netbuddy co-founder Deborah Gundle said: “Netbuddy appeals to healthcare professionals because the advice is very practical, and it comes directly from people with everyday experience of learning disability. It’s a goldmine of useful information from people who really know what they’re talking about.

Since www.Netbuddy.org.uk launched in September 2010, the site has had thousands of hits from parents, carers and healthcare providers - either picking up ideas or contributing tips.

“Parents immediately recognised how useful Netbuddy could be and started using it straight away,” said Deborah. “Now we are getting more healthcare professionals to the site, which is fantastic. We particularly want to hear from learning disability nurses, as they will have lots of useful ideas to pass on.

“We really believe that Netbuddy can make a huge difference in providing excellent quality of care for people with learning disabilities.”

via nursingtimes.net

Parents, caregivers of special needs children will find this article of interest.

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