With kids home from school, you need a break
by Beth
Breaks from school can be hard on kids with autism — not to mention their parents! While the weather is wintry, and the kids are home from school, Here are three ways to get some emotional support without leaving the house:
- Watch the press conference about the Easter Seals Living with Autism Study. The press conference last Tuesday was so positive — I especially liked the part when Barbara Gaither and William Snell talked about raising their sons who have autism. Some think the media coverage about studies like ours can be all doom and gloom, but in our case that wasn’t true. We have Barbara and William to thank for this — their stories about parenting their sons were so honest, and they spelled out the need for services so well. They were living examples of the way families can survive — and thrive — when services are available for children with autism and other disabilities.
The two words “other disabilities” are very important in that last sentence. Some who know about our Living with Autism Study are afraid Easter Seals is focusing on autism at the expense of services and attention to other disabilities. This is not true, and listening to the press conference online will assure viewers that Easter Seals continues serving people with all sorts of disabilities. Including autism.
- Read a book. Check out the “Bookstore” link on our autism Web site — the list features books reviewed on this blog. Every time you order a book through our bookstore, a portion of that sale will go to Easter Seals. Many of the most supportive and hopeful books in the Easter Seals Autism Bookstore are written by family members of people with autism — or by people who have autism themselves.
- Keep up with our Easter Seals and Autism blog. We’ll be reviewing more books the week after Christmas, so you’ll have more to choose from.
Happy Holidays!