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Facing Your Child's Autism Diagnosis

by Areva Martin, Esq.

In This Article:

How advocacy can help

Use Advocacy to Alleviate Denial
Advocacy for your child with autism can help you move past denial more quickly. Directing your energy toward an issue, rather than away from it, can be so empowering that it motivates you to do even more.

  1. Talk to someone you trust about what you are observing in your child. Find someone who will not try to persuade you to take a particular action, but will simply listen.
  2. Journal your observations. Review what you write three or four times a week.
  3. Make yourself familiar with the medical literature on autism and its many causes and symptoms.
  4. Attend a workshop or seminar on the topic. Getting more information will help you have a better understanding. Visit a preschool or classroom with typical children. Seeing other children who are comparable in age will help you have a frame of reference for your child's behavior.
Get in the habit of asking what you can do, instead of ruminating or dwelling on your sense of frustration, anxiety or uncertainty. One of the finest skills an advocate can develop is the ability to act effectively despite those feelings. Cultivate this skill and you will become a powerful advocate for your child. As you practice you will also move toward acceptance.



More on: Autism

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Excerpted from The Everyday Advocate: Standing Up for Your Child with Autism or Other Special Needs.
Copyright © 2011 Penguin Group.
Buy this book now!

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