Approaching Autism Adulthood: What to do first

I was talking to an autism mom the other day while our sons practiced on their Special Olympics basketball team, when I realized I had three other parents waiting to talk to me. Suddenly I’m a wise woman simply because my autistic son is now an adult. We have passed through the Inferno gate of Adult Services but unlike Dante’s, we have not abandoned hope. But hope was in short supply that Saturday morning. Hot anxiety rose from these parents like steam from a kettle. They rifled through their bags and pockets for something to write on, to take down what I was saying. Every few sentences, one of them would stop me and say, “Wait, what does that mean?’ And every so often, they would stop writing, stare out at the crowded gym and say, “Oh, god, this is so overwhelming. I don’t even know what to do next.” I could tell her what to do next: everything. Even though her son is around eight, she needed to be planning for his future: job, housing, caregivers. I don’t just mean creating a Special Needs Trust; I mean learning about all the adult services and resources that are available and how to access them. Just speaking those words makes me go bleary and looking for my bed. But as many autism parents learn early, sleep is something you learn to do without. From the typical sleepless nights of infancy, to the more autism-related sleep disorders that so often develop, to the worry, if you have a child with autism, you think of sleep as a ...
Source: Susan's Blog - Category: Autism Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs