Caring for a Young Child with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Welcome

Learning about a child’s diagnosis of an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) changes caregivers’ lives, opening up new dimensions of responsibility and challenge. Caring for a young child with ASD affects caregivers in a multitude of areas, including their emotional reactions, daily coping, relationships, and family. When entering this new world of autism, caregivers are faced with the challenges of learning about ASD as it relates to their child, learning how to access services for their child, and dealing with related financial challenges.

With the unpredictable nature of ASD and the overwhelming amount of information about ASD available, caregivers may feel like they do not know anything about ASD. It is important to remember, however, that caregivers are experts on their own children.

Finding information and learning about ASD can be overwhelming for many caregivers. There is plenty of information available, and determining if it is reliable or helpful can be difficult. There is a lot of inaccurate, misleading information about ASD, especially on the Internet. It can be challenging and frustrating for caregivers to sort through all of the information offered. Using only reliable sources of information can help to cut down on frustration or disappointment, but caregivers need resources and support to learn how to do determine if information is reliable.

Figuring out how to balance caring for a young child with ASD with the rest of the demands of your life can be very hard. To learn more about how to cope with the stressors you are likely to face as a caregiver, use your mouse to click the external resources, handouts, and activities displayed on the left of the screen.