Education
Resources in this section are to help parents navigate their child’s needs with the school system as well as apps that help kids with ASD.
Navigating the special education system. (2019). Retrieved from https://researchautism.org/resources/navigating-the-special-education-system/.
Organization of Autism Research’s Navigating the Special Education System
This downloadable guide from Organization of Autism Research is from 2012, and walks parents through the basics of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Individualized Education Plans (IEPs), and a timeline of services for children with ASD. The document also has robust appendices, a glossary of terms related to special education disability accommodation, and is easily divided into manageable sections with hyperlinks to other sections in the download. Organization of Autism Research has about twenty other similarly styled guides– all available to download for free, with about half downloadable in Spanish. The only downside is that many of the hyperlinks in the document to outside sources are broken. To address this, including a clearly visible warning to parents before opening the link to NOT click on links to outside sources would be a solution.
Pratt, C. & Dubie, M. (2003). Practical steps to writing Individualized education plan (IEP) goals and writing them well. The Reporter, 9(2), 1-3, 24.
Indiana Resource Center for Autism’s Practical Steps to Writing Individualized Education Programs
This guide assists parents writing individualized education programs for their child, including examples of good and less-good goals. This can be an overwhelming task for parents who are not teachers, and can help parents make the most of their children’s time in school to advance their intellectual, social, and behavioral goals. While the resource is from 2003, not much has changed on a federal level for requirements for teaching since the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) added autism as a service it accommodates in 1997, and most states have specific requirements for IEPs anyway. This document gives a strong overview of high level things to consider when writing an IED– like choosing specific over general goals, prioritizing life skills, and scoping goals to a school year. It is briefer and less overwhelming than the Organization of Autism Research’s Guide we’ve included, though they both serve different purposes. The brevity of this piece is useful for parents who already have enrolled their child in Special Education and are looking for assistance with this specific task. The website this resource is part of, the Indiana Resource Center for Autism, also has a lot of other useful articles for parents to explore. This site also has an option for Spanish.
Best apps for kids with autism. Retrieved from https://www.commonsense.org/education/top-picks/best-apps-for-kids-with-autism.
Common Sense – Best Apps for Kids with Autism
A page that lists apps that children with autism may enjoy. These apps help with language delay, emotions and other aspects of society that are often difficult for children on the autism spectrum. This page allows for a parent to explore the app suggestions with their child, the apps are a simple click away, or searchable in the Apple or Google app stores. This a very simple website without a lot of clutter which can be distracting. The site also provides ratings, discusses data concerns and what privacy will look like. Everything is well explained, and had links to the games so a parent can look at apps directly. Unlike other sites, the majority of the links on this page still lead to the correct destination, were a parent can read even more reviews by users, and the child gets to look at the game directly. This is a nice opportunity for parent and child to choose games. (only in English)
Tough Topics
Resources in this section include difficult topics that might arise as children enter school and as they become teenagers. Topics like bullying and sexuality are difficult topics for most parents and having a child with ASD usually adds another layer of difficulty. Information on how to deal with tough topics is important as kids transition to adulthood and independent living.
Autism beacon. (2013). Retrieved from http://autismbeacon.com/home
Comprehensive page, using a thought cloud cataloging system, which makes topics easy to find for just about anyone. The articles are extensive, covering harder topics such as talking about sexuality, confronting bullying, and feminine care. There is also an active blog, Brenda’s Blog, that has articles of interest on a regular basis. The site itself is very user friendly and inviting. Perhaps a little bit busy for some users, but the cloud catalog system allows for interactive searches, each article having obvious tags to related resources and topics. While other sites have good information the searchability of this site is thorough, with topics readily available to the eye. This allows for the parent to browse, and check out topics they may not have thought of yet, but can now explore and think about as they move through the site.(only in English)
Autism support network (2019). Retrieved from http://www.autismsupportnetwork.com/ .
(Multilingual Site Options – Google Translate) – This is an easy to navigate site filled with articles from all sides, parents, the autistic, those who identify as having Aspergers, doctors, researchers, etc. It is a site that aims to make connections globally to aid anyone dealing with Spectrum Disorders, according to their Mission statement. Resources are searchable by region, and there are options for community support which has a cloud search, providing easy access to topics. The support community has options for many different languages. There is also a live chat option for people to make connections with others who are having similar experiences. The tougher topics are also covered fairly thoroughly through articles, suggestions, tips and stories told by both families of those with spectrum disorder and those who are on the spectrum. This site is a standout because of the global perspective. Articles, programs and research differs from country to country, and is non-existent in certain countries. The breath is large but navigating the site is fairly simple.
Autism speaks. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.autismspeaks.org/.
Autism Speaks is a nonprofit organization that supports and advocates for individuals with Autism and their families. Included amongst Autism Speaks resources is a link for their 100 day kit as well as a wide range of resources in other languages including Spanish, Arabic, and French.This site includes resources for bullying, sexuality, and living independently. The site is easy to use with a nice clean interface. There is a search bar where parents can enter terms to search for, but there are also hover drop-down options to look for more broad topics. An unexpected resource is also a natural disaster preparedness guide for parents that includes videos and tips for what to do during a disaster.
Support for Parents:
Resources included in this section are resources for parents to understand Autism Spectrum Disorders better as well as various definitions. The resources also include sites developed to help families before and after a diagnosis.
Resource list: autism spectrum disorder. (2016). [PDF file]. Retrieved from https://www.aap.org/en-us/Documents/cocwd_autism_resource_nce.pdf.
American Academy of Pediatrics Autism Spectrum Disorder Resource List
This list was developed to accompany an educational session, “Autism: From Diagnosis to Transition and Beyond” presented by the Council on Children with Disabilities at the 2016 American Academy of Pediatrics’ National Conference and Exhibition. In addition to the American Academy of Pediatrics as a resource, the guide also includes links to various other resources including healthychildren.org which offers information backed by pediatricians and includes the links to Autism related sections of that website. Even though this is a PDF, it does include the link for the AAP autism section where you can look for more updated information. This PDF is only available in English but the AAP website does include international information.
Resources. (2019). Retrieved from https://depts.washington.edu/uwautism/resources/.
University of Washington (UW) Autism Center Online Resources
The UW’s Autism Center offers various online resources that are beneficial for parents at various stages of their child’s diagnosis. UW’s Autism Center’s resources include a CDC guide to tracking your child’s developmental milestones up to the age of 4. A handout for choosing the correct Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) treatment for your child that was made by Dr. Natasha Harrington (an autistic self-advocate). UW’s resources include topics such as whether bilingual environments hinder language development in kids with ASD. Resources included are backed by research and have citations at the bottom of the handout or pdf. The Autism Center also includes resources for planning a trip for children which is often a missed area.
Blackwell M. C., & Culotta, V. P. (2015). PFA tips: Staying ahead of the game. Retrieved from
https://pathfindersforautism.org/articles/healthcare/pfa-tips-staying-ahead-of-the-game-
he-dsm-5-and-autism/
Pathfinders for Autism’s Tips for Staying Ahead of the Game: DSM-V and Autism
This pithy guide explains changes made in diagnosis of ASD and Asperger’s in the DSM-V, released in 2013. The guide was updated in 2015, and Pathfinders for Autism notes it will make more updates when updates are available. It answers commonly asked questions for parents of children who were diagnosed with autism, Asperger’s, or related disorders in the DSM-IV. Hyperlinks to diagnosis descriptions from the American Psychiatric Association are easy to read, working, and do not have an overwhelming amount of information. It addresses a major concern of parents who have children diagnosed under DSM-IV– will my child’s benefits continue if they do not meet the diagnosis in the DSM-V? Though this resource is specifically for Maryland for legal information and benefits, we’ve decided to include it because it does explain changes in a succinct way to all parents. It’s presence in the guide alone also signals to parents who are unaware of the changes that it has happened in the first place.
Representation in book collections, movies and other media
As children grow, it is important for them to see representations of people like them in media. If you are a parent looking for media we’ve got a wide range of media to choose from.
Books by autistic authors. (2019). Retrieved from https://geekclubbooks.com/autistic-authors/
30 Best children’s books about the autism spectrum.(2016) Retrieved from
https://www.appliedbehavioranalysisprograms.com/30-best-childrens-books-about-the-
autism-spectrum/
Geek Club Books: Autistic Authors
Geek Club Books is an autism advocacy and awareness nonprofit that aims to feature voices of autistic people. Their page on autistic authors includes books about autism for young children, sci-fi and fantasy reads, comics, biographies, family entertainment, help and support guides and more! Each recommendation comes with an interview with the author, and a list of additional resources on the website at the bottom of the page makes it easy, but not overwhelming, to navigate to other resources. While we found many book lists with autistic characters like Applied Behavior Analysis Program’s 30 Best Children’s Books About the Autism Spectrum, books that are written by people with ASD provide for more dynamic representation.
Hoffmann, A. (2013). Austistic book list. Retrieved from http://www.ada-hoffmann.com/autistic-book-list/.
Ada Hoffmann’s Autistic Book List
A list of books collected and partly reviewed by a speculative fiction author who is on the Autism Spectrum themselves. It targets a wide age range of books and short stories. Some of the books they have reviewed for other review sources, others have been suggested to them, and some of the authors are on the spectrum. This book list is good springboard into the fiction world with Autistic characters or Autism related stories. (also only books in English)
Resource for Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders 