Talking To Families About Autism
How do I bring up autism to families?
This is a great question. And the truth is…
I don’t believe there is one perfect way.
When we try to use a one-size fits all approach to bringing up autism to different families, it usually blows up in our faces.
But before we go into what we should do, let’s talk about what NOT to do. And yes, this is based on personal experience.
Don’t Assume What A Family Knows - I remember when I was a CF, I made the mistake of assuming that the family knew their child was autistic and needless to say, they were not happy with the way I brought up the topic because it caught them completely off guard.
Don’t Wait For the Family To Bring Up Autism To You - I have also made the mistake of waiting too long and when I finally got around to bringing up autism, the family could not believe that I was just realizing that their child had a diagnosis.
These experiences, while uncomfortable, have helped me so much in feeling more confident in bringing up autism to families.
So now I want to share my top 4 ways to bring up autism and you can decide what approach you think will be best for the families you are working with.
- Establish rapport with the family before bringing up autism
- Refer families for a developmental evaluation immediately after your initial speech assessment as a part of your intake paperwork
- Include an autism characteristics checklist as a part of your intake paperwork
- Point out characteristics of autism and ask reflective questions to see what the families know
If you want to hear more about these 4 approaches and the pros and cons of each, make sure you check out my live show, Making the Shift.
>> Making the Shift, Episode 60, How Do I Bring Up Autism To Families?
No matter which way you choose, the best thing we can do is focus on neurodiversity-affirming ways to talk about autism.
If we’re scared, it shows the family that autism is something to be scared of and that is not what we want to do.
When you make the mindset shift to autism is a neurotype, that can help both you and the family learn so much more about how to support their child. And ultimately, that is what is really important.
