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First Steps Autism

The first steps you need to take...

With or without a diagnosis What skills can i gain with this website ?

Communication is the key

Sometimes its a struggle to communicate with your special needs child and it's a hard time for everyone in the household with a diagnosis or with out one. A lot of people don't have help things get very stressful. Its hard enough dealing with the fact you just found something is wrong with your child, its heartbreaking. Only people in the same situation can understand what you are going through so when people say your child is acting up your not doing a good job or your child is just naughty just know you are doing the best you can. First steps Autism is here to help you through those times of stress and give you advice on what to do, where to go and explain why your child's brain is different from others and for parents to give advice to each other about strategies that might help.

I want to give people a chance to communicate with their child and have some knowledge of what's going on with their child, to help them use the tools they need to help their child. I have designed charts, communication cards, word boards, flashcards, breathing techniques, reward cards, and will give advice where I can .

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The First steps you need to take...

The first steps.

We have all had that feeling that there was something wrong with our child. They might not looking at us when they talk or might have unusual behavior’s or just not talking, so we take them to the doctor to see what's going on and we hear the words autism or your child is on the spectrum. For some of us we have never heard the words before and we don’t understand.

The next step is to get referred to a pediatrician. They do some tests to find out if our child is on the spectrum and could have autism, after that there is a whole lot of specialists you need to see and the quicker you do this the better. Ask your pediatrician for a list if they have not already given you one.

The list should include, hearing therapist, Developmental pediatrician, Occupational therapist,

Speech pathologist, and an allied health clinic. Also check your local city council for autism centers .The reason we need to get this done is we need a diagnosis so our child can get the early intervention they need and the help they desperately need to build their brains.

Getting a diagnosis can take a very long time and it can depend on where you are located. Waiting lists are long and can take up to 2 years for families to get an appointment. There is the tests and more waiting if they don't figure out what it is straight away and we have to wait longer with little support. This can be a very stressful time for families. I want to take some stress away from parents and help them understand their child and how they are thinking and how communication is the key to our children.

Here are a few ideas on how to use these communication cards and how they can help your child's communication needs .

Communication cards are going to help in your everyday life.

They will help you explain to your child what to do next. Eg, going to the toilet is a big issue for a lot of autistic children and can be hard to deal with if your child can see exactly what he needs to do step by step it can make it a lot easier for your child.

If you're going out with your child its a good idea for them to know what's going on

It’s less stress on them when they know where they are going, that way there is less risk of your child having an episode. Children with autism don't see things how we do they get overloaded with information and their sensors get overwhelmed. It's hard to process all the information. Communication tools to make your child relax and process everything will help them understand things a lot better. Even if your child does have good communication skills he or she still might have trouble understanding everything that is going on around them so step by step is the way to go to make our child's life a lot less complicated.