Sometimes, it can be very stressful to raise a child who has a special need. Being a parent can be extremely rewarding and satisfying one moment, and incredibly difficult the next, for all parents. Parents of children who are on the autism spectrum will be dealing with things that not a part of every parent’s experience. Joy’s Autism Blog describes one family’s experiences raising a child who has autism. This blog provides insights and answers that can help other parents who also are raising a child who has autism.
One of the great things about blogging is that it allows real people to share what they are going through with anyone who reads it. Parenting can be an isolating experience at times, and it is not unusual for parents to have questions about how to handle certain situations, or if their child is doing something that is considered to be “normal” for their age group. Blogs about parenting can create a sense of community between the blog writer, the blog readers, and the people who leave comments and questions on the blog. You may read over something, and think to yourself: “My kid does that too!”
Joy’s Autism Blog is written by Joy, and her husband, Glen, contributes to the blog as well. They have four young children, and one of their sons, Adrian, has autism. Joy started the blog in 2006, intending the blog to be about autism, but it has sense turned into a family journal of sorts. However, since their family includes a child who has autism, there is still a lot of good information relating to autism in the blog. If you have questions about autism, you can contact Joy by email.
One of the most helpful things about this blog is the section called “How We Knew Adrian Had Autism”. I think this is an excellent resource for parents who think that their child might have autism, but haven’t gotten any evaluation done in regards to that yet. This page has a brief, but detailed, description of what that process is like. Joy has described Adrian’s behaviors at certain ages.
There is a part where a doctor asks her if Adrian flapped his hands. At the time, Joy didn’t know that hand flapping, and other “stimming” behaviors can be an indicator that a person is somewhere on the autism spectrum. As a child, my brother used to flap his hands and arms when he became overly excited about something. When I read this part of Joy’s blog, I felt a connection to her experiences with her son. I think that parents of kids that have autism will have many moments like that when they read over Joy’s Autism Blog.
Image by Quinn Dombrowski on Flickr