A Crash Course for Parents of Newly Diagnosed Kids
"Our child was just diagnosed with high functioning autism. We have blamed ourselves for many of his behavioral issues, but now see there was something else going on. So instead of viewing myself as a failed parent, I need to see my role as my son's advocate. What should I be looking for in the way of expected obstacles/challenges to address as they come up?" You just discovered that your child has High Functioning Autism (HFA). Welcome to Club! You probably didn’t want to be here. But, don’t get discouraged. No one signs up for this membership. Think of it like this: At least you know what the heck is going on now, which is 10 times better than parenting in the dark. Maybe up until this point, you blamed yourself for many of the emotional and behavioral issues your child experienced. You may have even viewed yourself as a “failure” or a “bad” parent because you couldn’t get your child to stop his negative attitude, tantrums and meltdowns. Well, let’s set the reco