By Jim Pierson

As a college special education teacher, I have been amazed at the change in our awareness and knowledge about autism. One amazing statistic is the number of cases. When I started teaching, I told my students that 2 to 4 in every 10,000 births would have autism. Today the number is one in 150. It was considered a rare disease—not any more. Autism has become a household word. News outlets provide a steady stream of human interest stories, teaching methods, research findings. It is difficult to keep up with what is going on in the world of autism.

Here at CCFH Ministries our interest is providing information to assist church staff members and volunteers in their efforts to share the Gospel with people who have disabilities.

100 Day Kit

Autism Speaks^TM (website: www.autismspeaks.org) is a fairly new organization on the scene but it provides a lot of current, timely information. Their stated goal is “to change the future for all who struggle with autism spectrum disorders.” Autism Speaks^TM funds research, finds causes, raises awareness, works on prevention, wants to bring the autism community together, and the goal that warms my heart, offer hope to the people and their families that deal with autism.

Autism Speaks^TM Family Services has produced The Autism Speaks^TM 100 Day Kit, available on their website. Click the Community tab and then Family Services.

While its intended audience is newly diagnosed families, it has excellent information that would help a church volunteer better understand the world and language of autism. The document is in PDF and is available to you free. When you study the Kit, the first 41 pages will be especially helpful. I made some notes as I read through the material that will provide a guide as you read the Kit.

1. The information about autism is current.
2. The reader will understand the process a family goes through to get a diagnosis.
3. The terms a family uses when talking about autism will be evident.
4. The causes of autism are stated fairly.
5. The symptoms of autism are listed.
6. The parents’ reactions and feelings with a diagnosis of autism are important to know.
7. The section on Caring for the Caregiver will give churches ideas how to help parents.
8. The influence autism has on the entire family is clear.
9. The process and nature of the assistance and special services for the child with autism are listed.
10. The terms used in special education are defined.
11. The abbreviations used for the treatments of autism will make understanding what the family is talking about easier. Consider ABA (Applied Behavioral Analysis). PRT (Pivotal Response Treatment), VB (Verbal Behavior), DIR (Floortime), RDI (Relationship Development Intervention), TEACCH (Training and Education of Autistic and Related Communication Handicapped Children), SCERTS (Social Communication/Emotional Regulation/Transactional Support).
12. The most common services used in the treatment of autism are explained: Speech-Language therapy, Occupational Therapy, Sensory Integration Therapy, Physical Therapy, Auditory Integration Therapy, Gluten Free, Casein Free Diet, and Picture Exchange Communication System (parents will say PECS).
13. The section on keeping the child safe will have beneficial ideas for the church to consider will the child is in its care.
14. The sections on suggested reading materials and Websites will expand the information.
15. The “Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew” will make the volunteer related with more sensitivity to the person with autism.
16. The ideas for meaningful play would help in a church Christian education program.
     

The remaining pages have an outline for what to do each week as they deal with the diagnosis of autism. There are also forms for the parents to use.

I hope you find the use of Autism Speaks^TM Family Services 100 Day Kit a good tool for understanding the world of autism a family whose child attends your Christian education program experiences every day.

A Suggestion

Autism Speaks^TM provides the latest in information about autism. Go to their Homepage and click on “In the news.”

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 12th, 2008 at 2:10 pm and is filed under Diagnosis Updates and News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.