Module 7 Living with Autism: Impact on Family and Siblings

Emily lives with her mother and father who both report special education needs growing up. Her mother is very concerned with Emily's behavior but is afraid for her to be labeled special ed. based on her own experiences. While family is very loving and there is extended support from grandparents, carryover or follow through is limited. The family tends to spend most of their time indoors watching TV or playing video games with little exposure to other children outside of the school environment. Socio-economic resources are also limited for this family further reducing Emily's exposure to novel situations or activities. Due to work schedules, parent involvement in school related activities is limited. Information is shared with the family via written documentation in her backpack. Her scheduled IEP meeting is coming up and I am looking forward to meeting her parents and following up a bit more on the family dynamics and finding out how we can be more supportive of their needs as a family. At her IEP meeting I will also be asking what the family’s plans are for Emily during the summer months as her Head Start classroom will be closing. I want to reiterate the importance of Emily being around peers – encouraging the family to look into low cost or no cost summer programs such as local playground opportunities where she would possibly be exposed to children that she would be in kindergarten with. The family has not pursued Wrap Around Services as of yet, but it may benefit them to initiate the process to assist with community and school age support.