What My Son ’s Autism Diagnosis Taught Me as an SLP

Communication sciences and disorders professionals are often planners and fixers. We like to prepare for everything, and we want to “fix” everyone’s communication disorders. We got into this field because we wanted to help people, after all! Late last year, I found myself in a personal situation for which I hadn’t prepared and I couldn’t “fix.” My son was diagnosed with autism at age 4. People often ask me how I handled his diagnosis. Overall, I think I handled it well. I mean, I knew. I had seen the signs, and I knew what to expect—eventually. The official diagnosis didn’t shock or blindside me. I accepted my son’s autism even before I heard the words officially. I also knew the diagnosis would allow us to qualify for all of the services he needed. While I handled the diagnosis well overall, I still mourned. I still cried. Getting the “official” diagnosis meant my son’s life—and our life as a family—officially changed. We all started a journey I never expected or planned for my child. I knew we’d face scary, uncertain and expensive experiences. This autism journey is full of unknowns and worries. Assessing and intervening with co-occurring conditions in children with autism. When a child who is deaf or hard of hearing also presents with autism symptoms, what can audiologists do to promote appropriate care? Actress Holly Robinson Peete and SLP Pamela Wiley build understanding between police officers and young men with autism—espe...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - Category: Speech-Language Pathology Authors: Tags: Schools Slider Speech-Language Pathology Autism Spectrum Disorder Source Type: blogs