Autism Blog Hop: Ch-ch-ch-changes

Topic: Difficulties with transition can lead to social isolation, mental health problems & continued dependence on parents Parents of young people with autism have described transition to adulthood like falling off a cliff-edge.

Point of interest... there is a prize/giveaway here. Just comment in the comments section about how this may or may not apply to your life, and if you know someone with autism. Or think you might. At the end of the month I'll pick one lucky winner to receive their choice of one book from my backlist, and another to receive a ten dollar gift card to either Amazon, or ARe.

Well. Imagine it like this. You go to help out a friend. She’s gotten mandated at work and won’t be home in time to get her kids ready for the bus. Not a big deal as you share a house. But one of her kids, a sweet little guy whom you secretly like best, freaks out when you try to help him put his tennis shoes on. Not a tantrum, there’s no I wanna get my way bull. No. His beautiful brown eyes are straining wide open, his breaths coming in gasps. He’s rocking in place and won’t answer when you try to ask what’s wrong. His twin is dressed, shoes on, waiting eagerly at the door for the big yellow bus to take him away to school.

Not this little guy. He’s keening low in his throat, and when you touch his arm to pat him the way that always soothes your daughter, he sort of shrieks and crawls into an impossibly small space under the end table.

What happened?

You offered him the right shoe first. They were the Nike’s and he only wears the Converse to school. You didn’t sing the cleanup song while you were putting the breakfast dishes in the sink, or maybe it’s just that he’s never practiced doing these things with you instead of his mom. He’s got ASD *autism spectrum disorder*, and you’ve just knocked him down the emotional equivalent of a steep flight of stairs.

Transition is hard for everyone on some levels, but for kids and adults with autism it can be debilitating. We all get that it would be wrong to ask a blind person to traverse a city block by themselves without preparing them first… well, imagine that the autistic person is blind too, but instead of being physically blind they suffer from a very specific type of emotional blindness. Asking them to make changes, big or small without adequate preparation—and the amount and type required will differ from person to person—is akin to tossing a blind person who has never been taught to use a guide dog or a cane out of your car at a random intersection in a foreign city and expecting them to be fine. The very thought is incomprehensible. It should be just as incomprehensible to fail to give those who deal daily with the challenges of ASD adequate preparation for changes.

You may work with, teach, go to school with, or even be the parent of someone with ASD. Educating yourself about ways to make your interactions easier for the person with ASD will benefit you both in the short and long term. Especially important for teachers, parents, and mentors is making sure you give yourself and your ASD child time enough to make the transition to adulthood as seamlessly as possible.

Here are some resources you can utilize to educate yourself and get started on your journey to successfully navigating the challenges you face:

http://www.autism.org.uk/living-with-autism/understanding-behaviour/change-preparing-a-person-with-an-autism-spectrum-disorder-for-change.aspx


http://www.autismconsortium.org/families/transitioning-to-adulthood

For a wealth of related blogs on Autism go to the website of the incomparable Rj Scott!

AUTISM AWARENESS BLOG HOP: hosted by Rj Scott