Dear Friends,

I am proud to announce the publication of my book Sharing Information About your Child with an Autism Spectrum Disorder -- What Do Respite or Alternative Caregivers Need to Know?

Periodically, all parents have to leave their child with someone else in order to attend to other demands or personal/family needs. Whatever the reason for a temporary absence, it is important that parents, child, and caregiver feel comfortable. My book is designed to help parents achieve some level of comfort, knowing that they have prepared the substitute caregiver with both verbal and written material.

The book leads parents through the preparation of the written material. Areas such as contact people, the status of daily living skills, behavior problems, communication abilities, relaxation strategies, and so forth, are probed by leading questions. Parents can decide what information needs to be furnished and recorded on worksheets using paper and pencil or an accompanying CD disk. Two comprehensive case studies illustrate what information might be shared and how to format it. Most likely the parents will develop a notebook to keep everything together. In addition, parents may want to share with respite workers some of the short, ready-to-use, general handouts included in the book on topics such as schedules, positive programming, sensory issues, and more.

I enjoyed preparing this resource for parents. I am aware of the many challenges faced by parents of children with ASD and wanted this to be as helpful and practical as possible. As a parent of two typical children (who are now adults), I can recall my own concerns about leaving information for childcare workers. These two roles meshed during the production of this book.

I hope that you will explore the contents of my book and recommend it to families.

Sincerely,

Beverly Vicker

My favorite AAPC books are...

	A "Stranger" Among Us: Hiring In-Home Support for a Child with Autism Spectrum Disorders or Other Neurological Differences Lisa Lieberman A powerhouse book to assist people with the first step of dealing with respite care -- selection of personnel.
	Asperger Syndrome and Sensory Issues: Practical Solutions for Making Sense of the World Brenda Smith Myles, Katherine Tapscott Cook, Nancy E. Miller, Louann Rinner and Lisa A. Robbins An easy-to-read orientation to sensory issues. This book will help respite workers, extended family members, and teachers understand the complex sensory world.
	Asperger Syndrome and Difficult Moments: Practical Solutions for Tantrums, Rage, and Meltdowns Brenda Smith Myles and Jack Southwick Little can be as frightening as a child out of control. Having a better understanding of the underlying issues helps.

This is an excerpt from pgs. 10-11 of Sharing Information About Your Child with Autism Spectrum Disorders: What Do Respite or Alternative Caregivers Need to Know? by Beverly Vicker, M.S.

What Information Should I Share?
The bottom line is that what information you decide to share depends on who needs information and under what circumstances the information will be used. For example, you would probably leave different information for your child's grandmother if she sees him on a regular basis than for an infrequent paid stranger or your helpful-but-busy, multi-tasking next-door neighbor. Similarly, less information may be needed for the person who plays a supportive respite role while the whole family is vacationing. In contrast, extensive information would be generated for the sole person left behind to care for the child with special needs while the remainder of the family is on vacation.

If you use care providers for a variety of circumstances, you may consider preparing customized versions for each, or prepare a set for the person who is least familiar with the child and let everyone use the same materials, even if some of the material is not novel or unknown to them. This might save you time and confusion since there would only be one set of materials to keep updated.

The guiding directive for the entire endeavor of providing information for respite workers is to project yourself into the role of the respite worker. What would you want to know in order to feel comfortable and confident to handle routine situations as well as the unexpected ones that might occur in your household? Would you want some of the information in advance? Would you prefer personal instruction and demonstration from the parents and then depend upon the written information when you are alone and uncertain about what to do?

Put this perspective into a familiar medical analogy. You would likely feel more comfortable managing the medical care of an ill parent at home if you had information - both remembered and written - to guide you. Think how often people walk away from a doctor's office and only remember a fraction of what was said since supplementary print instruction was not provided. Remember the anxiety you felt when forgetting important information. By preparing ahead of time and sharing information, you can prevent your respite worker from feeling that way, and at the same time feel less anxious yourself knowing your child's needs will be met.