Code 9983

Sharing Information About Your Child with Autism Spectrum Disorders: What Do Respite or Alternative Caregivers Need to Know by Beverly Vicker, M.S.; foreword by Lisa Ackerson Lieberman, MS, LCSW

$24.95
2007. ISBN 978-1-931-282-40-6

Leaving a child with a paid respite care worker, friend, neighbor, or even an extended family member, represents a potentially stressful situation for parents of children who have an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or any other developmental challenge. Sharing Information About Your Child with Autism Spectrum Disorders: What Do Respite or Alternative Caregivers Need to Know eases some of the apprehensions associated with parents communicating their child’s behavior, daily living patterns and food rituals to a person who is not familiar with the child. A caregiver might forget important verbal suggestions from the parents, but if the information is written down, the caregiver has a backup resource to aid his or her memory recall while the parents are away.

Sharing Information about Your Child with Autism Spectrum Disorder is broken down into five sections. The first section describes how parents can document their child’s medical issues, preferences, skill levels, and other information. The second section consists of short handouts that can help respite workers understand general topics such as the importance of routines or relaxation strategies. In the third section, case studies illustrate, for example, how information about behavior and positive behavior supports might be shared, in a written format, between a parent and respite worker. Section 4 contains blank forms for parents to use for paper-and-pencil preparation of information material. In addition, an accompanying CD allows parents to use their computer to prepare the information sheets and to print the supplementary handouts. Updating information is especially easy when the computer option is used. Section 5 provides references and suggested reading or viewing material.

No other book leads parents through this process of information sharing like Sharing Information about Your Child with Autism Spectrum Disorder. It is very challenging to prepare someone for the task of childcare; this book helps parents to remember to share the important “stuff” about their particular child.