Parent to Parent

CT FEAT sponsors a “Parents Only” Listserv Discussion Group where hundreds of Connecticut families daily share information and insights drawn from their lives with autism. While the listserv is a closed, private, confidential group, we are able to share (with the permission of the authors) some especially noteworthy posts.

These articles, unless otherwise noted, are the property of Connecticut Families for Effective Autism Treatment, Inc. (CT FEAT) and their authors, and are copyright protected. They may be used only with proper attribution.

compiled for CT FEAT by parents of children with Autism: Transitioning Your Child with Autism from Birth to Three to Your School District (added December 2011)
By age 3, your child will transition out of the Connecticut Birth to Three System (B23) and into your local school district for all of their educational/disability requirements. The earlier a referral is made, the better. You should reach out to the school district when your child turns 2-years-old. This gives everyone plenty of time to meet each other and prepare for the transition. It is important to remember that B23 services will end with your child’s third birthday and the goal is to have other services and support programs through the school system already in place. Early planning for this transition is essential to ensure your local district has appropriate services available

Cristin Millen: How One Parent Built her Child’s Play Skills while Reducing His Self-Stimulatory Behavior
(added October 2011)
The recent discussion concerning the challenge of keeping a four-year-old engaged really got my attention. I remember that when I first joined the CT FEAT Parent Discussion Group I posted a similar question: “Would my child EVER stop lining up and spinning toys and ACTUALLY play with them?” So, in honor of all the wonderful moms, like Beth Lambert, who shared their stories with me, I’d like to share my journey towards how I FINALLY got my kiddo to play.

Beth Lambert: Being a Team Player: Observing Your Child In The Classroom (added June 2010)
Whenever a parent expresses concern about their child’s lack of progress at school or home, my first piece of advice is to get into the classroom to see what is happening. Over the 13 years my son has been in school, I have learned a tremendous amount by observing him there.

Beth Lambert: Evaluating Educational Programs for Children with ASD (added June 2010)
I wanted to share with my fellow parents what I learned at the highly informative presentation by Erik Mayville, Ph.D., BCBA-D, at the March 2010 conference put on by the CT Association for Behavior Analysis (CT ABA). Dr. Mayville, who works at The Institute for Educational Planning (IEP) in Milford, CT, titled his workshop “Evaluating Educational Programs for Children with ASD.”

Here are more articles written from a parent’s perspective.