When my son Christopher first regressed into autism, I was definitely feeling very lost. I had no idea what had happened, where to turn, or how to help him. I sought out expert advice and Google became my best friend. Pretty quickly, I realized that the real autism experts were other autism parents. Those who laid the groundwork for the path I would take, whose footsteps I would walk in.

So, I thought for the rest of the month I would offer words of wisdom from some of my favorite parent experts. I’ll kick it off with their best advice for autism parents. Stay tuned the rest of the month for more words of wisdom, peppered with some other fun stuff. Feel free to ask any of your own questions in the comments below.

ASK THE EXPERTS

What is one piece of advice that you would give to other parents who have a child with autism?

MARY says:

“It will be up to you to find the answers. Just know you are not alone. There are a legion of parents actively seeking, researching, employing strategies and treatments that are making a difference in the well-being of their children. Your family will be joining the ranks of warriors who are making inroads in areas once thought impossible.”

“Autism is medical, so the faster you realize this the better chance you will have to help your child.”

KIM says:

“Trust your instincts! You’ll meet a lot of folks giving you a boatload of information about what does or doesn’t cause autism and how to treat it. You have to take control of your child’s education, medical care and treatment, and behavior from day one of diagnosis. You might even have to make hard, unpopular choices for your child – stick with them!“

“Never Give up. Find your child’s gift – it’s in there. Find ways to express your emotions and heal yourself.“

KRISTIN says:

“I believe our kiddos are capable of endless possibilities. I would not wait to enjoy life ’til ‘progress’ is reached. Instead, appreciate every day and form the best relationship that is possible. In my early days with my son I was constantly waiting for ‘when he does better’ to do something with him and years went by that I could have been enjoying those things with him all along. They grow up so fast. Autism is a roller coaster, however; remember this is still their childhood to enjoy and yours to enjoy watching.”

“Regressive autism is a medical condition and is treatable. Many kids recover and lose the diagnosis.“

MARCIA says:

“Children who have autism do not find the same things rewarding as typical children. It is not always easy to identify what is rewarding for a kid who has communication deficits. The best piece of advice I was given was to use what Ryan loved or obsessed about to teach him. For Ryan, that meant every lesson had to include one of the following: Elevators, cars, computers, technology, sharks, electric plugs, or light switches. It is also important to remember all children love hugs and praise, even if they don’t always show us that is true.“

MEET THE EXPERTS

Erica Daniels is the author of Cooking with Leo: An Allergen-Free Autism Family Cookbook, medical cannabis activist, public speaker and is the single mother of Leo who struggles with autism and chronic health issues. Erica’s life changed and gained new purpose after her son was diagnosed with autism in 2007. Erica founded Autism Advisors LLC and #hope4Leo 501c3 after years of struggling to treat her son’s autism using conventional and biomedical treatments with little or no success. Eating a healthy allergen-free diet and using natural medicines such as medicinal cannabis have greatly improved Leo’s health and autism symptoms. In 2016 Erica founded the autism420 Project, an initiative for legal, safe and appropriate access of medicinal cannabis for use in autism.

Honey Rinicella is the coordinator of the Pennsylvania Chapter of Talk About Curing Autism (TACA), a national non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to educating, empowering and supporting families affected by autism. She is a wife of 20 years and the mother of 3 beautiful children, 2 of whom have autism. Honey has presented on autism locally and nationally, educating parents and professionals. She has been featured on ABC News, NBC News, NBC’s At Issue, and the Today Show. Honey lives in Pennsylvania with her family.

Kim Stagliano is a nationally recognized autism advocate and lively speaker. She has three daughters with autism, ages 21, 19 and 15. She is author of the memoir All I Can Handle I’m Not Mother Teresa: A Life Raising Three Daughters with Autism, the novel House of Cards and co-author of 101 Tips for Parents of Girls with Autism. Kim serves as Managing Editor of www.ageofautism.com, the nation’s first daily web newspaper about the autism epidemic. She writes for The Huffington Post, and The Autism File Magazine. She speaks at national autism conferences and has appeared on Good Morning America, ABC News, Fox News, in The Chicago Tribune, The National Catholic Register, and on blogs around the world. A former sales and marketing executive, Stagliano lives in Connecticut with her family.

Kristin Selby Gonzalez is the mother of a child on the Autism spectrum. In 2008 she began serving as the Director of Autism Education at Enzymedica. Since then, she has advised numerous supplement companies with respect to their policies and product formulations for children on the spectrum. Kristin speaks all over the world, having educated tens of thousands of caregivers throughout the years on different strategies to help children on the Autism spectrum. Since September 2012, Kristin has been leading the Autism Hope Alliance where she serves as President and Chairman.

Laura Hirsch is an author and blogger for The Thinking Moms’ Revolution. Her TMR nickname is Oracle, and she wrote chapters for the TEAM TMR book, Evolution of a Revolution and the upcoming TMR puberty book, along with numerous TMR blogs. She has also written three books of her own: Widowed Too Soon, Foundation of Discovery: The Cause of Autism – Channeled, and The Other Side of Autism. She advocates for food safety and has been featured in the documentary Genetic Roulette: The Gamble of Our Lives. Laura has two incredible children, one of whom has regressive autism and is the inspiration for her advocacy work. She lives in Reno, Nevada.

Marcia Hinds is a motivational speaker and autism parent. Her powerful message has been featured at autism conferences all over the United States. Marcia’s inspirational book about Ryan’s recovery makes you rethink autism. I Know You’re In There shares what her family did to help Ryan and tells their story in a way that is heartbreaking, heartwarming, and sometimes hilarious. Marcia has a B.A. in Psychology/Sociology from UCLA as well as a teaching credential. But Marcia’s most impressive credential is that she is Ryan’s mother and their family survived autism. For more info go to www.autism-and-treatment.com.

Mary Romaniec is a reporter and the mother of a child who recovered from autism by the age of four. In addition to mentoring hundreds of families around the world, her articles about autism have appeared in Mothering Magazine, Autism/Asperger Digest, Autism Today and Journeys Magazine. In her book Victory Over Autism,  Mary discusses the stages of grief associated with the diagnosis, followed by the winning attributes parents will either possess or adopt as they strive to the goal of better health or full recovery for their child, as well as a better future.

I’m so grateful to all of the Autism Experts for their input for these posts. Check out the rest of the posts in the Ask The Experts autism series:
The Most Effective Autism Interventions
How To Help Marriage Survive Autism
Successful Single Autism Parenting
The Best Way To Handle ‘Autism Hard’ Days
How Autism Made Your Life Better
What People Need To Know About Autism
What You Wish You Knew (at the time of the autism diagnosis)