BLOG – Fighting the ‘Isolation’ Enemy 2024
Fight the ‘isolation’ enemy by seeking support. Support can come from reaching out to other families with or without autism in their life. As your child goes out into the 'big world'... make certain that s/he feels loved and supported; not isolated and alone.
Siri (2010) Parents of autistic children need to adopt the mentalities of both a researcher and a warrior. As a warrior, you will experience the stress that accompanies battle. Battling autism can leave one feeling devastated and alone. You will need help and support along the way.
Sicile-Kira, C. (2014) says that the stages of grief are used to describe what people go through when somebody close to them dies. Many authors refer to Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’ “5-stages of grief” – denial & isolation, anger, depression, bargaining, and finally acceptance.
She explains that “Whether a young child who seems normal and later ‘slips’ away into autism. Or, the infant not meeting developmental milestones, the emotions that a parent goes through are ‘like’ these. But nobody died. Those children and families are still there, needing help. They didn’t disappear off the face of the earth.
< My Thoughts > “…nobody died…”
“They didn’t disappear off the face of the earth.” But perhaps the families do. Families often find so many reasons to isolate. Survival may mean to keep your child, your family, and yourself safe from community exposure. My own experience with a disabled child goes far beyond staying home because of a bad hair day. Even my naturally ‘social self’, as a mom, a wife, a teacher, and a community member, can feel the raw exposure in taking my son from the safety of our home. Of course, eventually necessity forces us to step out that front door.
Fight the ‘isolation’ enemy by seeking support. Support can come from reaching out to other families with or without autism in their life. As your child goes out into the 'big world'... make certain that s/he feels loved and supported; not isolated and alone.
Siri (2010) Parents of autistic children need to adopt the mentalities of both a researcher and a warrior. As a warrior, you will experience the stress that accompanies battle. Battling autism can leave one feeling devastated and alone. You will need help and support along the way.
Sicile-Kira, C. (2014) says that the stages of grief are used to describe what people go through when somebody close to them dies. Many authors refer to Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’ “5-stages of grief” – denial & isolation, anger, depression, bargaining, and finally acceptance.
She explains that “Whether a young child who seems normal and later ‘slips’ away into autism. Or, the infant not meeting developmental milestones, the emotions that a parent goes through are ‘like’ these. But nobody died. Those children and families are still there, needing help. They didn’t disappear off the face of the earth.
< My Thoughts > “…nobody died…”
“They didn’t disappear off the face of the earth.” But perhaps the families do. Families often find so many reasons to isolate. Survival may mean to keep your child, your family, and yourself safe from community exposure. My own experience with a disabled child goes far beyond staying home because of a bad hair day. Even my naturally ‘social self’, as a mom, a wife, a teacher, and a community member, can feel the raw exposure in taking my son from the safety of our home. Of course, eventually necessity forces us to step out that front door.
Sicile-Kira C. (2014) suggests that “Parents never completely graduate out of these stages of grief; just learn to spend more time in the ‘acceptance’ phase. Parents are experiencing the loss of their fantasy child, the one they had hoped and dreamed about.” “Parents can use the stages of grief to energize themselves to fight for the child’s right to a bright future.”
Community isolation is often heightened by the unpredictable behavior of the child with autism. Parents also miss opportunities to follow career paths, because of the demands they are feeling to provide established insurance for medical care, as well as the ability to have family leave, and care for neurotypical siblings.
CDC Staff Writer (2020) for the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) describes autism as a developmental disorder, which can cause significant social, behavioral, and communication challenges –
- Disrupting successful learning within school settings
- Preventing an ability to live independently
- Creating an inability to be successfully employed
- Causing social isolation or rejection
- Producing stress within families
- Allowing for victimization & bullying
Severe causes of ‘isolation’ are –
1. First priority: Temper tantrums & life-threatening behavior such as hitting, throwing objects, jumping from high places, running into the street, or refusing to eat.
2. Second priority: Learning 'sitting' skills. Without this skill the child cannot sit to eat or to learn.
3. Third priority: Dealing with unusual or bizarre habits which may result in social isolation. Such as – Pervasive repetition of activities, self-stimulatory behavior, production of unusual sounds, and/or severely restricted interests.
A person with autism’s optimistic future outcome and adequate functioning calls for ‘early intervention’; in the areas of behavior, language, communication, and/or sensory domains. A variety of treatment options are necessary, so that they may be able to function adequately. Treatment is important because the CDC states that there is NO current ‘cure’ for autism.
References:
CDC (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention) Staff Writer (2020). Autism A Developmental Disability; Retrieved online from – https://www.cdc.gov/
Sicile-Kira, C. (2014). Autism Spectrum Disorder (Revised): The Complete Guide to Understanding Autism; New York, New York: Penguin Random House Company.
Siri, K. (2010). 101 Tips for Parents of Boys with Autism: The Most Crucial Things You Need to Know; eBook Edition.
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