Dear Ms. Senator,
We want to thank you for sharing your personal experiences and helpful advice in your recent article titled My Autistic Son Asked to Call Mom, published by Psychology Today, about your son asking to “call mom” while at his day program. Your perspective of this situation is useful for both parents and practitioners alike to promote the idea of increasing independence as a critical goal of any autism intervention. We also want to show our gratitude for the way that you divulged difficult feelings that may arise for parents along this journey, like not feeling ‘needed’ any more as their child gains more independence. From our experiences, we know you are not alone in these sentiments.
With the growing number of treatment options and practitioners available to help support the autism community, it is essential for families to always look for programs that seek to promote and expand independence for their loved ones. By gaining more independence, individuals have greater opportunities to access things in life that bring them agency, joy, and fulfillment. Isn’t this what we all strive for in our own lives? In your letter, you highlight this importance from the perspective of a caring mother of a child who is ‘profoundly autistic’ in a compassionate and well-articulated manner.
You also discuss the crucial skill of self-advocacy, and the role that it plays in moving towards independence. Individuals with autism and related diagnoses are often enrolled in programs that teach them how to function more effectively within their environments. However, if these programs do not also teach these individuals how to voice their own opinions, establish boundaries, and declare their autonomy, are efforts to set them up for success essentially incomplete?
In summary, you do a wonderful job in your article describing the importance of independence and self-advocacy for individuals with autism, but you also share an important and relatable parent experience of facing difficult feelings that may arise as their child becomes less reliant on them. You acknowledge and empathize with these uncomfortable, and sometimes conflicting, emotions which opens the door for parent readers to both have their feelings validated and help them understand that this is part of the process.
Although it may be difficult for parents to watch their children ‘leave the nest,’ the best way families can support loved ones with autism is to ensure that they are receiving support that emphasizes independence and communication through teaching skills that are meaningful within their own lives.
Finally, at the Association for Science in Autism Treatment, we have several articles with resources for families and caregivers that may be of interest to this audience:
- Clinical Corner: Defining and assessing quality of life
- Clinical Corner: Preparing adults with autism for employment success
- Clinical Corner: Promoting success in the community
- Clinical Corner: Leisure skills for adults with autism
- Clinical Corner: Some adaptive skills to promote independence
- Lifespan resources from the web
- Facing the future with serenity (2001)
- Some media representations of autism across the lifespan
Thank you for sharing your personal experiences with the public and raising awareness for the emphasis of independence in autism programs!
Sincerely,
Kristina Mira, MEd, QBA, and David Celiberti, PhD, BCBA-D
Association for Science in Autism Treatment
