Free And Affordable Autism Resources For Parents

Raising a child with autism can be beautiful and ugly at the same time. The beautiful part is seeing your kid thriving and being unique. They have gifts, not just limitations.

Autistic kids can make your heart melt when you see them progressing. The ugly side is the heartbreaking side. As a parent, you long to hear your baby’s first words, and you might get to for a while.

Then regression hits, your child stops speaking, and it’s been years since you heard their sweet voice. Autistic children also self-harm, which in itself is terrifying because now you, as the parent, must protect your kid from themselves. That can seem impossible.

To add to the ugly, you’re told your kid needs ABA, OT, speech, and feeding therapy, if not more. The worst part is the waiting list, the lack of availability for services due to location, and feeling like you’re failing your child.

If you are in this situation and need resources that aren’t broken links from years ago and that will help you work with your kid with limited resources, funds, and time, then this list will be helpful, so keep reading.

If You Need An Autism Screening For Your Child

To start, if you need your child to be evaluated to rule out or confirm an autism diagnosis, As You Are is a virtual exam. It accepts Medicaid, and you don’t need a doctor’s referral to screen your child.

There are three appointments. The first one will be primarily a parent interview where you’ll discuss your child’s unique behaviors, missed milestones, or other observations.

The second appointment is all about your kiddo. They’ll ask you to engage with your child and will observe how your child responds to instructions. After a thorough exam, you’ll have your last appointment, which is where you find out if your child has autism and, if so, which level they have.

They will send you all the evaluation information, write referrals for other therapy services they recommend for your child, and help write requests for medical supplies like weighted vests, pull-ups if your child is over a certain age and more.

As You Are is an excellent choice for parents who have difficulty getting an evaluation, and it doesn’t take as long as other options. If you have a feeling and don’t have a doctor’s referral for an assessment, check out As You Are.

Affordable Telehealth Services For Kids

Does your kid have a fever or rash? Do you have frequent questions and want advice from a doctor? Blueberry is the most affordable telehealth service. It’s $20 a month for all kids. Not $20 per kid; that is the cost for all kids. The first month is $35 because they send you a home exam kit that includes:

• Ear Scope / Smart Otoscope: Syncs with your phone to record a video inside your child’s ears.
• Pulse Oximeter: Helps check your child’s oxygen level.
• Digital Oral Thermometer: For monitoring temperature.
• Storage: It comes with a thick bag to hold everything inside and can easily fit inside home first aid kits.

Blueberry is easy to set up; services are available before you get the home exam kit. It has mobile apps to communicate with the doctor and chat easily.

The only downside to Blueberry is that the organization of the doctor chats is all one chat and not separate by each kid, so it can make keeping track of past questions or visits difficult. After a visit, you may need to take your own dated notes for future reference.

Free RBT Course for ABA Therapy

While there is still controversy about ABA therapy in autism, some parents do want it for their children. If you cannot find ABA services, you can take this free 40-hour course.

The course covers the history of ABA, its techniques, and fundamentals. It is done online and can be completed on your own time. It works by watching a video of a speaker and the other experts. You’ll want to take notes and be ready for the questions they ask throughout the course.

At the end of the course, you can get a certification. It is up to you if you want to get certified, and you should explore the reasons to and not to before you do. If you are with your kid most of the time and want to use ABA techniques, you may not want to do the certification.

Cornerstone Autism Center Website

If you aren’t interested in doing a 40-hour course learning about ABA, you can check out this website for some excellent information on it:

• Informational graphics: You can download and print.
• Printables: Some printables available include prewriting exercises, schedules, and more.
• Blog: The blog discusses other therapies besides ABA, building independence for autism, and more. When you look at the blog, you’ll need to use the search bar and select autism-related topics to make it easier to find the post.

Helpful Blog For Parents With Autistic Children

Autistic Mama is a website that is written for parents with autistic kids by a parent who has six neurodiverse kids. She has experience training other parents and offers coaching services for a set fee.

There are also free courses available and a helpful blog. The blog includes in-depth information about children with autism, which can help you learn why and how to help your child understand, self-soothe, create sensory outlets, and more.

The coaching services look promising and offer customized advice and planning based on your unique situation. She also hosts free workshops sometimes, and you can sign up for her newsletter. Autistic Mama is excellent for all parents, no matter how much or little experience they have with autism.

Occupational Therapy Resources For Home Use

Out of all the therapies for autism, occupational therapy is one of the most recommended. There is a high demand for occupational therapists, and like ABA, it’s hard to find one.

If you need to take matters into your own hands and offer occupational activities in your home, then you need to know all the milestones for your child’s age.

Sensory Solutions is a great website to learn what your child should be able to do and at what age. It’s normal to go back a few years or months before your child’s age to check for missed milestones.

Remember, the goal is to help the child achieve them, and it’s okay that they may be behind. It has all the developmental milestones for up to the age of eight. The developments you can check on the site are:

• Fine motor skills development: Grasping, writing, and dressing are fine motor skills.
• Gross motor skills development: This includes walking, throwing a ball, hopping on one foot, and riding a bicycle.
• Speech and language development: It will cover how many words they should say and understand and their listening ability.
• Self-care and organization skill development: Self-care can include cleaning themselves, using the toilet, and more. Organization can be your child knowing where to put certain items and tidying their toys.
• Play and social skills development: This looks at sharing, taking turns, and imaginative play and how your child socializes.

Ideas And Courses For Occupational Therapy

Now that you know the areas your child is strong in, you can work on building up the ones they don’t excel in yet. You’ll need ideas to get started, and the OT Toolbox has everything you need to do your occupational therapy at home.

It offers free and paid courses, kits you can order, and an extensive blog that includes topics like self-regulation and fine motor skill activities. Some of the courses they currently offer for free are:

• Executive functioning
• Handwriting tips
• Teletherapy with kids
• Visual processing lab
• Sensory processing

The website also includes other fun activities such as:

• Sorting games
• Coin activities
• Puzzles
• Writing activities
• Flip cards
• Breathing exercises

Conclusion

It can feel overwhelming trying to be everything your kid needs. Still, when resources aren’t available, a parent will always rally for their child. Do what you can when you can, and know you are doing everything for your child.

Be proud to explore home options like these to improve your kid’s quality of life. Take it one day at a time, and remember to take care of yourself, too. If you know anyone with an autistic child, please share it with them. We can all create more resources for autism by sharing what we know or learn with others.