What is it like to parent a child with autism?

When I think about special needs that I would be willing to work with in an adopted child, my mind quickly crosses out the possibility of dealing with autism. But I wonder if that's just because I've never spent much time with a child with autism. What are the challenges of parenting a child with autism? Are there any up sides?

Hi Rachel!There are beyond measurable upsides to parenting any child regardless of their circumstances. It's all in how you look at it. A child with ADD/ADHD has challenges and as parents we learn to adjust our parenting to what works for the child. Just as a parent who has a child with Downs Syndrome. There are just things that are done differently because of circumstances. Regardless the child is able to show emotions unique to them.I am blessed with a child on the Austic Spectrum. Of course there have been challenges that I did not encounter with my other children. As a young parent I didn't understand the simplicity of our surroundings and how that will change the dynamics of most situations. For us, we learned early on that a routine was important. Repetition in all that we did. We also found how important removing chaos from our home became as clutter only added to the lack of focus we saw in our child. Paired with what material of clothing we put on him made huge differences. Young parents don't always associate environment with behavior but in the world of Autism, environment becomes the groundwork for everything else. For me, I am afraid of the unknown and parenting a child with special needs was hard to accept. But really, it's just a way of life. I wouldn't change my son for the world!

I do agree with the above post. Being a parent of a child with autism is really difficult as one has to take full care of their child at every moment. My niece is too suffering from the same disease and as my sister has purchased the Medicare supplement insurance plan she found it better to into account the facility of nursing care for her child. She also does take care of her daughter personally but with the help of the nursing care, she feels stress-free as they give their best in making her live a healthy life.