Dear Caregiver
Dear Caregiver—
The HANDS in Autism® Interdisciplinary Training and Resource Center offers this manual and the accompanying workshop as a service to parents, grandparents, and other family members and caregivers (as well as the professionals and community members supporting them) to address the very complicated time of first learning that your child or someone you care for has autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Many years ago, in my role as a clinical psychologist providing medical diagnoses to families, it became readily apparent that it is immensely challenging for caregivers to simultaneously hear the diagnosis and then be provided with an overwhelming influx of information and direction about resources and interventions. At the time of the diagnosis, there is a need for the family to grieve, process and otherwise adjust to the diagnosis. After doing so, they are more ready to begin to learn more and to determine “Next Steps”. Professionals and community members similarly benefit from the information as a means for best understanding and lending support to the family.
The HANDS in Autism® Next Steps after Diagnosis™ manual and workshop may be used in combination or separately. The information is comprehensive but not fully complete. Rather, it is meant to provide the input, direction, and information that may be most needed in initial stages of considering essential next steps in programming efforts related to the individual with ASD and their family. Of course, ASD can present with varying social, communication and behavioral issues to consider across individuals and the lifespan. In addition, it can co-present with a number of other coexisting disorders. These factors increase the complexity of the process and the information and resources most necessary for success. So, though not all questions and/or challenges will be addressed in this manual, the input and feedback provided to us over the years from participating parents, grandparents, professionals and others has been compiled in an effort to address the information most commonly requested in the most up to date and research-based fashion.
We hope that you will take time to participate in a workshop near you or contact us at hands@iupui.edu to request a training for families, community providers or a combination. Please also provide your individual comments and questions about either the manual or the workshop. This will allow us to continually improve our product for present and future iterations.
Most respectfully,
Naomi B. Swiezy, Ph.D., HSPP
Alan H. Cohen Family Professor of Psychiatry
Professor of Clinical Psychology in Clinical Psychiatry
Director, HANDS in Autism® Interdisciplinary Training and Resource Center
Indiana University School of Medicine
nswiezy@iupui.edu
handsinautism.iupui.edu
hands@iupui.edu
Tel.: (317)274-2675
Fax: (317)274-3885