Autism: From a Siblings Perspective

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AutismFrom a Siblings Perspective

• By Lauren Ballantyne-Ackerman, Jeffs Big Sister

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Agenda

• Why Im Here Introduction
• Emotions of a Sister
• When Something Goes Wrong
• Family Gets Out of Control
• Family Gets Close
• My Advice and How to Involve Your Kids in the
  Solution
• Close
• Question Answers

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Why Im Here

• Its simple really.
• I am the sibling of a child with Autism and I
  want to share my story.
• My brother, Jeffrey Ackerman, was diagnosed with
  Autism at the age of 2 ½.
• I was 16 years old when he was diagnosed.

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When Something Goes Wrong

• The Jeff requirements for birth.
• Healthy Bubba arrives is actually more than
  tolerable.
• Then a brick wall hits our pleasure cruise.

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Diagnosis

• What a difference a piece of paper makes.
• Confusion and sadness overwhelm because no
  answers appear readily available.

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Emotions of a Sister

• Parents loose sight of how they are feeling
  affects all their children.
• Parents need to understand the siblings of the
  affected child are hurting, too.

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Family Gets out of Control

• Typical families have chaos daily but special
  needs families have a hurricane.
• Everything you did before is harder to do or near
  impossible once you have a sibling that cannot
  function in typical settings.

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Family Gets Close

• The wedge that drove us apart over time drew us
  together as a team.
• How we problem solved and worked together.
• Discussed safety proofing the house.
• Action plan for helping him with traditional
  therapies biomedical intervention.
• I got training in ABA (Applied Behavioral
  Analysis) and participated in clinic meetings.
• We used those concepts in playing and daily
  activities.
• Babysitting him so my parents could run away.

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My Advice for Parents to Help Their Family and
Their Other Kids

• Top 10 list
• 10. Take the time to sit down and talk about it.
• 9. Know that your other children are grieving,
  too.
• 8. Feed your kid healthy stuff but be sure to get
  your gluten and casein!
• 7. Involve your other children, but.
• 6. Dont simply use them.

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My Advice for Parents to Help Their Family and
Their Other Kids

• 5. Spend 1 on 1 time with your other children.
• 4. Dont let your special needs child rule the
  house.
• 3. Dont forget that your other children need you
  as much as your special needs child does.
• 2. Create a support team.
• 1. Dont put your life on the back burner.

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A Note About This Journey

• Jeff is getting better daily.
• It has shaped my life.

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Close
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Questions Answers

• Thanks for listening