Every year in the United States, hundreds of thousands of new parents hear a shocking and potentially shattering assessment from a doctor: Your child is autistic. And that can begin a difficult journey to help a son or daughter who cannot fend for himself or herself to get the best treatment, education and assistance spurring the best life possible. In this work, advocate Susan Colon shares the wealth of knowledge she has accumulated as a parent and advocate to an autistic son, as well as a professional helping others who seek assistance from her organization, Autism-advocacy.org. After the shock is over and a parent has learned all possible about autism spectrum disorders (ASD), then begins the quest to find and understand all the treatment options, all the potential educational programs, and allowances afforded by law, as well as means to assist in costs. But advocacy information is so scattered, incomplete and varied in its scholarship, it can be yet another quest just for a parent to sift through to separate the accurate and appropriate from the unfounded or incorrect; to determine which among the treatment or educational options are best for their particular child, and to pinpoint how the chosen approaches can be secured and funded. Plus, in the midst of that information-gathering and decision-making, parents may be dealing also with the strains autism can put on a family, the child's siblings and the parents themselves as well as their marriage. In this work, Colon honestly describes how to navigate finding and getting the right treatment, care and education for an autistic child, without getting lost in or completely frustrated by the process, or sacrificing relationships with your spouse or the rest of the family.

Every year in the United States, hundreds of thousands of new parents hear a shocking and potentially shattering assessment from a doctor: Your child is autistic. And that can begin a difficult journey to help a son or daughter who cannot fend for himself or herself to get the best treatment, education and assistance spurring the best life possible. In this work, advocate Susan Colon shares the wealth of knowledge she has accumulated as a parent and advocate to an autistic son, as well as a professional helping others who seek assistance from her organization, Autism-advocacy.org. After the shock is over and a parent has learned all possible about autism spectrum disorders (ASD), then begins the quest to find and understand all the treatment options, all the potential educational programs, and allowances afforded by law, as well as means to assist in costs. But advocacy information is so scattered, incomplete and varied in its scholarship, it can be yet another quest just for a parent to sift through to separate the accurate and appropriate from the unfounded or incorrect; to determine which among the treatment or educational options are best for their particular child, and to pinpoint how the chosen approaches can be secured and funded. Plus, in the midst of that information-gathering and decision-making, parents may be dealing also with the strains autism can put on a family, the child's siblings and the parents themselves as well as their marriage. In this work, Colon honestly describes how to navigate finding and getting the right treatment, care and education for an autistic child, without getting lost in or completely frustrated by the process, or sacrificing relationships with your spouse or the rest of the family.