Caring For A Family Member With Autism
The first and foremost step to successfully providing care and support to your loved ones with autism is understanding what autism spectrum disorder (ASD) entails.
ASD is a lifetime developmental condition that affects approximately 1 of every 100 children in Australia. People diagnosed with ASD undergo several social, communicational, and behavioural changes throughout their life.
Caregiving Tips:
Although professional help is necessary, in-home support from family members is equally important since the NDIS participant spends most of their time at home. Follow the tips curated below by Complete Connect about how to care for your family members with autism. You can trust them as they are the leading providers of disability support in Brisbane.
1. Observe your family member’s symptoms
Autism has varying intensity and severity; hence, as a care provider, it is essential for you to understand how autism affects your family member. This will help you determine the proper support you need to provide them.
2. Encourage consistency and a specific routine
A structured and consistent routine can greatly benefit your family member. Sudden changes in routine can often be unsettling for them; therefore, try to establish specific times of the day for different activities and stick to them. For example, have consistent timings for meals, showers, reading, writing, sleep, and play. This will not only reinforce learning and help manage anxiety but also allow your family member to be more independent with their personal tasks over time.
Also, try to be consistent with their learning material. If your family member is a child who goes to school, repeat the same learning techniques taught to them instead of introducing new ones. Otherwise, your child may get confused and irritated.
3. Adopt creative ways to communicate with them.
People diagnosed with autism often face difficulty in communicating. Therefore, you must adopt creative ways to communicate with them. If your family member is unable to communicate with you verbally, try visual communication or sign language. You need to experiment over time and deduce which way best suits your loved one.
4. Practice positive reinforcement
Rewarding good behaviour can have a positive impact on your family member. You must compliment or appreciate them if they have completed a task or learned a new skill. This will make them happy and encourage them to adopt the behaviours they are being praised for. If your family member is a child, you can also give them sweets, stickers, or toys for displaying good behaviour.
5. Don’t hesitate to seek professional help
Although in-home help is essential, timely professional help such as counselling and therapy is also very important for your family member. Counselling will not only help the participant out but will also educate you about how to care for your loved one dearly.
Also, you can contact support coordinators to learn what resources and services your family member will require at home. It can become quite challenging to handle episodes of anxiety or depression alone at home; therefore, do not hesitate to seek professional help whenever you need additional support.
6. Be patient with them
Patience is the key to handling people diagnosed with autism. It can and will get tough at times, but if you remain patient, you will be able to get through to them. Also, people diagnosed with autism often learn through observation. Therefore, the behaviour you display in front of them matters.
7. Give time to yourself too
Constant caregiving can put you through several obstacles. Do not forget to take out time for yourself. Practise self-care by taking a morning walk, watching a show, meeting friends, or taking a hot bath. If your mental health gets affected, please join a support group, or opt for therapy. Only if you look after yourself will you be able to care for your loved one!
If you require disability support in Brisbane, please feel free to contact Complete Connect. Their expert staff will provide you with constant support. You can also visit their website for additional information about autism and caregiving.