Stressed and need respite? | Autism PDD

I'm sure there are a lot of autism parents who need respite, but don't quite know how to get it, and aren't sure if it feels right for their family.

Here are some resources that might make it easier to take that first step. Web addresses sometimes get blank spaces added to them on this forum, so if a link doesn't work, try removing the blank spaces. If it still doesn't work, let me know and I can fix it:

http://www.child-autism-parent-cafe.com/respite.html

http://www.thefamilycaregiver.org/caregiving_resources/agenc ies_and_organizations.cfm#Respite%20Resources

http://autism.about.com/od/supportforparents/p/respitecare.h tm

http://www.metrokids.com/april07/specialkids0407.html - article "Respite: You Deserve a Break Today"

http://www.nichcy.org/pubs/outprint/nd12.pdf - briefing on respite care from the National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities

http://www.archrespite.org/ - National Respite Network. Includes respite locator

I don't have experience with respite myself. It's available to me here in Norway, but so far we haven't felt a strong need for it.

Is there anyone here who can share their experiences with respite in the US? Any other resources to share?

NorwayMom39280.4612152778Every respite is different. SOmetimes, it's just funding to help parents pay their own babysitter so they can get out. SOmetimes it's a rec program. Right now, my son is attending a weekend at camp once a month. We also get some reimbursement for his sleep-away camp week in the summer. There is also something called ResHab that is available to those with Medicaid and those over 18. A trained worker comes into the home and help a child with functional skills while the parents take a break. Every state is different in its respite and every area has different respite available. In remote areas, there is likely very little respite. In populated areas, there are sometimes long waiting lists. Nothing is perfect, but still, it's out there. BTW -- Even if you don't think you and your husband need respite, sending your son is good for HIM. Our kids tend to be even more dependent on us than NT kids are on their parents. It's good to give our kids as much independence from us as they can tolerate as early as they can tolerate it. And it's chicken and egg. Sometimes kids who don't seem to be able to separate need to be separated so that they can separate better -- hope that makes sense. It's surely what happened with our son.

Here in Norway, we'll basically be expected to find our own respite care worker, but the municipality will presumably pay for it. It is hard to find anybody besides a family member to do this kind of job, so my sister-in-law is probably our best chance, we just haven't started the formalities. I'd actually prefer a group situation like the camp your son goes to, tzoya, because I agree that it's important for him to have a life of his own outside the family.

It has been a year and a half since his diagnosis, and I feel that I have a pretty good understanding of autism itself right now, but I'm still a fledgling in terms of learning how to navigate services here in Norway (partly because I procrastinate dealing with bureaucracy in my non-native language). I finally got hooked up with a local autism parent support group, so I'm sure I'll learn a lot about local resources through those other parents.

Thanks for your input and advice, tzoya.

Just thought I'd announce that I added 4 more resources to my above list. They are also listed here:

http://autism.about.com/od/supportforparents/p/respitecare.h tm

http://www.metrokids.com/april07/specialkids0407.html - article "Respite: You Deserve a Break Today"

http://www.nichcy.org/pubs/outprint/nd12.pdf - briefing on respite care from the National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities

http://www.archrespite.org/ - National Respite Network. Includes respite locator

Thanks

I have been unsuccessful in find respite in my area. The closest one to us is 150 miles away. Any suggestions? If you or your spouse are in the military, you may be able to get respite through a special program in that branch of the military. Here's an article about the new Navy program.

http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2009/09/08/navy-respite/4836/

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