The Autism Society Event and Education Recordings Archive

The speaker, an author, parent, and professional, will discuss the importance of parent-to-parent support for families of individuals with autism. She will describe the development of a volunteer parent mentor program, including recruitment and training of volunteers and ongoing support to volunteers. She will also discuss how to create chapters or support groups in the community, including recruitment of leaders, developing a group that reflects the needs of the community, and the difficulties these support groups often face. Parent to parent support is crucial in helping families of individuals on the autism spectrum. Because of the challenges of parenting this population, the uniqueness of individuals with autism and their behaviors, finding other parents who understand your situation can be extremely helpful.  Parents can help other parents by understanding, sharing experiences, and sharing information and resources. Finding ways to connect parents can be challenging, especially in areas where there are not many resources.  This presentation will discuss two existing programs in North Carolina that have found ways to connect parents and create these much needed opportunities for support.

The presenter knows firsthand the importance of having support from other parents following the diagnosis of a child with autism. Her own child was diagnosed at the age of 2, over twenty-three years ago. She was a regular attendee of a Mothers Support Group for many years and went on to actually be a co-facilitator of this same support group when she began working in the field of autism. She understands well the difficulties parents face and how to facilitate a support group to meet the needs of the participants. As both a parent and a professional, she has a unique perspective on developing a good support program that meets the needs of families.

During this session, the presenter will describe a successful volunteer mentor program that was developed at Division TEACCH, a state-wide program serving individuals with autism and their families in North Carolina. The mentor program started at one TEACCH Center and later expanded to serve 5 different TEACCH Centers across the state. More than 1000 families have been served through this program. She will describe how veteran parents of individuals on the autism spectrum are recruited and trained to offer support to parents of newly diagnosed children. This presentation will also discuss the guidelines for the role and responsibilities of the parent mentors.  Information will also cover the considerations made in “matching” volunteer mentors to families and the advantages that come from the experience for the volunteers and for the families they support.

The presenter will also describe how to develop support groups in the community to help families of individuals with autism.  As the Director of Advocacy and Chapter Support at the Autism Society of NC, the presenter has been involved with developing and supporting over 40 Chapters or support groups across North Carolina. She will describe how these groups are formed; starting from discovering the need for support in the community, the recruitment of leaders, and the guidelines the support groups follow. They serve a variety of populations both in rural and metropolitan areas and their membership is made up of parents, extended family members and professionals who work with individuals with autism. The presenter will highlight the kinds of support these groups need to succeed and some of the difficulties that are typically faced by the volunteer leaders.This workshop would be helpful to parents who would like to develop support in their community or for professionals in developing support for the families they serve. Audience members will learn strategies to build support systems, the importance of parent to parent support, and the benefits for volunteers who participate in helping other families.

Learning Objectives: