Parents and family members of children with autism

Hi. My name is Rachel and I was interested in starting a thread for parents and family members of children with autism. My oldest son, age 3 1/2 has autism, and I have long used this as my "excuse" for not taking care of my own health. I've shifted my thinking and am now focused on getting healthy so that I can be a better parent and have more energy to meet the unique demands of dealing with the challenges (and joys!!!) of raising an autistic child.

So, if you are a parent, sibling, grandparent, friend, whatever, who has a special person with autism in your life and you are interested in sharing with others, please reply and join in to this thread.

A little about my goals: SW 213, CW 196, GW 140

More about me: I am a school principal with a strong background in special education. I also teacher pre-service special education teachers at the university level. I think my perspective as an educator and a parent brings a unique element to my personal and professional roles. I have 2 sons, ages 3 1/2 and 2, a very wonderful husband, great friends, and supportive family (although none nearby). I enjoy scrapbooking, reading novels, and organizing my cabinets and drawers (weird, I know).

Hi all,  thought I'd join this thread. My older brother (he's 23, I'm 22), Joe, was diagnosed with autism when he was three.  I have 2 younger siblings as well.  We used to have major issues taking him out in public (especially to get his hair cut, oh lord), but he received ABA therapy and has grown so much since then.  Two summers ago he moved into a group home in my hometown with 4 other developmentally-disabled individuals.   It was a pretty big step for him, but he seems to like it a lot.  He loves to rollerblade, play video games, watch sesame street (over and over and over again, haha), and swim.  He works at an educational training center, where he gets breaks during the day to play computer games and sometimes go to the pool.   Right now the main issue were dealing with is the concept of death, as our grandpa recently passed away, who Joe had a special relationship with.  Death is a difficult concept even for "normal" people, so as you can imagine, it's tough. 

Having experience with Joe allowed me to work with individuals with disabilities in the community and in group home settings.  As a result of that work I've decided to attend graduate school in the fall (I'm currently at NYU for journalism) to pursue a Master of Social Work, and I hope to work with disabled people.  

I haven't gotten to read this whole thread yet but I'm working on it, heh.  If anyone wants to talk, I'd be happy to, let me know.