Emotional, mental, and physical well-being are crucial to anyone's good health. Caring for a special-needs child can become draining for parents and family members. For this reason, it's important to not only address the health and well-being of the autistic child but also that of other family members.
Mental Health for Parents
From my own experience, I have battled clinical depression and anxiety. Several years ago I sought treatment, and in many ways I feel like a better, stronger person. I still have days when I struggle. But I'm grateful for such experiences because I can truly relate to my son's struggles with anxiety, a common challenge with autism. Because I've learned to think more positively, I try to share cognitive coping skills with him. My heart has been touched on more than one occasion when I've overhead him telling himself, "I can do this!"
Mental Health for Families
In fact, the more I've learned about autism, the more I believe that the parents and siblings of an autistic child often share a few similar characteristics. Though undiagnosed, some of our extended family members exhibit cognitive and behavioral symptoms that fall on the autism spectrum. We also have occurrences of OCD and ADHD. Over and over again, I meet families with an autistic child (or two) and learn that others in their family also struggle with varying developmental or behavioral disorders. In all cases, everyone can be blessed through improved mental health. Though I am not a mental-health professional, I have found some things that continually bring me peace and help me refocus. I'd like to share some of my favorite cognitive theories, tips, books, and other resources. Interestingly, they support the 4 areas of Optimism 4 Autism. And I certainly welcome your most helpful tips to keep us all on the "up and up."
Exercising & Eating Right
One of the key "tools" for dealing with any mental disorder is exercise. Since it's VERY important that we take care of our bodies (and especially our brains), we have to create family experiences to get up and move. Our son, Morgan, is often sedentary. He's not a fast runner and is somewhat uncoordinated, so exercising is something we as parents usually have to initiate. Through trial and error, we've zoned in on a few favorite things that get us up and moving, individually and together as a team. We know that many of you exercise regularly too. We'd like to hear how you involve your autistic child in personal and family exercise. Also, for autistic children with gross-motor skill delays, how do you help them strengthen their physical weaknesses?
Healthy eating is another matter. Morgan would eat sugar all day long if I'd let him. He also has oral sensory issues and is still picky about some textures. We haven't tried a gluten-free diet, but we know of some families who swear by it. Gluten-free or not, your recipes for healthy treats and meals, as well as tricks for getting picky eaters to eat, are wanted!
