Today I’m having yet another guest blogger and that is my wife Mama Fog who runs her own blog about what she has learned about autism to help her better understand how to deal with the system when it comes to our daughter. You can read more on her site Out of the Fog.
Tomorrow is World Autism Awareness Day. It seems like a perfect time to list some of the local resources available for families with autism.
Autistic Like, Graham’s Story, the movie will be airing on some PBS stations.
Support for Families of Children with Disabilities hosts workshops, support groups and trainings. They offer parent mentors, a library and many online resources. I think their IEP workshop is a must for any parent of a student with an IEP.
List of autism friendly local activities and attractions. Includes times and dates for the AMC sensory friendly movies and times at bounce houses around the area.
Our daughter is too young for these activities, but I have heard good things about them.
SF Park and Rec Adaptive and Inclusive Programs
KEEN – Kids Enjoy Exercise Now
Special Olympics of Northern California
Parents of children under 3 with a child with autism will be eligible for some help from Early Intervention. Contact the Golden Gate Regional Center.
Like most city school districts, SFUSD is confusing at best: San Francisco Unified School District’s Special Education
Last year an audit was done on SFUSD’s special education programs and services. The report was not favorable.
SFUSD is attempting to remedy this. They are allowing special ed inclusion students to apply at any SF school. It remains to be seen how this will be supported: San Francisco Unified School District Community Advisory Committee for Special Education
Community Alliance for Special Education offers free and low cost legal counseling and advocacy for families with special needs.
The blog SF K files documents the journey of several parents going through the gauntlet that is the admissions process here in our lovely city. I’m pleased that they are featuring parents of children in special education.
Here’s a great post about the special education enrollment process.
Redwood City knows how to start and maintain a special ed PTA. SF should have this too!
Other local bloggers and sites:
[ad#AdBrite]
Our son was diagnosed back when he was 4. Through interventions, IEPs and training he is coming along. In some ways, being a teenager is a bit difficult to see if he’s still working through the AS or is he just being a teen. I agree that parents need more readily available info, but I do believe more teachers need to be given better education on how to work with issues AS students might have, especially with interaction and socialization with peers to prevent bullying.
We’re lucky so far in that we have a great pre-school teacher. We’re kind of biting our nails as to what to expect from the teachers when she gets to kindergarten.