It’s been a while since I blogged, but what I’ve been doing in the meantime is very important. Self care, connecting with people who understand what I’m going through, and creating a work book for people who may need a guide to help them with a similar situation.
I’ve been speaking with people who have Autistic siblings, and talking with people from around the world of various ages about what they are going through or have gone through. We all agreed that a guide would help. We’ve been collaborating on how to handle extremely stressful situations, ask for help when we need it and to allow ourselves to be who we are.
This guide would be about a variety of situations and the tools needed to understand it.
Here’s the thing, and it’s still true today. The siblings of people with autism are not given the support they need to deal with the situations that are extremely important, often repetitive and ignored by many psychologists. This can lead to intense consequences down the line.
It’s hard to share the tough stuff, but I’m finding it helpful. We’re all able to talk about some difficult topics that are not easy to discuss with parents, teachers, even psychologists and the most important thing: allow ourselves to feel what we feel about it. Including whether or not we feel safe or supported.
This guide we’re working on is not just about the tough stuff. It’s also about the skills, talents and lessons we’ve learned from our experiences. We’re even discussing about a website or programs for people who need it.
There arent a lot of resources out there, so I thought it would be important to create one.
Siblings are the focus of the workbook, but it’s not about secluding them from the family. Isolation is part of the problem. The more people I talked to, the more I heard the same troubles, patterns and behaviors I experienced, and the more we brainstormed on what could help.
I’m posting this for two reasons.
One: It’s an update.
Two: To get the info out there. If you have other resources to offer, feel free to comment.
Yes, I’m still writing, editing my novels and I’m taking breaks, so it’s not a sprint. But it’s a step, and a big one.
Several people I talked to about this say it’s a great idea. It adds a new perspective to the situation and may lead to other resources in the future.
