If you are the parent of a child who has recently been diagnosed with autism, you’re probably floundering a little bit. You are going through a major reality shift, and you are wondering, What next? My biggest piece of advice for parents in this situation is to avoid the temptation to Google “autism”. That is a sure recipe for information overload, which can compound any feelings of helplessness and anxiety that you may already be experiencing.

Give yourself at least a couple of weeks of breathing space (or longer – my doctor imposed a Google ban of 30 days, which I am absolutely convinced helped me enormously). When it is time for you to start looking up stuff, start with the following information. It will not only help you now, it will stand you in good stead throughout your autism parenting journey.

1. http://www.wrightslaw.com/  Wright’s Law is aimed at parents in the United States who have special needs kids in the special education system. Although a lot of the information is specific to American laws, a great deal of it applies elsewhere. This site will give you some very good information and resources about your child’s rights, and your rights as a parent.

2. http://www.tdsb.on.ca/ If your child is in the Toronto District School Board, this is the site you want. If not, look up the website of whatever school board your child is being, or will be educated in. Once you have found the site, navigate to the Contacts page and bookmark that. It is likely to contain the phone number of at least one individual whose job it is to deal with special education matters.

3.  http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hc-ps/dc-ma/autism-eng.php This is the Health Canada resource site for autism. Most governments have sites like this, and they include fact sheets, and information that is specific to where you live, like funding and services that are available.

4.  http://www.autism.net/resources/about-autism.html The Geneva Centre for Autism provides some good information about what autism is and what it means to families who are affected. You can use this not only for yourself, but to pass on to friends and family members who you feel could benefit from the information.

5.  http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/elemsec/speced/speced.html If you’re in Ontario, you need this site. If you’re elsewhere, look up the site that contains information about special education laws and processes in your jurisdiction. This will tell you what you and your child are entitled to and how to navigate the maze of educators and policy-makers, what forms to fill in, what you can request, and much more.

As a bonus, here are a few posts I have written in the past that may be of help to families affected by autism.

1.  Tips for parents whose kids have just been diagnosed. http://www.runningforautism.com/2012/11/17/new-autism-diagnosis-5-tips-for-parents/

2. Some possible early signs of autism (emphasis on “possible” – typical kids may experience some of these as well). http://www.runningforautism.com/2012/11/08/five-early-signs-of-autism-my-familys-experience/

3. A fantastic guest post by autism parent and educator Jennifer Krumins, on how to approach life as an autism parent. http://www.runningforautism.com/2012/06/04/guest-post-its-a-marathon-not-a-race/

4. Tips for parents who feel a little lost when it’s time to draft an Individual Education Plan. http://www.runningforautism.com/2011/10/25/10-iep-survival-tips-for-parents-of-children-with-autism-2/

5. How to keep your neurotypical children safe and reassured when their sibling is having an autism meltdown. http://www.runningforautism.com/2011/09/10/autism-meltdowns-six-strategies-for-helping-siblings/

 (Photo credit: Sonia Belviso. This picture has a creative commons attribution license.)