Good sources for autism support include communities of people who either have autism or have a close relative or loved one who is autistic. There are communities on the local, state, national, and international level that provide a variety and range of types of support. A local autism support network may simply be a group of parents of autistic children who live within driving distance of one another. Or, perhaps, parents within a certain school district might join together to create an autism support network. There are also national autism support networks that offer information, lists of resources, information on support groups, recommendations for reading materials, and blogs or web boards where members of the network can post news, discuss topics, and ask questions.
In addition to a number of resources for people either dealing with autism or for people who have autistic family members, there are also autism support groups that specialize in people who are dealing with a certain kind of autism or the autism of a specific person in their lives. For example, there are autism support groups for people who are dealing with Asperger syndrome, which is a syndrome that is part of the autism spectrum. There are also support groups specifically for parents who have autistic children. As public knowledge of autism has grown, so have the numbers of resources and kinds of support that are available for people dealing with autism.
Doctors often can provide another kind of autism support. There are quite a few people in the medical community who specialize in autism. Although they clearly cannot see every person with autism, they may publish papers or even write books on their findings. These can be useful resources. People can look for doctors in their communities who are very knowledgeable about autism and can offer support to people who are dealing with it.
Finding the right kind of autism support is a process of researching the support networks that are out there and then choosing the ones that seem the most tailored to one's needs. Then, try to find a community of people who can offer various kinds of support. This may include doctors, teachers, friends, family members, and people who are dealing with the same issues. In fact, some people even go so far as to found their own local autism support network.
