1-Autism Blog: www.theautismblog.seattlechildrens.org

2- I selected this blog because of the professional authors. There are doctors and therapists who write on differing topics in relation to Autism. I was able to locate this blog through a simple Google search. Then I looked through the search results to find a more professional site on Autism.

3-The target audience is the parents and caregivers of children and adults with Autism. That would include a wide range of parents who are just getting the diagnosis to parents who have had an Autistic child who has grown into an adult. The professionals write the blog from a caregiver’s perspective and have many different ways to accomplish the same thing. That enables parents to find the right method for them.

4-I like the overall design, it is simple and easy to find different topics. They have soothing colors of blue and green. Also lists on the sides of that offer options to find out about the blog, overview, and where there are classes and events relating to Autism.

5-Then they have a list of topics or categories of different blog posts on multiple topics, a very wide range. They cover so much areas of worry or curiosity for parents of Autistic children. With each topic they have there is a class or lecture recommendation to learn methods of coping, discipline, or numerous other skills. They post about once a week. There are a few reader comments on each of the blog posts. When the topic is more controversial there seems to be quite a bit more. You can tell there is a larger group reading this blog because of the “like button” which has about 20-40 on each post and the more recent ones so far and it has only been about a week.

6-Since there are multiple authors they have each one listed next to the topic of the posts. You can tell they are qualified since their qualifications are listed next to their names. They cycle through doctors and therapists and parents as writers. So they all seem extremely qualified due to are of study and personal experience.

7- From the posts I have read I noticed already a great deal of use of theories. They used a theory on punishment and reinforcement, then proceeded to describe the elements involved are positive or negative.

8- They frequently use research in their article. They have prepared references and alluded to them for further understanding. They also have research button that allows you to look specifically at the research itself. I feel the writings a based on quality information to back up any personal opinions that may be used.

9- I love this blog it was simple to use for a parent and was full of information I would be interested in. I would definitely recommend this blog to parents of children with Autism. Because it has the perfect layout for answers and lots of professional people to advise along with great research. They also have programs they offer to help apply the research and advice offered. For its purpose I do not see how it could get any better.

 -Crystal-

Parenting Special Needs - Blog Review

The internet is the place to get a lot of information quickly. However, this can be more overwhelming then helpful. There is a ton of information on parenting children with special needs, such as support resources, disability laws and policies, advocacy, education and therapy resources, and topics by needs. However, it seems almost impossible to organize the mounds of information into something clear and understandable. I feel that a major issue most people encounter while seeking information and support from the internet, is where to even start. How many people have hours to sit and look through a Google and a half of sites and web pages and still meet the needs of their children, whether they have special needs or not?

Well I am here to tell you that a great place to start is by looking through blogs geared towards special need topics, which can encompass anything from foster care and general family processes to specific development, intellectual and behavioral disabilities. One blog I found particularly useful focused more on disabilities and is titled 5MinutesforSpecialNeeds.com Support. Insight. Inspiration.

The blog exceeded my expectations. The authors are all mothers of and some type of educator, life coach, or advocate for children with specials needs. Overall, it is a great place to turn for information. The site’s contributors have written the blog in such a way as to make the reader feel that they are talking directly to them, as they share their own stories and personal experiences. The site is also broken down into user friendly categories, such as topics by needs, therapy, education and family life. This is useful, so you can instantly jump to a specific archive topic. The writers are also concise in their writing. They did not waste time “beating around the bush,” but instantly started into their topics and it seemed like they were solely interested in giving real life advice. This helped to make reading the blog more enjoyable and personable.

It is difficult to determine if the blog is based in research or just personal opinion and experience. The authors all have the educational background to backup their arguments and posts. However, I did not see any research citation or reference to research. Despite this, I still maintain that this site is a great place to start looking for information. They claim that their site “is all about bringing you the support, insight, and inspiration you need to be the best parent you can possibly be.” In addition, they also have listed other blog sites that can be useful and have links to other 5MinutesforParenting topics, such as forMom and forMe.

I really enjoyed what I read and learned while looking through this site and I feel that it would be a great place to start looking for information if you do not have any place in mind.

Some other great blogs to look up are:

http://www.disabilityscoop.com/ -Contains articles on developmental disability news.

http://www.lovethatmax.com/ -Is a personal blog by a mother with a child who has cerebral palsy.

http://thinkingautismguide.blogspot.com/ -Is an advocacy blog for people with Autism and supports autism research.

http://pediatricotblog.blogspot.com/ -Contains advices, information and resources from a Pediatric Occupational Therapist.

http://thespecialparent.com/about-2/ -Is a personal blog about a parent of a child with autism and contains topics for early intervention and resources.

http://alongcamethebird.blogspot.com/ -Is another autism resource blog written from a personal family perspective.

http://onlycasualobservations.blogspot.com/ -Contains “thoughts on family life and interests, experience living with Special Needs individuals.”

Please email with questions, comments, concerns.

-Kristin

References:

5 Minutes for Special Needs. (2008). 5minutesforspecialneeds.com: support. insight. inspiration. Retrieved from http://www.5minutesforspecialneeds.com/

Coparenting and Fostercare/Adoption

 Research has found that children have some basic, universal requirements that they require to thrive.  Things like medical services and a good diet are necessary for survival, but there are other essentials that children need to adequately develop both physically and psychologically.  Brofenbrenner explains that this is especially important for "children of families who have been exposed to biological, economic, and social stress".  I think it's safe to say that while all children experience some level of stress, if a child is in the fostercare system, they've probably experienced more than their fair share of every kind of stress. 

One of thing that Brofenbrenner finds that significantly helps children is when, besides the primary caregiver, there's another adult who "assists, and encourages, spells off, gives status to, and expresses admiration and affection for the person caring for and engaging in joint activity with the child".  Children need to see healthy, supportive relationships demonstrated for them and to also have more than one adult invested in them.  I like that while typically a child's primary caregiver is a mother and the coparent is the father, there's also room for flexibility- a single mom with a good support system, same-sex couples, stay at home dad, or grandparents.  This is something that has been found to be important to all children.

Another study found that this is specifically true for parents of foster children.  It's really important that when a couple chooses to foster a child, that they're both on board.   Because of this, I really like the following website:

http://adoptivedads.org/

While most blogs on parenting are written by women, this is a forum for fathers of either foster children or adopted children to write about their experiences.  Because parenting a child who has a special need- regardless of the kind of need- usually requires that one parent really dedicates themselves to the children, sometimes we don't look as closely at the second parent- but they are an integral part of the family as a whole.

-Michelle

Brofenbrenner, U. (1994).  “Who cares for the children” in Nuba, H., Searson, M., and Sheiman, D. L. (EDs.), Resources for early childhood: A handbook. New York: Garland, 113-129 (edited paper from an individual address to UNESCO, Paris, 7 September 1989).

Linares, L. O., Rhodes, J. and Montalto, D. (2010), Perceptions of Coparenting in Foster Care. Family Process, 49: 530–542. doi: 10.1111/j.1545-5300.2010.01338.x