Let's Start Using these Three Important Words: Autism-Informed Care

As a social worker, I have had the privilege of working with children, adolescents, and adults who are on the autism spectrum. Clients and their families have shared with me their experiences and struggles in engaging with systems that did not understand their needs. Being an autistic individual myself who was diagnosed later in life, my heart went out to my clients and their families for the treatment they endured. My clients' collective experiences got me thinking about the in-depth training that I have received as a clinician on how to help best individuals who have experienced trauma, with trauma-informed care, and this led me to question why we do not have an approach to autism care in the same way we do for trauma. What I propose, and hope you will help me advocate for, is a shift towards an advocacy movement for autism-informed care. Implementing autism-informed care as a standard approach in educational, clinical, and other settings could reduce the trauma that individuals and their families experience due to a lack of understanding of the needs of autistic individuals.

Thank you for taking the time to read my post! 

With much gratitude, 

Edith Appleton, LMSW, NPT-C