My Autism Team
Eric Peacock is the GM of MyAutismTeam and Insider Pages and is passionate about empowering patients. He lives in San Carlos, CA with his wife and two kids – Jack (7) and Katie (4) and is a hopeless Red Sox fan. You can follow Eric and MyAutismTeam on twitter at @ejpeacock and @MyAutismTeam. Visit www.MyAutismTeam.com for more information.
The Top 7 People Who Helped One Mother’s Child with Autism
When Sharon Esch’s two-year old son Adam was diagnosed with autism, she threw herself into researching and finding the best team of people who could help her son. This wasn’t a turn-key process. In fact, it took a couple of years and lots of “trial and error” for Sharon to architect the best team of providers who could effectively help Adam thrive. Among others, her team included:
1) a speech pathologist
2) an occupational therapist
3) a child psychiatrist specializing in autism
4) a dentist sensitive to the needs of a child with autism
5) an understanding and calm hairdresser for Adam
6) an inclusive gymnastics instructor
7) A caring librarian at a toy lending library
Feeling like she was forging her own path, Sharon started from nothing and built Adam’s “autism team” on her own. She pored over resources online and offline to find providers, “hounded” her state’s early intervention offices until she got basic services, tested and walked away from some providers, and fine-tuned his team as Adam’s developmental needs changed.
Today, thousands of parents of children with autism are going through this same frustrating experience. They feel alone, and despite the fact that other parents have gone through this process before them, they don’t have a way to easily learn from their experience and end up re-inventing the wheel. This is the inspiration behind MyAutismTeam. www.myautismteam.com
MyAutismTeam is a free site for parents (recently launched in partnership with Autism Speaks) with a very simple belief: It should be easy for parents of children with autism to find the best providers around to help them.
On MyAutismTeam you can:
- Find other parents in the autism community near you & read their stories
- See the providers (the “autism teams”) other parents use & recommend
- Ask questions and share tips about providers
- Connect directly with other parents on the site
- Search a directory of over 30,000 autism providers and autism-friendly businesses nationwide – including all of the providers in the Autism Speaks and Easter Seals databases. (e.g. you can do a search for “occupational therapists in San Francisco, CA”)
- Add providers and autism-friendly businesses to the directory
Since launching the site in April, the number of parents signing up on the site has been doubling every two weeks. Parents of adult children, teenagers, and school-age children, representing the full range of the autism spectrum are connecting, sharing their stories and their recommendations. Families with recently diagnosed children don’t have to re-invent the wheel, and the ‘’veteran’ parents also exchange information with each other as their children go through new life stages such as adolescence or transition into adulthood.
Everything from Doctors to Swim Lessons
The “autism teams” include far more than your standard autism medical experts. For example, Sharon from Albuquerque, NM and Jennifer from Redwood City, CA – have recommended over 10 different providers each including…
- Occupational Therapists
- Speech Pathologists
- Barbers (who “get it”)
- Dentists & Dental Anesthesiologists
- ABA Therapists
- Developmental Pediatricians
- Family Practice Doctors
- Gastroenterologists
- Summer camps
- Swim teachers
- Respite care
- Music classes and more
All Parents in the Autism Community are Welcome
We just opened the beta of MyAutismTeam to all parents and providers in the autism community across the United States. Hundreds of parents are joining each week, and nearly every one adds a new provider we didn’t know about previously.
Please join us! To learn more, you can join MyAutismTeam and begin exchanging recommendations with other parents in the autism community today. Please visit http://www.myautismteam.com and please share this link with anyone you know that could benefit from the site.
You’re not alone and you shouldn’t have to re-invent the wheel.
I have met the folks behind MyAutismTeam and am really excited about this concept.I wish I had something like it when my son (who is now 25) was young. I had NO idea where to go for resources, and neither did my son’s pediatrician. What I am hoping is that MANY MANY people register with MyAutismTeam so that parents all over the country will be able to compare notes with other parents before seeking practitioners–and barbers–and great autism friendly restaurants etc.
Thank you, Eric, for this post, and for all the work you are doing for our community!
So good to see the community embrace MyAutismTeam. The more parents know and the more they can help each other, the easier it will be to find the best services and people to help children and adults with autism.
Thank you Laura! We are inspired by incredible parents and autism advocates like you! We feel fortunate to get to do this work!
Please help spread awareness for Ayn! She’s a 9 yr old little girl with autism (thriving & loved) who was removed from her home for ASD behaviors. They’ve institutionalized her & medicated her without the parents’ permission! Please help…
https://www.facebook.com/groups/152278868178942?ap=1
Twitter: http://t.co/eRfeHo6 #Autism Follow : @Justice4Ayn #RT
This is an amazing service idea! I did all of my own research… but this would really help all the newbies to the Autism world… GREAT JOB!!
Thanks Elizabeth! Please join us and share your knowledge with other parents!
I am so thrilled about this project and resource that you have implemented. I live in NJ and have yet to check out the site (but plan to do so shortly), but I have been thinking about starting a social gathering of parents and kids dealing with autism – where parents and children can feel welcomed to play, learn, and socialize without feeling ostracized or uncomfortable. Thank you for inspiring me!
That’s wonderful! If you click “Browse Parents” you can search for parents near you in NJ. http://www.myautismteam.com/parents Looks like there are already quite a few parents from NJ signed up! Thank you!
This is a wonderful idea. As I say in my blog (autism45.wordpress.com)…when our 49 year old son was diagnosed at age 4 in 1966, even most of the doctors had never heard of autism, and we certainly hadn’t. It was hard to be a “pioneer,” but we forged ahead by ourselves. SURE would have been nice to have this kind of help! God bless you!
Thank you so much Carole. You truly are a pioneer and no doubt will have lots of wisdom to share with the many parents of children with autism transitioning into adulthood. We hope you’ll join MyAutismTeam and share your story and team!