Marriage and Autism..........

Yesterday was my parents 43rd Wedding Anniversary and its my
sincere hope that my husband & I may achieve something close to
that some day too. My parents marriage is something to be
commended in so many ways. They're good friends to each other,
they still share an affection for each other and boy do they stick
together. My parents have weathered many challenges in their
married lives as most couples do. They've seen each other through
the illnesses & deaths of some of their parents, my dad is a Cancer
survivor. They've raised, educated & married off 4 kids and are
excitedly awaiting the impending birth of their 6th grandchild
(plus 2 fur grandchildren Bella & Jasper LOL) this summer.


Its startling to see that parents of Autistic children have
astronomically high divorce rates. So here is my question.........
what if anything is being done to keep these families intact?
Is the NIH or Autism Speaks doing any research into what
causes these families to fracture? One of the most important
things we as parents or caregivers of Autistic children can
do is provide consistency but how is that being encouraged by
outside forces? Should it become a mandatory course of treatment
for the entire family to participate in therapy sessions? If health
insurance companies were forced to pay for family/couples
therapy for Autistic families would the divorce rate then plummet?
Do parents of Autistic kids not get therapy because they're
squeezing every cent out of their budgets to provide biomedical,
therapeutic or other various interventions for their child instead?
Is there a need for more therapists to be required to interact with
Autistic families as part of their training? Does a law need to be
put into place so each Autistic child's family can receive respite
care? I understand its available but have yet to find the time to
fill out the 85 pages of applications & send in the 75 pages of doctors
reports to substantiate that my child is in fact Autistic & should
receive respite care.


Parenting can be challenging to negotiate for a couple but then
introduce the other things like sleep deprivation, constant visits
with therapists (in home or in office) aka no privacy, the added
expenses of raising an Autistic child. Apparently that converts to
a 20% success rate for parents of Autistic children and I want to
know who is fighting to change that? In our family that translates
into my husband working more than he should to try and provide
all that our family needs while I hold down the fort at home.
Certainly it hasn't helped our chances of success because we live
in New Jersey; apparently not only the home of sky high Autism
rates but also a crazy cost of living and some of the highest
property tax rates in the country. Thank you Governor Corzine!!

Ask yourself.......what can I do to help these parents make their
marriage more successful? How can I help to keep these families
intact?

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad! You've been wonderful examples
for all of us kids. Thank you for all that you do to try and keep my
family intact & successful. I love you both dearly.