Resources
For Current Parents
2022 Impact Calendar
Client Supply checklist
Medication administration daily log
Unitus Parent login
Coordination of care form
Outside Resources
General Information
This section contains basic information about ASD and its treatment.
What is ABA?
Applied behavior analysis (ABA) is therapy that improves quality of life through positive reinforcement. Many experts consider ABA to be the gold-standard treatment for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other developmental conditions. ABA encompasses a wide variety of techniques and structures that change depending on an individual’s needs and behaviors. For more information about Aim High Impact’s use of ABA, you can go to our page about our practice.
What is Autism?
What autism is has evolved over the years: absorbing Asperger’s Syndrome and generally solidifying. At its core, an Autism diagnosis is defined by difficulty communicating with others, restricted interests, and repetitive behaviors. These traits can have a minor effect on a person’s life where they will need minimal support, or it can have a major impact, requiring much more support throughout their life.
The National Institute of Mental Health has a deeper look into what an Autism Diagnoses can be and here is a definition from the CDC.
After Diagnosis
After your child is diagnosed with ASD, it’s common to feel a range of emotions. From mourning the life that you expected your child to live or being overwhelmed by the challenges they will face throughout their life. What’s important to remember is that your child has not changed, and can continue to be happy and content in their life.
If you are confused about what to feel, read this poem or the parent-authored essay from Parent Center Hub. For advice on what to do, you can read this parent’s guide from Elemy.
Transition to Adulthood
As your child transitions into an adult, the systems that currently support them will phase out and new systems will need to replace them. Additionally, if your child is/was in school, they will need to consider whether they want to pursue higher education, get a job, or focus on some other pursuit.
Transition Oregon provides a handbook about transitioning to adulthood as a disabled minor. They cover much of the particulars with what assessments to use and what resources are available in Oregon.
Helpful Organizations
Below is a list of local organizations that can help you with things like financial planning to general advice.
Autism Society of Oregon
The Autism Society of Oregon is the largest local autism organization. They have resources that may be useful as well as connections to many smaller organizations in the area.
FACT Oregon
FACT Oregon does a lot of political advocacy for disability rights and provides support lines to help you navigate disability. They also organize a few events throughout the year for disabled people.
Disability Rights Oregon
An organization that advocates for the rights of disabled people. They provide a lot of good information about what services your child is entitled to, a number to help navigate said services, and legal advice.
The Arc
The Arc is an organization that provides resources, support, and services for children and adults with developmental disabilities. They have a local chapter in Portland, as well as a broader Oregon branch.
Palladio Planning
Palladio Planning specializes in financial planning for households that contain someone with a disability. They advise families on government assistance programs and setting up ABLE accounts, employment, and housing.
My Brokerage
Focused on helping adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities with their unique situation.They offer complete case management and want to help disabled individuals connect with their community.
OHSU
OHSU has a family-to-family health information center that provides resources to help you navigate medical systems. They have workshops, papers, and free one-on-one support.
Community Vision
Community Vision helps those with developmental disabilities live in the community. They provide general help with meals, financial planning, and more.
211
If you need any help, whether that be finding daycare or getting medical advice, 211 will connect you with local resources to help. You can either call 211 or go to their website.
Safety
Below is a list of additional safety measures to consider for your child.
Emergency Planning
Planning what you need in an emergency allows you to focus on the moment in times of high stress, instead of trying to remember all that you need and likely forgetting key items. There are three steps to prepare for an emergency: make a plan, inform your community, and practice. See Red Cross' guide for more details
Make a plan. In case of smaller scale emergencies that are localized to your family, you should know what constitutes an emergency and what your response should be. Make sure you and your family know who your emergency contacts are and always have a kit on hand for your child.
This kit should include items that will comfort your child or are essential to your child’s wellbeing. Examples of such items include extra medication, an alternate version of their AAC, and duplicates of their favorite toys.
In addition to general emergencies like fires or hospital visits, you will also need to prepare for large-scale natural disasters. Follow Oregon’s general guidelines for disaster kits and supplement their recommendations with your child’s unique needs.
For information about extreme weather and road conditions, sign up for PublicAlerts.
Inform your community. Once you know what your child’s needs are, you should inform your community. Inform your emergency contacts that they are your point of contact. Let your neighbors, your child’s teachers, and anyone who may be close to your child in times of emergency who to do and/or contact in those times if they can’t get ahold of you.
When informing neighbors, teachers, and other people who may be nearer to your child in an emergency, make sure that you give them a card that contains information on who they should contact and how they should speak to your child. This can take the form of a card, a sheet of paper, or an electronic email.
Additionally, registering with emergency services can let them know your child’s specific quirks and needs in advance. This practice has mixed results in implementation, but even having that information in their records can increase the chance of appropriate relations. Here is Portland's registration, and here is Washington County's.
Practice. Children with autism don’t tend to do well when their routines are broken, so it’s important that you run drills to make sure they know what to do. Use social stories to let them know that emergency personnel are their allies and plan on taking them to fire departments, hospitals, and other such places to have them meet those personnel.
Home
To prevent accidents at home, there are a few things you can do, like locking cabinets and placing child-proof locks on doors that should not be open. A couple things to keep in mind as you modify your house is to make sure that your child could leave in the event of a fire; so we would strongly advise you not to lock your child in an interior room. For a full list of recommendations, see Autism Society’s article.
Child proofing equipment can be purchased from most stores with a hardware section – including Home Depot, Lowe’s, Best Buy, Target, and Walmart.
Additionally, labeling hazardous areas and items like a garage with tools or the knife drawer with a stop sticker may be useful.
Car
In cases of car accidents, you may be unconscious and unable to communicate your child’s unique needs. In this situation, it is essential that your child has contact information of someone who is unlikely to be in the car and can advocate for your child. It is also important that your child has basic medical information about themselves, specifically what types of behaviors they present and any allergies they may have and medications they take. For more information on how to keep this information on them, see the Wandering Children tab.
For cars in particular, there are several products designed specifically to keep your child safe in cars and to let bystanders or emergency personnel know that your child has autism and how to work with them. See below for specifics. All products are examples and are not associated with Aim High.
Stickers on the outside of your vehicle alert people assisting you that your child has special needs.
Seatbelt sleeves allow for a second way of informing the person helping your child of their needs. These sleeves can also include more detailed information like their specific behaviors and even contact numbers if removing people from the car is less urgent.
Seatbelt locks will have your child unable to remove their seatbelt during a drive; keeping them safe in case of crashes. Similarly, a four-point harness keeps your child in the safest position in the event of a crash as it leaves less room for your child to wiggle out of it.
Fire
Fire safety at home is sorted into prevention and preparation. Prevent fires by making sure that fire starting devices like matches and lighters are locked away, stoves and similar appliances have safety caps, and open fires are monitored. Also make sure that your child knows how to get out of the house; including techniques like crawling on the floor to get under smoke and checking for fire on the other side of a door. You can have your child learn this information with a combination of social stories and drills on a semi-regular basis.
Here is a good overview of steps you can take, and here is a more visual representation of that information
In case your child needs rescuing via the fire department, make sure that you have them registered to emergency services and have visited the fire department to familiarize your child with the uniform of firefighters.
Regardless of whether your child encounters a fire at home or in public, fire alarms can be disorienting and traumatizing for children with autism. While there isn’t much you can do for the alarms installed outside your home, you can install different, less grating alarms inside of it as long as they follow general requirements of fire alarms.
Elopement
It can be a scary experience when your child wanders away from safe places. In order to make that experience safer for your child, you should make sure to know their patterns. Recording the when, where, and why of their elopement can establish patterns that can make it easier to prevent elopement and to find them quicker. The BigRedSafety Toolkit has good checklists and forms for this purpose.
When appropriate, you can use trackers that can help find your child if they elope. Trackers use different technology to work: GPS, telemetry, and bluetooth.
GPS trackers need a direct line of sight from four satellites to the device for an accurate location, so they can fail in underground areas, buildings, and when otherwise obscured. These also tend to have battery life measured in days, so they do need to be consistently recharged.
Some prominent examples include Project Lifesaver, AngelSense, and Jiobit.
Telemetry uses radio signals which are much more consistent and accurate. However, it is less convenient and takes more time to initiate. Battery life lasts for about 2 months. CareTrak is the main example of this method.
Bluetooth trackers like AirTags or Tile use the bluetooth connection between devices to track their targets. In the case that your device is not nearby, they ping other devices that they have access to. This is most helpful if you live in densely populated areas with many Tile or Apple users. However, these trackers are not designed to track people, so real-time updates on a moving device may not be as accurate. For AirTags, this also means that if your child or a caregiver has a different Apple ID, they will receive persistent notifications about the AirTag. For a similar device designed for motion tracking, you can use the geolocation of phones like Apple Watches or phones. AirTags’ and Tile’s battery life last over a year.
Some other things to consider about tracking your child: privacy and ethics. For the former, some of these companies may not have the strictest security, so a hack could reveal your child’s location and enable them to call your child depending on your tracker’s capability. For ethics, if your child has the cognitive ability to understand the concept of a tracker, you should involve them in a conversation around them and why you’re using them.
Other valuable tools are alarms, locks, and other devices to prevent your child from wandering, or allowing you to know when they have left the area. Here is the online store from the BigRedSafety toolkit organization.
Internet
Depending on what device your child uses, there are different ways you can restrict their access to it. If your child uses an Apple device, the best tool you have is Screen Time. Screen Time is located in Settings and allows you to restrict how much time your child spends on a particular app, remove installing app privileges, and whitelist websites. All of these settings can be overridden by the passcode you create when you set this up, so make sure your child doesn’t know it. If your child is in the Android ecosystem, look at Digital Wellbeing & Parental Controls, which allows you to set the device as a child’s or teen’s. Similarly, when setting up a Windows device, you can add a child account that has restricted access to functions.
Another place for parental controls are in streaming services. Youtube Kids is a good alternative to Youtube, due to strict parental controls as well as being vetted on a surface level for any age-inappropriate material. It also prohibits adults from commenting, which is a further level of protection. Most of the major streaming services do have some level of parental controls, like Netflix, Disney+, and Hulu.
If your child uses any app that connects them to other people, you should make sure that there is no cyberbullying or other harassment coming to or going from your child. In that regard, it’s good to be familiar with current slang, as well as setting up a service like Bark. Bark screens your child’s emails and social media for signs of harassment and notifies you of anything worrisome. Bark also has some screen-limiting uses, if the inbuilt programs aren’t sufficient or you would prefer to get notifications of violations.
Abuse
Children with autism can be targets of abuse due to lack of social awareness as well as their reactions in cases of bullying. Keep in mind that abuse can come from anyone: peers, family members, caregivers, etc.. What’s most important is that if your child tells you about abuse that’s happening, you believe them. If they don’t tell you, keep an eye out for these signs.
If you discover that your child is being abused, call your county's hotline and report it.
Washington County
Dedicated Child Abuse Hotline: (503) 681-6917
Main Office Number:
800-275-8952
Open Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Multnomah County
Dedicated Child Abuse Hotline: (503) 731-3100
Toll Free:
800-509-5439
Open 24/7
You can also contact CaresNW for help in protecting your child during the legal and medical processes.
Water
Drowning is one of the top concerns when it comes to children with autism, especially if they have an attraction to water. While you should monitor all children when in or near a large body of water, sometimes you can lose track of them whether that be via elopement or when you turn around. In these cases, it is essential that your child has gone through swimming lessons. Below are a series of classes that are autism-friendly.
Poison
If your child puts something non-edible in their mouth that may be poisonous, you hould contact poison control. If your child is having an immediate reaction, call them at 1-800-222-1222 and they will walk you through what steps to take. If your child does not have an immediate reaction, you should still contact them to make sure it’s safe, but you can use their web screening if you prefer.
To prevent your child from ingesting non-edibles, especially if they’re poisonous, consider using Mr. Yuk stickers. They also contain Oregon’s Poison Control Center’s number for convenience.
Governmental Aid
OHP
Oregon Health Plan is Oregon’s Medicaid program. Even if you do not qualify based on your income, you may qualify based on your child’s disability. If you are unsure whether or not you’re eligible, you can answer screening questions or just apply.
SSDI
Social Security Disability Insurance pays benefits depending on your family’s situation. If your child is under 18, your family must meet Social Security’s definition of limited income and resources. If they are over 18, they may qualify as an DAC (disabled adult child) if they are not earning more than $1,350 per month and one of their parents is deceased, receiving retirement, or receiving disability. For information about the process and requirements, see Social Security Agency’s (SSA) site.
If you get rejected when you apply, don’t despair: it’s common for families to be rejected on their first application. The SSA has an appeals process that you can use. Make sure to appeal rather than file a new claim, as if you are approved later on, you will receive back-benefits dependent on your initial claim. Some typical reasons for rejection are a lack of hard medical evidence and failure to follow treatment. If the process seems overwhelming, you can hire attorneys that will take a percentage of back-benefits if you are approved later on.
K-Plan
Oregon’s K-Plan puts money towards paying a Personal Care Worker. Designed to cover care equivalent to that provided in a nursing home, valid redemption of benefits can include Activities of Daily Living and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living. These would include bathing, dressing, eating, meal prep, laundry, safe and accessibility home modifications and more.
These services can be provided by a licensed agency worker or by friends and family. If you appoint a family member, they cannot be your child’s spouse, guardian, or representative. Regardless, tax withholding and other aspects that come with being an employer are relegated to the state.
To be eligible for the K-Plan, your child cannot earn more than $2,523 per month or have more than $2,000 in assets. If your child has a spouse who also is eligible for the K-Plan, their combined monthly income cannot exceed $3,435. They must also have a need for a nursing facility level of care, which is determined by the Client Assessment and Planning System (CAPS). If your child receives a service priority level between 1 and 13, they will be eligible.
If your child has proven to be eligible, there is no waitlist to receive your benefits.
ICP
Independent Choices Program gives your child money to put towards their needs. This can take the form of hiring a Personal Care Worker, or purchasing materials that aid in independence like a microwave oven that allows your child to prepare their own meals. This is a less intense service than the K-Plan.
This program allows your child to direct their own care or elect a representative to do so. They receive a monthly cash budget to pay for their caregiver and any assistance they need to do so. Your child cannot live in an assisted living facility or an adult foster care home nor can they earn more than $2,523 per month or have more than $2,000 in assets. ICP is not an entitlement, and so has a limited amount of availability.
Personal Care Workers
In the case where you need to find a personal care worker, there are various places to look.
Indeed and other common job sites. For a job site that caters more towards caregivers, you can look at Care.
HDE Home Care, Community Access Services, and Rise Services are also good places to look for caregivers
Students of Nursing or Special Education Programs. You can contact universities and colleges that have these programs and see if they have a job board. Students of these fields are qualified and may be looking for this type of work.
Family and Friends. People around you may be a good place to find a Personal Care Worker; whether they become one or they know someone who might be a good fit.
ABLE accounts
An ABLE account is a savings account that is not counted to determine your child’s benefits. They require your child to receive SSDI or meet Social Security’s qualifications for disability and provide a letter of disability certification from a licensed physician. An ABLE account has a maximum limit of $100,000 before affecting your child’s benefits. The money can be used for any expense of your child that relates to their disability.
Here is information about Oregon's use of ABLE accounts.
Special Needs Trust
A special needs trust allows your child to continue receiving benefits as an adult while still having supplemental income. Money in this trust cannot be accessed by anyone but your child, but can be used for a variety of day-to-day needs like clothing, cell phone bills, and games.
Identification
Your child will need an ID for various reasons, following are some valid forms of ID:
Driver's license. Issued by the DMV, this is the most common form of ID in the United States. If your child needs to travel via plane, it may also be a good idea to get a Real ID compliant license. It comes with the benefit of being easy to carry and the ability to legally drive. On the other hand, it does require learning to drive which may make this form of ID hard to obtain.
Non-driving ID from the DMV. The DMV can also issue ID cards for non-drivers. The requirements are identical to a standard license except for any driving requirements.
Passport or passport card. Applications are handled by county governments (Multnomah, Washington) by appointment only. You will need to bring a complete DS-11 form, a valid photo ID, proof of US Citizenship, the application fee in cash or check, and a 2x2 inch photo. To renew a passport, follow these instructions.
Don’t know whether to get a book or a card? Know that a passport book is better for international travel, but is bulkier and more expensive than the card. A passport card is valid for domestic travel and some international travel, but is much easier to use in the day to day.
Social Security Card. Another common form of ID, a social security card is a good form of identification, though if stolen, it may have worse effects. You can get a card via the Social Security Agency.
IDD Office
County Intellectual and Developmental Disability offices provide case management services; an alternative to the privately owned case management services. Here you can find your county specific office and any general state laws regarding supports for those with an intellectual or developmental disability.
Medical Concerns
Safe use of Medication
Medications have their uses when addressing symptoms of autism. They can alleviate self-injury, sleep problems, aggression and more. However, it is essential to coordinate with your child’s doctor before adding, reducing, or removing any of your child’s medications.
When thinking about having your child start a new medication, your child’s doctor can investigate any underlying causes of the behavior the new medication would address – like a toothache that causes aggression. Additionally, your child’s doctor can help you weigh the benefits and the potential risks of each medication – a fact that is particularly relevant if your child is already taking some medication. If you are thinking of having your child stop medication, speaking with your child’s doctor can let you know what the safest way to accomplish this would be and any withdrawal symptoms to expect.
For more expansive information try reading this article about typical medications or this one about alternative medicine.
When it comes to vaccines, there has been a lot of concern that they cause Autism. Studies have proven that this is definitively not the case.
Taking Medication
Having your child take medication, whether that be pills, cough syrup, or shots, can be a struggle. Their reasons can range from anxiety, textural/taste sensitivity, a phobia, or difficulty swallowing. This article goes through various methods to help your child take their medication regardless of its form.
Dentist
It’s important to have a dentist who is comfortable working with children with special needs. Some of the dentists offices below specialize in special needs clients and some are willing to accommodate them if you contact them.
Behind the Smile
OHSU Special Needs Dental Services
Caring Smiles
Doctor Pike
NoPo Kids
Hi5 Dental
Pediatric Dentistry
E.N.D.S.
Meltdowns and Shutdowns
Meltdowns or shutdowns occur when your child is overwhelmed. Meltdowns can include behaviors like kicking, screaming, elopement, or other actions that tend to mirror tantrums. What’s important to remember is that unlike tantrums, which are done so the child can get what they want, meltdowns are because your child is experiencing an overload. Shutdowns, where your child withdraws and becomes unresponsive, is caused by the same stimuli as meltdowns, despite the very different behavior.
If your child is experiencing either, try to get them to a quieter place without so much sensory information. Once the meltdown has passed, you can identify the triggers and prevent them in the future.
For a more thorugh guide, read this article from AANE or this one from Elemy.
Stimming
Self-stimulation, or stimming, is commonplace amongst people with autism. It is defined as repetitive movements of their body or objects. It can be a form of self-regulation, a way to stimulate a sense, or an expression of their emotions. Stimming can encompass the entire body, like spinning, or be isolated movements, like hand flapping.
It is not advised to try to prevent stimming as it can be beneficial or enjoyable for your child. There are exceptions to this, one of which is when the stimming behavior is physically harmful to themselves or others. Other reasons include if the behavior prevents your child from engaging in daily life, or if it impedes their learning and social life.
Fixations
Many people with autism will have fixations on particular topics or objects. These can include gardening, a TV show, or dinosaurs. These interests can be beneficial from your child, often giving them a hobby, structure, or a social group. However, if you see that your child cannot stop engaging with their interest by themselves, impacts people around them, or restricts their learning or social life, it could be an obsession which requires some boundaries to be set.
For an overview, you can read this article. or this one from NAS.
Aggression and Self-Injury
Aggression and self-injury often have similar causes; the difference primarily being whether the harmful behavior is directed inwards or outwards. Unlike tantrums from neurotypical children, children with autism can seriously injure themselves with behaviors like headbanging, biting, or skin-picking. They can also hurt others if they express themselves by throwing objects or hitting others.
The cause of such behavior should be sought out and reduced, whether it be from a particular stimulus or an underlying medical condition. Additionally, the behavior will need to be addressed by redirecting it to something that is less harmful to themselves and/or others.
If your child is displaying any aggressive or self-injurious behavior, you can start by reading this article and by bringing up the topic with your child's doctors and therapists for recommendations.
Puberty
Puberty is a difficult discussion to have with your child, and when they have autism, there are a few specific things to be addressed: new body experiences, hygiene requirements, and the establishment of new boundaries.
Your child will need to learn what to expect as they go through puberty, whether that be menstruation or body hair. Puberty is also the time where odor and sweat become much more prominent, and things like deodorant or skincare may be good to introduce. Lastly, new boundaries need to be established as they grow. Actions like hugging random strangers or tugging hair are perceived much more negatively coming from a teenager than a young child.
Support
Autism Society of Oregon Support
The Autism Society of Oregon hosts two programs to enable autistic adults and caregivers to spend some time on themselves. For parents and caregivers, they offer up to 4 hours care for their child, 2 movie tickets, and a $25 gift certificate to a restaurant. For autistic adults, they offer up to $100 per year to do an activity of their choice.
For Parents
Parents are often the full-time caregivers for their children. And when those children have autism and therefore increased needs, it can get overwhelming. If you want advice, references, or a just a group to vent to, you can join one of these support groups for parents of children with autism.
For Children with Autism
There are also support groups for people with autism. Typically, these are oriented towards older teenagers and adults, but they are a valuable resource for your child if they are feeling isolated or otherwise adrift in life.
Best Buddies Recreation Club from the ARC Club Impact from the AR
For Siblings
Siblings of children with special needs can have their own unique problems. Oftentimes, they report feeling ignored as their sibling receives the full-time support and attention that their diagnosis requires.
General Support
Below are a few general support groups that involve a mixture of people including friends, family, caregivers, or the neurodivergent.
Wraparound Services
Wraparound Services helps families who have children with autism to build a community of support to help them. A mediator will help you determine who in your lives would be helpful to be a part of your child’s care, eventually leaving once you have a handle on managing your child’s support network.
Daily Life
Home Modifications
When you have a child, it is often necessary to childproof your home — a fact that is doubly true when your child has autism. Some home modifications can help keep your child safe without constant supervision, like locking exterior doors or cabinets containing dangerous items. Other modifications will help your child feel better at home, like blackout curtains.
Turbo Tenant has a good overview of the changes that you can make to your home.
Diet
Creating meals that are both nutritious and appealing for your child can be hard. Children with autism can have sensory issues with some foods, the environment, or even how it’s presented. Alternatively, lack of appetite could be linked to an underlying medical issue like a food intolerance or cavity which makes eating certain foods unpleasant.
While finding what foods your child likes and what situations help them eat will be unique, ASO has a cookbook to help you get started and UK's Nation Autistic Society has a good overview of common problems around food.
Toys
Sensory toys can provide different sensory experiences than the typical toy, and depending on the toy, can also teach them certain skills. Fun and Function is a company that specializes in sensory toys, and ASO provides a booklet with DIY activities if you want to test out certain types of sensations.
Toileting
When your child starts being more aware and/or in control of their bowel movements, you can begin to teach them behaviors around going to the toilet. While the specifics of how to help your child will be specific to them, typically you should establish a routine of how one goes to the bathroom and make the bathroom itself a more pleasant place to be.
For more particulars, you can read this article or this one.
Sleep
Children with autism often experience insomnia in some form, like being unable to fall asleep, sleeping during the day, or waking up in the middle of the night. Depending on why they are having trouble establishing a sleep pattern, you may need to explain the purpose of sleep or modify some aspects of their bedroom to reduce stimuli.
For a guide on what steps to take, read this article.
Change in Routine
Changes in routines can be hard for those with autism to handle. When you know there will be some divergence from it, it’s good practice to prepare your child with social stories about what will happen that day. Additionally, it may be helpful to deliberately create some divergences that are purely positive, i.e. make an outing for ice cream or to the park, rather than more unpleasant or boring activities like shopping or medical visits.
Alternative Communication
For children who have trouble with speech, learning alternative means of communication can be beneficial. Two common methods are using a communication app and learning ASL.
In the former, a device – commonly an iPad – hosts an app that contains words and phrases that are needed for your child’s life. When pressed, the words will emit from the device’s speakers. This requires your child to be trained in how to use the device and program. The benefits of this is that your child can more easily communicate with anyone they happen to interact with, given they have their device on hand. An example of this would be AvazzApp.
This can also be completely offline with a booklet of pictures and words, however this is bulkier and harder to replace if lost.
With sign language, there may be a longer learning process that will need to include your child’s main caretakers. One of the benefits of learning ASL is that there is no danger of your child’s communication method getting lost or damaged. However, classes are few and far between with most being college or university classes. You can try to start learning simple signs on your own through simple dictionaries and videos, then trying out the language in student-friendly Deaf gatherings. It's important to note that these gatherings aren't intended for teaching others, but for Deaf people to socialize within their community.
Gender and Sexuality
People with autism are more likely to identify as LGBTQ+ than their non-autistic peers. Theories about why this is the case differ. One such theory suggests that people with autism are less bound by social rules, while others attribute it to biological factors. However, no theory states that their expressed gender identity or sexuality is a fixation.
If you have questions about specific ways to support or encourage your child, you can read through this booklet.
Travel
Airports and Airplanes
When flying from PDX International Airport with your child, there are a few things that may help you. Prior to arriving, you can give your child PDX’s social story to let them know what to expect. They also respect the Sunflower Lanyard, so wearing one may ease your interactions with staff at the airport. Once you arrive, PDX also offers a sensory room on Concourse D near gate D10, which is open and available 24/7. Due to PDX currently undergoing construction, you may not have access to this room or it may be prohibitively far away.
In addition to what measures PDX has, contacting the TSA directly can allow your child to be screened with you and have specialized accommodations. You can also sign up for TSA pre-check, which may be easier for your child.
ASO does have the program Sky’s the Limit, which allows your child to have a dry run of their flight. These are done in September with limited availability, so keep an eye out on their social media.
Depending on which airline you’re flying with, there may be additional accommodations provided like early boarding. Alaska is the most notable, with an app made for those traveling with developmental disabilities. Make sure that you read up on your specific airlines, as the timeline for contacting them for accommodations vary.
Common airlines from PDX include Alaska, Delta, American, Southwest, United, and JetBlue.
Trimet
Trimet offers reduced fare for riders with any diagnosed mental or physical disability. If your child cannot use the standard bus due to any of their disabilities, they may be eligible to use Trimet’s Lift program, which covers the same areas as their regular service. Outside of Trimet, you can use third-party services like RideConnection. If your child is older and needs to learn how to use public transit, RideConnection has a program in conjunction with Trimet to help them called RideWise.
Biking
Biking is a good way to get around if driving and public transportation aren’t an option. BikeFirst! is an organization located in NE Portland that teaches children with disabilities how to ride a bike. If you find that your child needs a non-standard bicycle, you can look into Adaptive Biketown which rents out bikes or Different Spokes which sells them.
Events
We’ve gathered a list of events and organizations that your child may be interested in. Some are events specifically created for people with autism, others have some level of accomodation. We would recommend reading through their statements on their website.
Other Event Calendars
While we have curated a list of activities that your child can enjoy, it may be helpful to look at some other organizations’ lists like in Swindells Resource Center or ASO’s events tab.
KindTree is another great organization with various clubs and activities.
Theaters, Concerts, and Movies
NW Children's Theater
Portland Center Stage at the Amory
Portland'5
Portland Columbia Symphony
AMC Theaters
Regal Theaters
Parks and Outdoors
Adventures Without Limits
National Parks and Federal Lands
Mt. Hood Kiwanis Camp
Hillsboro Parks and Recreation
Gyms and Sports
Aim High Martial Arts
Special Olympics Oregon
Timbers and Thorns Games
Indoor Skydiving
Gymnastics - Spectra
Gymnastics - Children's Gym
Games and Toys
Forest Grove Game Club
Rose City Comic Con
Build-A-Bear Workshop
Faith
If you have any content that you wish to share with the rest of the Impact family, please share them with our Client Care Coordinator at clientservices@aimhighpdx.org.
Social Skills and Play
Stunted social skills is one of the more common markers of ASD. This can display itself through a limited vocabulary, having a hard time picking up non-verbal communication cues, or other types of social awkwardness. Some ways to help your child overcome these communication barriers is through play, social narratives, or role-play.
For more information, the Spectrum goes over this topic thoroughly.