Recommended Websites

 

Parents of typically developing children as well as parents of children on the autism spectrum were asked to review resources on development, vaccinations, and autism. Parents then provided extensive feedback on the resources, if they considered the information helpful, and if they would like similar information to be readily available at their pediatrician's offices. All of the families found the following information to be very helpful and we hope you will also find this information helpful. The following links include information for parents as well as professionals regarding early warning signs of autism, developmental surveillance and vaccination information.

1. What is Autism?-What are autism spectrum disorders and what are the symptoms?  This site provides a brief description of autism spectrum disorders and early warning signs of social, communication and behavioral differences.

1. Is your one-year-old communicating with you?- The full brochure is available with the purchase of the toolkit, but this excerpt details information about signs of a language delay and the steps your pediatrician may take if a language delay is suspected. Parents who reviewed these materials were given the entire brochure and found this information to be very informative and useful. Click here to purchase brochures.

2. Caring for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders:  A Resource Toolkit for Clinicians-This site details the resource toolkit available for clinicians. The toolkit can help professionals with identification and continued management of children with autism spectrum disorders. The toolkit is divided into areas that contain an introduction, identification, referrals, physician fact sheets and family handouts.

3. General Vaccine Resources-Parents reported that they would have liked to have received this information at the time of their child's vaccine. Parents found this information to be more informative, reader friendly and comprehensive than the information that was provided at the pediatrician's office.

4. The Autism A.L.A.R.M. is a list of facts for both parents and professionals in relation to steps to follow when you have concerns about a child’s development. These steps may help parents not only with identification but also with follow-up action.

2. Centers for Disease Control-"Learn the Signs. Act Early" - This toolkit provides information for early childhood educators and professionals. It lists fun, outdoor activities to do with children who are 3 to 5 years of age, contains information about monitoring/tracking developmental milestones, and suggestions for talking to parents when you suspect that their child may have a developmental delay.

3. Vaccine Safety parent handout-"Vaccine Safety -The Facts" provides an overview of facts about childhood vaccines.