Any one here with a kiddo on the spectrum? How do you juggle work and your child’s special needs like ABA, OT, speech therapy, etc? Does it affect your performance at work? #womenintech #specialneeds
I have typically developing kids and I imagine it’s not much different in terms of the time management. Appointments, Drs, childcare, exhaustion, good days and bad with their personalities. One gets sick and they all get sick. Block your calendar when you need to be present at home including commute time. Structure your week as consistent as possible and have a backup plan if your partner needs to travel or you need to be in office on a normal WFH day. We get a sitter on the weekends periodically to give us a break or to talk about the following season— you could do that to discuss therapy progress or whatnot. I want to ask how do you prefer people respond in a professional setting if you share this news. I recently had a colleague mention his daughter is high functioning I none of the words felt right, all too sympathetic or condescending. Saying “I’m sorry to hear that” felt like it meant she was somehow not perfect or amazing. Any advice?
Great question. My advice is to empathize with that person. Just say ‘that much be really challenging, anytime you need to chat or need a sounding board, feel free to talk with me.’ There’s nothing else you can really do or say. And the fact that you’re thoughtful enough to ask that question is a great start.
I have typically developing kids too, but friends with kids on the spectrum, and tbh, hearing their experience, it sounds substantially more challenging. Not only the (perhaps manageable over time) stream of appointments, but also the added stress of getting called by teachers or therapists for ad hoc behavioral issues or outburst. Some led to having to find alternate care. Some had better insurance coverage than others. In short, it sounds extremely challenging and something that would/has affected their family’s careers and lifestyles to a palpable degree. I don’t think our experience is similar wrt time management and associated challenges.
We just got our 3 year old diagnosed with Autism and it seems like we are just spending most of our free time with these things now. Sometimes I do become less hopeful of the future but I guess that’s life.
Hang in there and get as much therapy as you can, even for yourself. Since your child is 3, you should be able to get into the school district preschool program. I wish you all the best.
It’s tough. I make it a priority to tell my manager that I have to be home by dinner every night. I’ve explained the situation to a few select people who need to understand why I don’t go to happy hours all the time. All of the therapies become routine and end up being a nice break a few times a day for my wife who stays home with the kiddo. It affects my performance at times for sure, but as I see progress, there’s lots of hope for the future as things ‘normalize.’ Just load up on all the therapies and have good insurance. I’m staying at Amazon for quite awhile because of the insurance for autism coverage.
Good advice! I am sure there are other companies with better coverage and wlb than amazon. But if your manager is understanding, that’s best you can ask for!! Good luck and kudos to you!
You’re a great parent