New Jersey peer support for parents of kids with autism

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How I wish we had programs like this everywhere! Check out the Mom2Mom peer support developed in New Jersey below.

The best option we have locally for mom of kids with autism is a call in line that hooks to the state health insurance for kids.

They are only somewhat helpful and are not specifically trained in autism. If my child goes into “crisis” which consists of screaming, crying, physical or verbal violence for fifteen minutes or more, we can call the mental health clinic, but there’s no promise of immediate help. They’ll schedule us with the councelor that is available, not the one we usually see. Then they want me to get my child into a car and safely drive it accross town to their facility.

Does that sound doable to you? Does that sound safe? No, it doesn’t.

There have been more times than I can count where I needed someone to tell me my options because I was so overwhelmed with my child’s behaviors that I couldn’t think beyond the moment. I think a program like this would be awesome, and a program like this nationwide could be a life saver for many parents and their children with autism.

I’m sure I’m not the only one. 

Here’s the original article about the program:

Helpline for Mothers of Children with Special Needs Now Available …

Since its launch in fall 2010, the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey’s Mom2Mom peer support initiative has been successfully caring for the mental and emotional health of mothers of special needs children in …