As I've mentioned before, I am working with Purdue University's College of Health and Human Resources on an initiative called "Families Tackling Tough Times Together." Grounded in Dr. Froma Walsh's model of family resilience, the initiative is creating a series of weekly activities and resources (even recipes!) - with each week focused on one specific aspect of Walsh's model. As part of the initiative, I am interviewing both military and civilian families about how they have gotten through difficult life experiences and how the lessons learned are relevant for many of us facing challenges and uncertainties associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.
In this second interview in the series, I talk with Meagan Carrero from Purdue's Autism Research Center. Meagan is an ABA certified therapist who spent five years working with children with autism before accepting her current position. Meagan and her spouse also parent their 10-year old son with autism as well as three other children. During our conversation, I asked Meagan what she would like people to know about autism (and children with autism), how her son James was diagnosed at 3.5 years of age (and why the diagnosis process is frustrating for many families), and how her family pulled together at that time to support her son. In response, Meagan talks about one of the key themes in Walsh's model - the role of communication processes in creating family resilience. Meagan talks about how she, her husband, and her older stepchildren worked together to support efforts at strengthening her son's social skills (i.e., collaborative problem-solving). She also highlights the importance of creating a safe space where family members can share both painful and positive feelings over time. Here is a link where you can listen to my interview with Meagan.
No comments:
Post a Comment