Adults with autism and their families face many roadblocks in getting the right support. In our ongoing series, Monica Meyer shares some of her many experiences in working with adults who have autism and their families.

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Today we’re talking with Monica Meyer of Monica Meyer Consulting, an expert in adult autism.

So Monica, what challenges and barriers have you found in working with families who have adult children with autism?

Monica Meyer: A lot of times the barriers that families come across are just service providers, as well as medical professionals, don’t understand the uniqueness of autism, the characteristics of autism, and what supports are necessary for their success in the community, or just being able to access community resources.

What was the most significant barrier you personally encountered?

Monica Meyer: Oh, wow. I would say the most significant barrier that I have come across is, especially with health care providers, as well as my son’s support needs at home, is understanding how autism affects an individual and build the support strategies around them and their uniqueness, and their strengths, and talents.

Maybe you could go into just a little more detail on how did you specifically tackle that?

Monica Meyer: By giving information about my son. A lot of times what happens is a provider looks at the behavior of an individual as being a barrier, and I see it as the barrier of a service provider understanding that all behaviors are a communication and that we have to find a more effective, efficient way for this person to get their needs met.

Thank you, Monica. For more information, listeners may call Monica at 360-904-8938, or visit monicameyer.com.

With so many potential challenges and barriers to getting support for an adult child with autism, Monica loves to share with others what she experienced in getting the right supports in place for her son.