Documenting Autism. What and why?You will need to keep all reports and documents that doctors, child care
centers, Early Intervention, etc. give you – you never know when you may need them again. For example, if you move
to another town or change doctors, it is easier if you have everything to show the new doctor.
Documenting is always useful when you have to decide what worked best and whether for instance problematic behavior
has worsened. If you are going to follow a diet you need to document everything. It is best to document everything
for a couple of weeks before you start, as this will help you see the results.
What do you need to record?
• The date
• What your child eats for each meal – and how much e.g. little bit, seconds
• Any snacks they have during the day
• The times they eat
• Any drinks they have
• Toileting – when they go to the toilet/nappy changes – is their feces solid?
• Sleep patterns – any sleep through the day – times and duration
• How long do they sleep at night and how late do they wake up
• Behaviors – good and bad, when and possibly why
• If they have little or no speech you may want to record the new words they say or sign
• Anything else that may affect their day – doctors’ appointments, visitors, holidays etc.
You can use a cheap lined book for your record keeping or more sophisticated electronic journal possibilities.
Whatever suits you best.
Documenting autism-what and why
Autism Treatment and Intervention
What You Should Know About Autism Spectrum
Disorders
Autism Checklist
Autism Books
Asperger's Syndrome in Laymens Terms. Aspergers Checklist
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