New Baby Sister

At home my 5-year-old son who was diagnosed with autism has done so well with the transition to having a noisy baby in our house. My son goes to daycare in the mornings and wakes up quite early usually before his sister. He plays in his room and once he hears her start to move or cry he will come into the room and say good morning and try to find toys to show her, to help stop her from crying. He will also help hold the bottle if I am busy.

My son was diagnosed with autism in November and his sister was born in late December so having a new baby and a new diagnosis for my son was quite stressful in the family. As well, I was scared and nervous to see how my son would adjust to no longer being an only child and centre of attention. I was not sure if he would be gentle with his sister or become sad without having my full attention. However, my 5-year-old son who was diagnosed with autism has done such a wonderful job transitioning to having a noisy baby sister in our house. My son goes to daycare in the mornings and wakes up quite early usually before his sister. He plays in his room and once he hears her start to move or cry he will come into the room and say good morning and try to find toys to show her, to help stop her from crying. He will also help hold the bottle to feed her if I am busy. The loud noises from a baby crying bother my son so he has found ways of soothing her by watching mommy such as singing a song, talking to her, showing her toys or giving her a bottle. You can tell that his sister loves him because she cries when he leaves the room. They have developed a wonderful sibling connection already and I think they will help eachother so much in the future. This warms my heart to know that my son has a sibling to help him throughout his life because I am worried about how my son will function in the future without the help of his parents. Knowing he has a sibling to help him alleviates some of the stress that I have about my son's autism diagnosis.

I have learned so much from seeing my son become a big brother. I was extremely nervous that the transition to having a new sibling at a time when my son was just recently diagnosed with autism would result in negative behavioural issues such as tantrums, being resistant to going to bed, increased anxiety, and difficulties with coping with family dynamics (mommy not being able to play with him as much). My son struggled initially with some separation anxiety for a few days while I was at the hospital after his sisters birth. He really missed his mom, but once the routine of having a baby in the house began he coped quite well. I realized that my son is quite capable of finding his own ways to deal with stressful situations like noise. He would shut his own door to his room if she was too loud, or leave the room, or try to help calm her down. The kindness and caring nature of my son is shining through and I cannot wait to see how my son and his sister start to talk and play with eachother in the future. I think my son will be a wonderful teacher.