Research shows that mothers of adolescents with autism experience stress levels comparable to combat soldiers, and fathers of adult children with autism have symptoms severe enough to be diagnosed with clinical depression.

The health of a family – from marriage to siblings, to self-care – of those who live and love a child with a disability is often overlooked, which is why the Autism Society of Greater Akron (ASGA) will host psychologist, author, and autism dad Dr. Robert Naseef, Ph.D. for This Wasn’t the Plan: Living and Learning Autism on Thursday, November 7th from 6 pm to 8:30 pm at Tangier Event & Entertainment Center in Akron. Join ASGA and Dr. Naseef for dinner and a talk about taking care of the family, too. Each household will receive a copy of Dr. Naseef’s book, Autism in the Family: Caring and Coping Together.

“We’re honored to host Dr. Naseef and provide our community not only his personal perspective as a father of an adult son who lives with autism but also his professional wisdom on the emotional ups and downs of being the parent of a child with a disability,” said Laurie Cramer, Executive Director of the Autism Society of Greater Akron. “Our hope is that attendees will leave with a better understanding of this journey and how to take better care of ourselves and each other, as we live with what can be a very stressful life. We also hope those who support our families – service providers, educators, medical personnel, and others – will join this talk to better understand this journey.”

Dr. Robert Naseef serves on the Panel of Professional Advisors of the Autism Society of America and will offer a unique perspective to local parents as both a psychologist and father of an adult son with autism. He has trained professionals on autism internationally, and spoken on the subject around the country, including a TEDx talk titled How autism teaches us about being human. Dr. Naseef has a passion for helping fathers of children on the autism spectrum navigate their iteration of fatherhood.

This Wasn’t the Plan: Living and Learning Autism is presented by REM Ohio. ASGA also thanks the Hillier Foundation, and VitalExchange, for helping to make this opportunity possible for our community.

The event will feature a VIP cocktail hour with Dr. Naseef beginning at 5 pm for people who purchase the “VIP Circle of Care” ticket package. For more information about available ticket packages, visit autismakron.org/naseef. Registration closes on Monday, November 4th.