As a former music therapist, I worked with kids with autism and their families for a number of years–way back before blogs even existed–and I saw how challenging it was for them to find support and assistance. Knowing how much mom blogs helped me as a new mother, I can only imagine how amazing blogs are for new and seasoned parents of kids with autism.

So in honor of World Autism Awareness Day, we wanted to share five cool Autism blogs that we think all parents (and not just parents of kids with Autism) should know about.

Laura Shumaker
Laura Shumaker is a mom of 3, author of A Regular Guy: Growing Up with
Autism, and writes the popular Autism blog for The San Francisco
Chronicle. You’ll find a balance of heartfelt posts and helpful advice
on her personal blog.

A Diary of a Mom
Follow the adventures of Jess as she and her husband parent their two
daughters, one of whom has autism, in A Diary of a Mom. Love her Community Brag Page where parents of kids
with autism can boast freely about all their exciting milestones and
achievements.

Check out the 30 days of autism calendar through the ASF

Susan Senator
Beyond Susan Senator‘s well-known books Making Peace with Autism and The Autism Mom’s Survival Guide, she writes openly and honestly about being a mom of three boys whose oldest son was diagnosed with autism back in 1993.

The Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism
This group blog is based on the book
of the same name, The Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism, and features new columns and posts three times a week
by a slew of esteemed writers and experts.

Stimeyland
You can’t help but fall in love with Jean from Stimeyland, who shares
her daily experiences as a mom with a son with Autism through friendly,
funny posts.

Also, learn what you can do to help spread Autism awareness by visiting the Autism Speaks website site. And a big thanks to Ellen Seidman from Love That Max for her help! (Another awesome blog you should be reading.)