Moving house, how can I make this easier for my autistic brother?

[cabaretmum2b]

Hi all

I'm soon going to be moving house, which will mean that I will no longer be living with my autistic brother, who's 10. We're really quite close, and I know that when I leave he's going to be upset. The thing is that when he gets attached to someone and then they leave, he ends up not just upset, but not wanting to see them again a lot of the time.
I need to move out, as me and my partner are going to be having a baby soon, and we really need our own space. I just really don't want this to be too distressing on my brother! Can anyone recommend any ways to make the transition easier for him? I was thinking of maybe having something at my new place specially for him, so that he knows that he can come over and enjoy being there, but I don't know if that will work!
Can anyone think of anything else?

 

[MUMOF5]

How about making him a book of pictures of your new home (with you in the pictures), so that he can see where you are and be familiar with it before he goes there?? Does he have a particular toy or character that he likes? If so maybe get a poster of that and put it in the corner with a beanbag and some other things he likes and let him know that that he has a special place at your house to make him feel included and important and to encourage him to come over?? It is so lovely that you are so concerned about your brother, I really hope my children are like that with their brother when they are older xx

 

[Croc-O-Dile]

Have you thought about bringing him up to your new house before you move in? Like set up a date where you can take him up there to tour the new place and if you're up there preparing the place to move in take him with you. That way he gets used to the setting but you're still coming home with him at the end of the day, kwim? It might make the whole ordeal a little less stressful. I don't know how it is with your brother, but I have a family friend who's autistic and any kind of big change will set him in an episode. So when they needed to move houses they drove to their new house once a week until they moved in to get him used to it bit by bit. He had trouble for the first week or so, but nowhere near as badly as if they were to have just thrown him in a new setting completely.

Good luck xxx

 

[cabaretmum2b]

Thanks guys, they're both really good ideas I've spoken to him about it and he doesn't seem as upset as I was worried he would be, so hopefully that's a good sign! Luckily, we're moving just around the corner from our house, and on the same road as my uncle, so I think he's a little reassured by that