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Asperger's Syndrome Documentary



This short documentary about Asperger's Syndrome shown on TV in 2005 is about me, I have mild Asperger's Syndrome. I was diagnosed in 2002.

I knew I was different from the age of about 6 years old, hypotheses included - the reincarnation of King David or Pliny the Elder, a left behind Space Alien and finally mild autism (after seeing a TV documentary). Other pupils were loud and ran around randomly, while I preferred a mature intellectual life. I became interested in astronomy/science ~3 years old, so I'm told, it was my interests that made me stand out in school.

Later on in primary school, I became fascinated by mineralogy too. I found it difficult not to talk about my hobbies, one time I stopped taking for a week or two after the summer holidays, because I knew if I talked ... the bullies would again realise I was different and the bullying would start again. I was bullied badly, sometimes beaten up, for years. Bullying mostly stopped in secondary school as I found a group to hang around with.

In 1987, at 14, I went to an astronomy lecture, but due to the excitement of it all I had a panic attack and I had to leave (a panic attack over astronomy?). This began over a decade of anxiety & panic attacks and increased reclusiveness, which I completely overcame in 1998. Perhaps due to my bad experience with Astronomy, I turned to Mineral collecting.

One of isolating aspects of Asperger's is, we tend to talk at people not with people. However, in 1998, I did a 6 week geological mapping project with a friend, and I every hour or so we would sit and chat. After 4 weeks our conversations became two way. While I noticed this improvement, it also led to my growing sense oddness. This processes I am told, is called gaining insight, some young adults with Asperger's try to transition from the basic social skills of childhood to the more sophisticated social skills of adult life, but fail.

My diagnosis in 2002 was a great relief, I felt better about myself and understood myself more, I didn't feel the need to be normal so badly (that ever that is). I set up a social group in 2002, made many good friends and found a girlfriend though the group. I find people with Asperger's (I have met aver 100) are all extremely kind and interesting people. My social skills have improved allot. I graduated with a PhD in geology in 2008.

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My child has been rejected by his peers, ridiculed and bullied !!!

Social rejection has devastating effects in many areas of functioning. Because the ASD child tends to internalize how others treat him, rejection damages self-esteem and often causes anxiety and depression. As the child feels worse about himself and becomes more anxious and depressed – he performs worse, socially and intellectually.

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How to Prevent Meltdowns in Children on the Spectrum

Meltdowns are not a pretty sight. They are somewhat like overblown temper tantrums, but unlike tantrums, meltdowns can last anywhere from ten minutes to over an hour. When it starts, the Asperger's or HFA child is totally out-of-control. When it ends, both you and your child are totally exhausted. But... don’t breathe a sigh of relief yet. At the least provocation, for the remainder of that day -- and sometimes into the next - the meltdown can return in full force.

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Parenting Defiant Teens on the Spectrum

Although Aspergers [high-functioning autism] is at the milder end of the autism spectrum, the challenges parents face when disciplining a teenager on the spectrum are more difficult than they would be with an average teen. Complicated by defiant behavior, the teen is at risk for even greater difficulties on multiple levels – unless the parents’ disciplinary techniques are tailored to their child's special needs.

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Older Teens and Young Adult Children with ASD Still Living At Home

Your older teenager or young “adult child” isn’t sure what to do, and he is asking you for money every few days. How do you cut the purse strings and teach him to be independent? Parents of teens with ASD face many problems that other parents do not. Time is running out for teaching their adolescent how to become an independent adult. As one mother put it, "There's so little time, yet so much left to do."

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Parenting Children and Teens with High-Functioning Autism

Two traits often found in kids with High-Functioning Autism are “mind-blindness” (i.e., the inability to predict the beliefs and intentions of others) and “alexithymia” (i.e., the inability to identify and interpret emotional signals in others). These two traits reduce the youngster’s ability to empathize with peers. As a result, he or she may be perceived by adults and other children as selfish, insensitive and uncaring.

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Highly Effective Research-Based Parenting Strategies for Children with Asperger's and HFA

Become an expert in helping your child cope with his or her “out-of-control” emotions, inability to make and keep friends, stress, anger, thinking errors, and resistance to change.

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