My ASD Child

With Aspergers and High Functioning Autism (HFA), the brain seems unable to balance the senses appropriately. It's common for these youngsters to have sensory problems. They may be hypo-active (low sensitivity) or hyper-reactive (high sensitivity) or lack the ability to combine the senses. Aspergers and HFA kids often have a "fight or flight" response to sensation. This condition is called "sensory defensiveness" and may be diagnosed as a "sensory processing disorder." These children can be sensitive to many things (e.g., the noise hair clippers make, the sensation of cutting hair, feeling loose hairs on their body, seeing hair fall on their clothing or the floor, etc.). When their perceptions are accurate, they can learn from what they see, feel, or hear. On the other hand, if sensory information is faulty, their experiences of the world can be confusing. Many young people with Aspergers and HFA are highly attuned - or even painfully sensitiv

Essential Aspergers Information That All Parents And Teachers Need To Know:

Taking your Aspergers (high functioning autistic) son or daughter to the dentist can be a difficult experience for both child and parent. Here are some helpful tips to effectively deal with dentist appointments: 1. Ask the dentist to lean the chair back before your child gets in it, because sometimes Aspergers and HFA children don’t like the feeling of being moved backwards. 2. Bring along a sibling or friend and let your child watch as the doctor or hygienist performs the task on them first. 3. Collaboration and teamwork are essential for a successful trip to the dentist. 4. Consider some physical exercise (e.g., riding a bike) to be done before and after the visit for calming. 5. Create and read a social story about going to the dentist with your child. The social story should take the uncertainty out of what will happen at the dentist office. 6. Deep pressure can be used before and during the visit for calming. 7. Dentists should review your youngster’s

The following summary identifies the specific learning difficulties of Aspergers and high functioning autistic students and suggests a number of possible classroom strategies: Difficulties with language— “Comic Strip Conversations” can be applied to a range of problems with conversation skills difficulty understanding complex language, following directions, and understanding intent of words with multiple meanings encourage the student to ask for an instruction to be repeated, simplified or written down if he does not understand explain metaphors and words with double meanings limit oral questions to a number the student can manage pause between instructions and check for understanding small group instruction for conversational skills teach appropriate opening comments teach rules and cues regarding turn-taking in conversation and when to reply, interrupt or change the topic teach student to seek assistance when confused tendency to interrupt tendency to make irrel

How does a diagnostician or clinician conduct an assessment for Aspergers? Autism Spectrum Disorders are very complex, yet their features can be very subtle; they are not always obvious on the surface. As a result, an Aspergers (high-functioning autism) assessment will take more time than most other assessments. Below are the methods that clinicians who are new to the field of Aspergers can use as a guide. These are also the methods that moms and dads should look for to make sure they are getting a good assessment for their Aspergers child. An assessment should be conducted by a doctor, psychologist, or psychiatrist who has expertise in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). This is important because most degree programs may only give passing information about Aspergers. A clinician may have a lot of experience in evaluating and may know the DSM criteria for Aspergers – but knowing the criteria on paper is not the same as having the background to really know all of the subtle featur

Pets and kids with Asperger's or High-Functioning Autism (HFA) can be a great combination and give these children an opportunity to relate to another living being. Children with behavioral and social issues can be difficult to work with, and most of them have trouble trusting others. Dogs, cats, elephants, lizards, rabbits and horses can successfully be used in animal therapy (called Animal Assisted Therapy). Animal Assisted Therapy provides an experience with an animal that is non-judgmental, gives affection unconditionally, and provides opportunities for physical and emotional therapy. This includes therapy for strengthening muscles through horseback riding, low-impact swimming with dolphins, and a boost of confidence with service dogs and companion dogs. These pets promote confidence and self-esteem while motivating children on the autism spectrum to interact and get stronger. There are many cases in which kids with Asperger's and HFA have close relationship with

Leaky Gut Syndrome (LGS) is a gastrointestinal disorder that affects the lining of the digestive tract. Some researchers believe that this digestive problem is a contributing factor to Aspergers (high functioning autism). The digestive tract lining becomes irritated and permeable. As a result, undigested food particles (particularly proteins) and toxins end up leaking into the blood stream. This leakiness can lead to disturbances in neurological brain function. Part of the problems inherent in LGS is that the body is naturally designed to fight off foreign entities. The food particles and toxins cause the body to put the immune system into overdrive, which is suspect for causing autoimmune disorders. Specific symptoms indicate that there might be a problem with a permeable intestinal tract. They include: aggressive behavior and mood swings anxiety, confusion, and nervousness asthma bed-wetting bloating and constipation chronic pain diarrhea and gas discomfort in the abdo

Teens with Aspergers Talk About Their Life-Challenges: Your older teenager or young “adult child” isn’t sure where he is going in life, and he is asking you for money every few days. How do you cut the purse strings and teach him to be independent? Click here to find out...

Caring for an Aspergers (high functioning autism) youngster takes a tremendous toll on the whole family, and neurotypical siblings are no exception. As moms and dads, our exhaustion, stress, and uncertainty about how to respond to the needs of other children can leave us feeling guilty and drain our reserves — and might tempt us to downplay or ignore the impact a youngster's disorder may have on his siblings. By being aware of what neurotypical (i.e., non-Aspergers) brothers and sisters are going through and taking a few steps to make things a little easier, moms and dads can address many issues before they unfold. Family routines and dynamics naturally change when a youngster has Aspergers, which can confuse and distress neurotypical siblings. In addition to fear and anxiety over the disorder, they often experience the feeling of loss of a "normal" family life, and loss of their identity within the family. It's normal for neurotypical siblings to: worry

"A lot of literature on autism says that the brain of a child on the spectrum is 'wired differently'. Can you elaborate of this difference?" Over the past few years, a number of studies have been published linking differences in brain structure and function to Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). For example, researchers have noted that: At a certain point in post-natal development, ASD brains are larger Certain parts of the brain may function differently in ASD children Certain portions of the brain, such as the amygdala, may be enlarged in ASD brains “Minicolumns” in the brain may be formed differently and be more numerous in ASD brains Testosterone may be linked to ASD The entire brain may function differently in ASD children What all of these brain findings have in common is that they point to ASD as a disorder of the cortex. The cortex is the proverbial "gray matter" (i.e., the part of the brain which is largely responsible for higher brai

Question #1: Can you give us just a basic summary of Aspergers for those of us who are not familiar with the disorder? Generally, Aspergers is understood to involve problems with social skills and relationships, nonverbal communication difficulties, restricted, repetitive behaviors, narrow areas of interest, and adequate development of language skills and intelligence. Since 1944 when Hans Asperger first wrote of the symptoms he observed, professionals have included different groupings of the following symptoms in their definitions of the condition: • compulsive adherence to nonfunctional routines • delayed motor skills • lack of delay in speech or language comprehension skills • motor clumsiness • narrow interest • nonverbal communication problems • normal intellectual development • odd speech • preference for solitary activities • preoccupation with parts of objects or nonfunctional aspects of toys, tools, machines, etc. • problematic peer relationshi