My ASD Child

"My son was diagnosed with Asperger’s in January. His eating habits are not that great. He will only eat about 3 specific foods which are not at all healthy. How can I introduce something new to him if he doesn’t like to try anything new? Unless he has eaten it before, he will not try it." This is a common problem with people with Asperger’s. Some AS adults will eat only three or four foods for months at a time. For AS kids, many foods taste terrible to them (but not to others) or have disgusting textures or smells. They can’t help these reactions; they are a part of Asperger’s. Unfortunately your son’s three choices are not healthy ones, so he isn’t getting a balanced diet. For that reason, his diet must change. Your son’s diet should include protein from eggs, milk, cheese, fish, beef, and chicken, pork, even hot dogs. He needs grains, which provide B vitamins, from breads, hamburger and hot dog buns, corn, and cereals. He needs vitamins and minerals, including

"We are parents of a newly diagnosed son (age 9) with high functioning aspergers. He wakes up in the middle of the night. He is in good health. We have tried Valerian, but that has not helped much. Is this a common trait for children with autism? Could this be hormonal? Can you suggest anything to remedy this?"  The first known attempt to evaluate the sleep patterns of kids with Aspergers and High-Functioning Autism (taking into account sleep architecture and the Cyclic Alternating Pattern or CAP) finds that these boys and girls have: sleep restlessness problems related to initiating sleep morning problems daytime sleepiness a high prevalence of some sleep disorders The study, authored by Oliviero Bruni, MD, of the Center for Pediatric Sleep Disorders at University La Sapienza in Rome, Italy, focused on 8 kids with Aspergers, 10 with Autism, and 12 healthy control kids. The moms and dads of these kids filled out the following materials: Autism Diagnostic O