My ASD Child

"Is it normal (or selfish of me) to feel a sense of sadness and disappointment now that we have learned our son has autism (high functioning)? How do you cope effectively with these demands - and the stress - of raising a special needs child? I need a big dose of strength right now... been a bad day :( " Moms and dads of kids with Asperger’s Syndrome (AS) and High-Functioning Autism (HFA) play multiple roles. Often, they are the first adults to recognize a developmental problem, and they should pursue their concern until they receive a diagnosis and find services for their youngster. Once they become involved in a treatment program, moms and dads should be active partners in their youngster’s treatment process to ensure that skills learned in therapy transfer to the home-setting, school, and community at large. As members of the individualized education plan (IEP) team, moms and dads should also be active advocates for the youngster, ensuring that the educational proce

Developmentally-based assessments of cognitive, communicative, and other skills provide information important for both diagnosis and program planning for kids with Asperger’s Syndrome (AS) and High-Functioning Autism (HFA). Careful documentation of a youngster’s unique strengths and weaknesses can have a major impact on the design of effective intervention programs and is particularly critical due to the fact that unusual developmental profiles are common. Given the multiple areas of difficulty, the efforts of experts from various disciplines are often needed (e.g., audiology, neurology, pediatrics, physical and occupational therapy, psychiatry, psychology, speech and language pathology). The level of expertise required for effective diagnosis and assessment may require the services of professionals other than those usually available in a school setting. In some cases, psychological and communication assessments can be performed by existing school staff, depending on their tra