My ASD Child

"My child (with HFA) struggles in PE class... he's clumsy... gets teased as a result... and the teacher doesn't intervene to try to stop the teasing. SO then my son takes matters in his own hands and starts acting out towards the kids who are teasing. Then he's the one that gets in trouble. It's a bad cycle.  Any suggestions? Would there be any helpful advice I could give his teacher so he'll understand my child's challenges?" Including kids with High Functioning Autism (HFA) and Asperger’s in gym classes is not an uncommon occurrence. More and more, kids with “special needs” have gym alongside typically developing kids. Most physical education (PE) instructors teach young people on the autism spectrum although they have little knowledge about the disorder and how PE classes affect those who have it. Successfully educating kids with HFA involves a deeper understanding of the disorder and how it directly affects the students’ ability to partici

“Why are transitions so difficult for my autistic child (high functioning)? It’s impossible to get him to stop what he’s doing at the time without a huge row. What are some strategies which can help when moving from one thing to the next?” One frequently observed feature of High-Functioning Autism (HFA) and Asperger’s is inflexibility in thought and behavior. Inflexibility seems to pervade so many areas of the lives of children on the autism spectrum. Novel situations often produce anxiety. These kids may be uncomfortable with change in general, which can result in behavior that may be viewed as oppositional and can lead to emotional meltdowns. This general inflexibility is what parents and teachers often label as “rebellion.” There are two types of inflexibility: Cognitive inflexibility occurs when the child is unable to consider alternatives to the current situation, alternative viewpoints, or innovative solutions to a problem. The child with inflexible thinking tends t

“My 9 year old daughter was diagnosed with high functioning autism last year. She has major trouble wearing anything but shorts and very soft t-shirts on a daily basis. Is it wrong to force her to wear things that she doesn't like? I forced her to wear a dress for picture day at school earlier this year - and it was horrible. I don't know if I'm doing the wrong thing by forcing her.” I wouldn’t say it is “wrong.” Inconsiderate may be a better term. A common thread discussed by parents of children with High-Functioning Autism (HFA), or ASD level 1, is sensory issues. These children can have either Hyper- or Hypo-sensitivity. Some of them even express the sensory issues from birth. The sensory issues can be specific to one sense or across several senses. Oftentimes, these “special needs” children report that some – or most – of their clothes are “tickly.” They are often in the state of “red alert”. Many of the sensations that we take as meaningless, they view as a p

Articles in Alphabetical Order: 2016 16 Life-Saver Posts for Parents of Asperger's Chil... A Crash Course for Parents of Newly Diagnosed Aspe... Advantages & Disadvantages of Being Labeled "Autis... Anger-Control Techniques for Kids on the Autism Sp... Asperger’s Children and Medication Phobia Asperger’s Children and Problems with Impulsivity Asperger’s Kids and Problems with Disruption of Ro... Asperger’s Teens as Aggressors Asperger's and Narcissism Autistic Children and Their Abnormal Reaction to P... Behavioral Interventions for Children with Asperge... Behavioral, Emotional and Cognitive Traits of Kids... Children on the Autism Spectrum Who Wander Off Classroom and Homeschooling Strategies for Student... College Depression in Older Teens and Young Adults... COMMENTS & QUESTIONS [for April, 2016] COMMENTS & QUESTIONS [for Aug., 2016] COMMENTS & QUESTIONS [for D