My ASD Child

“My high functioning autistic child struggles emotionally while at school. His self-esteem is low, and he is often very self-critical and unable to tolerate making mistakes. Also, he is easily overwhelmed when things are not as his rather rigid views dictate they should be. Any suggestion for his teachers in this regard?” Kids with High-Functioning Autism (HFA) and Asperger’s have the intelligence to participate in regular education, but they often do not have the emotional resources to cope with the demands of the classroom. Many are easily stressed due to their inflexibility. Temper outbursts are common in response to anxiety and frustration. Also, interacting with classmates and coping with the ordinary demands of schoolwork can produce a significant amount of self-doubt (e.g., the child starts to believe that he or she is “dumb”). These “special needs” students are so easily overwhelmed by environmental stressors, and have such profound impairment in the ability to form inter

“What tips might you have for an HFA child who is a bit clumsy and has sloppy handwriting?” Children with High-Functioning Autism (HFA) and Asperger’s (AS) are often physically awkward. Many have stiff, uncoordinated gaits - and struggle in games involving motor skills. Also, they often experience fine-motor deficits that can cause penmanship problems, slow clerical speed, and affect their ability to draw. Other coordination problems that children on the spectrum may experience include: difficulty moderating the amount of sensory information that their body is constantly sending them, and as a result, they are prone to sensory overload and anxiety fatigue due to so much extra energy being expended while trying to execute physical movements correctly low muscle tone moderate to extreme difficulty performing physical tasks  poor sense of direction  problems with balance  struggling to distinguish left from right Here are some tips for parents and teachers: 1.  Childre

“Any tips for assisting my autistic student (high-functioning) with staying more focused and on task?” Children with High-Functioning Autism (HFA) and Asperger’s are often off task, distracted by internal stimuli, can be very disorganized, and have difficulty sustaining focus on classroom activities. Often it is not that the attention is poor, rather that the focus is "odd." In other words, the child can’t figure out what is relevant, so attention is often focused on irrelevant stimuli. In addition, these “special needs” students tend to withdrawal into complex inner worlds in a manner much more intense than is typical of daydreaming. Here are a few suggestions to help with poor concentration in students on the autism spectrum: 1.  Work out a nonverbal signal with your HFA student (e.g., a gentle pat on the shoulder) for times when he or she is not attending. 2.  Encourage the student to leave his or her inner thoughts and fantasies behind and refocus on the real

“Any tips for dealing with a child (high functioning) who only talks about his current favorite game (Lego DC super-villains)? When I say ‘only’ – I mean as in 100 % of the time. His incessant rambling on this subject gets in the way of homework, chores, dinnertime, bedtime, and annoys his siblings (just to name a few). Please help!” You’re definitely not alone. Kids with High-Functioning Autism (HFA) and Asperger’s often have eccentric preoccupations or intense fixations (e.g., sometimes obsessively collecting unusual things). They tend to ask repetitive questions about the special interest, follow their own inclinations regardless of external demands, have trouble letting go of ideas, refuse to learn about anything outside their limited field of interest, and relentlessly "lecture" on areas of interest. Here are a few suggestions for dealing with your son’s obsession: 1. Use your son’s fixation to broaden his interests. Get really creative here! For example,