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

"We lost my father-in-law last month due to Covid virus. My son with autism is totally devastated. It is not helped by the fact that, before the schools closed, he was spending the time before school and after school at his Grandma’s house and will now be reminded of Granddad’s absence by his empty chair. Due to the fact that I have to work full time, my sons have spent much of their time from Monday to Friday with their grandparents, so it is like their second home - they even have their own bedrooms there! I am finding it very difficult to help him come to terms with Granddad’s death. He is OK most of the time, but will then fall into a black mood and will overreact to the slightest incident and go into a meltdown. Do you have any advice?"   CLICK HERE for the answer...

"What does it mean to have Aspergers? Is it just a different way of thinking? Do 'Aspies' have severe ADHD, mild autism, learning disabilities, or are they just nerds? Do they outgrow it?" For years, psychiatrists have debated how to classify and subdivide the category of Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD). Pervasive Developmental Disorder is a category that contains several specific diagnoses. Children with PDD have problems with the social interaction and often show delays in several other areas. These other areas may include language, coordination, imaginative activities, and intellectual functioning. The degree of severity can vary tremendously in the various forms of PDD. Autism is one of the more severe forms of PDD. A child with Autism has marked difficulty relating to others. He or she frequently has delayed or absent speech and may be mentally retarded. Aspergers (also referred to as ‘high-functioning autism’) is on the milder end of PDD. Kids wi

I recently received a really insightful email from a woman with Aspergers (Trudy), and with her permission really wanted to share it with you. I have left the email virtually intact so that the words are direct from Trudy and not edited in any way by me: Hi! I just needed to write to you, after reading an email I received of this week’s Aspergers question. I am 33 and a mother of 6, I have lived my whole life not knowing that I had a name, "Aspergers" it made sense when I learned about myself, "the condition".    I have to say that I am not satisfied with the way Aspergers are being treated, to me it is as if we are in the dark ages, and going about it all wrong!!! I am no expert, no do I have any qualifications to show, but I do know what it is like to be me. We are no different to gay people who are programmed from a young age not to act gay, humanity has finally accepted they are “different from our condition”, so why can’t the Aspergers people sit and

"My teenage son goes crazy when he sees women’s feet. He likes to touch them. I can’t go out anywhere because I always have this problem. When I try to stop him, he turns violent and tries to hit me or hits himself. What can I do to help him?" CLICK HERE for the answer...