Search This Site

Followers

Aspergers in Adulthood: Live Q & A with Mark Hutten, M.A.




2 comments:

Unknown said...

I discovered my autism at age 60. I finally understand wtf happened to me. It was not too late for me. However, I suffered with being misdiagnosed as bipolar and was greatly harmed by the massive doses of psych drugs I was given.

Anonymous said...

I guess I have to re-post this, I forgot to sign in on google:

My whole life is trouble in jobs. I've had so many jobs I've lost count. I went through the "counseling circuit" over the years because i always knew something was wrong. I gave up on that because the sessions would inevitably lead into a "diagnosis" that never seemed to fit how I really was. My whole life has been about missing information. It
s like everyone else always knows what is going on, but I struggle to keep up and can never figure out where I miss the information to begin with. As a child I had a hard time talking with people. I wanted to talk really bad but I couldn't get any "conversation" going. People just thought I was "shy". I learned over the years how to converse and can carry on conversations now, even with strangers in grocery stores.
But I still have a hard time on jobs. Right now I work as a night auditor for 2 nights a week but it is not enough work. I have had some good jobs in the past but, like with one, we moved.
I've never been diagnosed with HFA, but I know without a doubt that I am not bi-polar or aDHD....although I've been given these. Makes me mad because I don't have "mania" which is like never sleeping and hyperactive. I have never been "distracted" and hyperactive. So a long time ago I quit going to counseling. I guess I'm one of those people that falls thru the cracks.
My stuff isn't like all that bipolar and adhd. Mine is like (even when I was a kid) being in a room and suddenly the lights seem to magnify in intensity and every sound, like a pencil dropping on a floor and somebody coughing all simultaneously becomes almost like a chorus blending together with each note individually identifiable. Or like when I was watching Peter Jennings on ABC back one night in 1999 I could hear each word but didn't know what he was saying.

Like Don, I'm older. I am now in my 50s. I have 2 grown kids, both very good people. Somehow I raised 2 compassionate people even though I was labeled "single mom", dingy and job hopper. People think people like me are dumb, but my IQ is actually above average. My son who is an upper classman in college now (he's in communications! how ironic) and says I am a classic asperger/hfa. But knowing doesn't help that much. It helps to know why I was often the scapegoat at work, or taken advantage of, and why I am "ECCentric" which I've been told many times.
But it doesn't help other than that because I live in a constant state of stress because of the Jobs. I like "work" but hate working with all these same types of people over and over who are nazi fascists. So I am working night audit, with little people interaction. They put me up in Reservations with a 20 year old telling me what to do and humiliating me because she really didn't want me on her team. So I told them I just want the 2 nights doing audit. Hopefully I will find another job soon, because I did have a "meltdown" with that 20 year old. I try very hard not to do that, but I knew after 1 day of being with this 20 year old I was going to have to be real careful or I would have a meltdown (because these people are a dime a dozen in these little slave labor camps and once you don't go along with the "agenda" you are completely ostrasized.).

Thank you for letting me vent.

My child has been rejected by his peers, ridiculed and bullied !!!

Social rejection has devastating effects in many areas of functioning. Because the ASD child tends to internalize how others treat him, rejection damages self-esteem and often causes anxiety and depression. As the child feels worse about himself and becomes more anxious and depressed – he performs worse, socially and intellectually.

Click here to read the full article…

How to Prevent Meltdowns in Children on the Spectrum

Meltdowns are not a pretty sight. They are somewhat like overblown temper tantrums, but unlike tantrums, meltdowns can last anywhere from ten minutes to over an hour. When it starts, the Asperger's or HFA child is totally out-of-control. When it ends, both you and your child are totally exhausted. But... don’t breathe a sigh of relief yet. At the least provocation, for the remainder of that day -- and sometimes into the next - the meltdown can return in full force.

Click here for the full article...

Parenting Defiant Teens on the Spectrum

Although Aspergers [high-functioning autism] is at the milder end of the autism spectrum, the challenges parents face when disciplining a teenager on the spectrum are more difficult than they would be with an average teen. Complicated by defiant behavior, the teen is at risk for even greater difficulties on multiple levels – unless the parents’ disciplinary techniques are tailored to their child's special needs.

Click here to read the full article…

Older Teens and Young Adult Children with ASD Still Living At Home

Your older teenager or young “adult child” isn’t sure what to do, and he is asking you for money every few days. How do you cut the purse strings and teach him to be independent? Parents of teens with ASD face many problems that other parents do not. Time is running out for teaching their adolescent how to become an independent adult. As one mother put it, "There's so little time, yet so much left to do."

Click here to read the full article…

Parenting Children and Teens with High-Functioning Autism

Two traits often found in kids with High-Functioning Autism are “mind-blindness” (i.e., the inability to predict the beliefs and intentions of others) and “alexithymia” (i.e., the inability to identify and interpret emotional signals in others). These two traits reduce the youngster’s ability to empathize with peers. As a result, he or she may be perceived by adults and other children as selfish, insensitive and uncaring.

Click here
to read the full article...

Highly Effective Research-Based Parenting Strategies for Children with Asperger's and HFA

Become an expert in helping your child cope with his or her “out-of-control” emotions, inability to make and keep friends, stress, anger, thinking errors, and resistance to change.

Click here for the full article...