My ASD Child

"We have a 2½ year old son with Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency and some other undiagnosed problems. When we did the routine screening at his Pedi’s office, the Pedi said he showed possible Autism and wanted us to see a behavioral specialist. When we went to see her, my sister and I showed her a couple of videos of him “blacking out” during one of his meltdowns and hurting himself.   We explained to her his sensory and tactile issues and other things we had noticed.  This was the winter of 2015 when he was just 1½.  She said “I don’t think he has Autism because he makes eye contact occasionally and has good interaction with us.  I think he is pretending and acting this way because he does not feel good and he knows if he does this he can be left alone.”  With that we left and drove the 1 hour 45 min back home.  Now he still have the same behavior and he is not only hurting himself (he just punched himself in the lip) but he is becoming aggressive towards others.  The babysitter

There's been an explosive growth in the number of children with High-Functioning Autism (HFA) in recent years. Following is a list of some of the common issues that these individuals experience in the classroom and beyond. These characteristics are usually not isolated ones; rather, they appear in varying degrees and amounts: coordination problems with both large and small muscle groups difficulty in following complicated directions or remembering directions for extended periods of time difficulty in working with others in small or large group settings difficulty staying on task for extended periods of time easily confused easily distractible inflexibility of thought; is difficult to persuade otherwise low tolerance level and a high frustration level poor auditory memory—both short term and long term poor concept of time poor handwriting skills spontaneous in expression; often cannot control emotions weak or poor self-esteem Whether you have a special educ

Philosophers have long known that your thoughts can be your own worst enemy. As Shakespeare once said, "There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." Children and teens with Aspergers and High-Functioning Autism are especially vulnerable to such “thinking errors” due to a phenomenon called “mind-blindness."  Resources for parents of children and teens on the autism spectrum :   ==> How to Prevent Meltdowns and Tantrums in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder ==> Parenting System that Reduces Defiant Behavior in Teens with Autism Spectrum Disorder ==> Launching Adult Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Guide for Parents Who Want to Promote Self-Reliance ==> Teaching Social-Skills and Emotion-Management to Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder ==> Parenting Children and Teens with High-Functioning Autism: Parents' Comprehensive Handbook ==> Unraveling the Mystery Behind High-Functioning Autism: Audio Bo

Kids with Asperger’s (AS) and High-Functioning Autism (HFA) 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. These “special needs” kids are easily stressed due to their inflexibility. Self-esteem is low, and they are often very self-critical and unable to tolerate making mistakes. Young people with AS and HFA, especially teenagers, may be prone to depression (as a side note, a high percentage of depression in grown-ups with AS and HFA has been documented). Rage and temper outbursts are common in response to stress and frustration. Kids with AS and HFA rarely seem relaxed and are easily overwhelmed when things are not as their rigid views dictate they should be. Interacting with peers and school staff – and coping with the ordinary demands of everyday life take constant strenuous effort. ==>  Teaching Students with Aspergers and HFA Programming Suggestions for Teac

"How can parents teach nonverbal communication and body language to a child who can read neither?" Most children communicate naturally and instinctively. However, communication is a highly complex process that requires the spontaneous organization of several different functions. For example: Emotional controls: to be comfortable socially requires that a child learns how to control his emotions and use them in a way appropriate to the circumstance Listening skills: for a child to understand what she is hearing requires that what she hears is automatically turned into understood thoughts Reading body language: reading body language accurately requires that the child learns the meaning of non-verbal cues (e.g. smiling, frowning, etc.) Verbal communication: to speak naturally requires that the cerebellum has hard wired the process of turning thoughts into speech With Asperger's (AS) and High-Functioning Autism (HFA), one or more of these skills are not full

For some moms and dads, a diagnosis of Asperger's may feel like a kick to the groin. You feel overwhelmed, and your world has been turned upside down. 

Kids with Asperger’s (AS) and High-Functioning Autism (HFA): frequently have an excellent rote memory, but it is mechanical in nature (i.e., the youngster may respond like a video that plays in set sequence) have a pedantic speaking style and impressive vocabularies that give the false impression that they understand what they are talking about, when in reality they are merely parroting what they have heard or read have poor problem-solving skills  tend to be very literal (i.e., their images are concrete, and abstraction is poor) usually have average to above-average intelligence – especially in the verbal sphere – but lack high level thinking and comprehension skills Programming Suggestions for Teachers: 1. The writing assignments of students with AS and HFA are often repetitious, flit from one subject to the next, and contain incorrect word connotations. These kids frequently do not know the difference between general knowledge and personal ideas, and therefore assume t

"Our daughter (autistic) has trouble managing her mood and behavior when changes in her daily routine occur. How should we handle this?" Children with Asperger’s (AS) and High-Functioning Autism (HFA) tend to crave sameness, despise change, become upset when there is a break in routine, or experience a “meltdown” when it is time to transition from one activity to another. Among these “special needs” children, there is a propensity for doing - or thinking about - the same things over and over, because doing so brings great comfort (e.g., repeatedly lining up toys in a certain order). Unlike “typical” children who may, for example, experiment with lining up train cars in a variety of ways, and move them along the track once they have decided on an order, a youngster with AS or HFA might have only one acceptable order – and have a temper tantrum if a single car is moved out of place. Many children on the autism spectrum have deep-seated “rituals" where certain thi

Articles in Alphabetical Order: 2015 3-Step Method for Preventing Meltdowns in Children... 50 Positive Traits of High-Functioning Autism A Special Message to Teens on the Autism Spectrum Addressing Self-Harm Behaviors in Children on the ... Affective Education for Children and Teens on the ... Anger-Control Strategies for Children and Teens on... Asperger's & High-Functioning Autism: Dispelling t... Asperger's Adults and Suicide Asperger's and High-Functioning Autistic Children ... Asperger's Children and Difficulties with Processi... Asperger's Children and Resistance to Change: Tips... Asperger's Kids and Their 'Pedantic' Style of Spea... Assessing Destructive Behavior in Children on the ... Auditory Processing Problems in Children on the Au... Autism Meltdowns: Intervention And Prevention Tech... Back-to-School “Quick Tip Sheet” f