My ASD Child

Friends and family of kids with Aspergers and High-Functioning Autism often feel as if they are in the position that Helen Featherstone describes in her book, A Difference in the Family: Life with a Disabled Child. They are involved with kids who cannot fend for themselves: kids who need advocates to stand up for them. A youngster's call for help means that they can no longer be "ordinary people" without a choice to make. If they choose to advocate, it means taking on a job that will deeply affect their lives. The task of advocacy takes many forms on the individual to community to societal levels. As one advocate wrote, advocacy can range from "asking a neighbor to turn down a radio to demanding a full-time specialist to help your youngster in school" to lobbying Washington for more effective services. Advocacy in Everyday Life— Advocacy on the everyday level is often about simply educating people about Aspergers, a disorder most people have never ...

Anosognosia means denying that you have a medically diagnosed condition and not following doctors' orders. Kids with Aspergers, diabetes, alcoholism and bi-polar disorder commonly react with anosognosia. Diabetic adolescents typically go through several hospitalizations and insulin crises before they accept the fact that they will have to spend the rest of their lives monitoring their blood sugars, injecting insulin and following a special diet. No one, especially teens, wants to accept the idea of a lifelong disorder that makes him or her different from peers. They often take three to five years to process a diagnosis such as diabetes or Aspergers. Anosognosia is an "aggressive" reaction to diagnosis, but kids and teens can have other kinds of reactions classified as passive, negative, positive, internal, external or assertive. A passive reaction is: "My doctors and parents should take over my life because I have Aspergers." A negative reaction is about d...

Are you stuck trying to figure out what to give your youngster with Aspergers or High-Functioning Autism for a birthday or holiday treat? Wondering whether, if you give your youngster more treats related to his or her passion, you are just encouraging traits that cause trouble for him or her in school? Relax! Birthdays and holidays are not the time to try to fix other people. These celebrations are all about unconditional love - appreciating people for who they are now, regardless of the world's expectations. And as moms and dads, we all know how to do that, because no matter how difficult or problematic our kids appear to others, and no matter how exhausted we are at the end of the day, we still love our kids just the way they are. So take a deep breath and do something that may prove surprisingly rewarding - give them what they ask for, as long as it is age-appropriate, within your budget, and represents positive rather than negative values (e.g., don't give video gam...

Kids with Aspergers and High-Functioning Autism are often hard to put to bed. They may sleepwalk or have problems staying asleep. Some sleep too much, others too little. The reasons Aspergers kids have trouble falling asleep are: compulsions such as hand-washing or fiddling with their lights fears obsessive thoughts reactions to medications wanting to stay up with their parents and siblings Just as they are too restless to go to bed, Aspergers kids often have trouble waking up. They will mope around in the morning and be unable to focus on getting ready for school and other chores. A youngster's sleep problems can affect his parents' marriage. Most therapists tell moms and dads not to let the youngster sleep in their bed, and to take turns getting up with him. That way each parent gets a full night's sleep every other night. It is best to teach the youngster to stay in his bed and not wander around the house. Also, do not allow him to skip school becaus...

"My child (high functioning) absolutely hates gym class. He has a lot of difficulty keeping up with the others and says the teacher yells at him a lot. Is this a fairly normal thing for Asperger's children? Do you have any suggestions on how I can help him with gym class activities?" Click here for the answer...

“My 8-year-old son with AS (high functioning) gets extremely frustrated and angry at various times throughout the day. There doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of rhyme or reason to these outbursts. They are as unpredictable as the weather. Please help me understand what can be done to either curb his temper, or better yet, prevent this from occurring in the first place.” Click here for the answer...

“I need to help my autistic daughter (high functioning) deal with peers – and rejection of peers. I want to be able to help her fit in with her friends.” All kids want friends. Friendships are what make children who they are developmentally, emotionally, and intellectually. It starts when children are just babies.    Moms and dads sit mesmerized, waiting for their son or daughter to make eye contact, smile, and coo. It’s the beginning of real, social connection. From that moment, life is all about relationship. Younger kids spend most of their time trying to make and keep friends. The early years of school continue to focus primarily on friendships, emphasizing socialization over academics. But, kids with ASD level 1, or High-Functioning Autism (HFA), have genuine struggles making friends and keeping them. This sets the stage for most of the obvious problems related to autism spectrum disorders. Your daughter should know that you are an available support for her when t...