My ASD Child

"Should we limit our son's time spent playing video games and run the risk that he will withdraw even more, or just allow free access?" Click here for the answer...

"Is it possible that my (high functioning) son’s sensory problems contribute to his meltdowns? What are some of the things I should be aware of that may set him off?" Click here for the answer...

Before the landmark Supreme Court case of Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, school districts frequently did not allow handicapped kids to enroll. Today legislation such as the Education for All Handicapped Kids Act of 1975, amended in 1990 to become the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, protects the right of handicapped kids to a free and appropriate education in the public schools. The "spirit" of laws that apply to handicapped kids is that each youngster should be educated as an individual. This is a good thing for kids with Aspergers (AS) and High-Functioning Autism (HFA) in particular – not that they are “handicapped,” but they do have special needs. They need individual treatment, because they can range from highly gifted children who excel in academics to students with a variety of learning disabilities and comorbidities like ADHD and Oppositional Defiant Disorder. The majority are usually between the two extremes. From birth to age three years...

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...