My ASD Child

"My 12 year old son is diagnosed with high functioning autism and conduct disorder (also the suspicion of ADHD). Any other parents out there with this combination in their child? Any advice for us? This has been a very difficult road - with no end in sight. My husband and I are feeling both the physical and mental effects of the stress we have to endure on a daily basis. We are desperate at this point." Although several studies have suggested an association between violent crime and High-Functioning Autism, few have examined the underlying reasons. All kids display oppositional or aggressive behavior from time to time, especially when they are upset, tired, or hungry. Oppositional behavior (e.g., arguing, lying, and disobeying) is a normal part of development for kids and  teenagers. When this behavior is frequent or excessive, affects the youngster’s home or school life, or violates the rights of others, a conduct disorder may be present. Conduct disorder (CD) is

"What is the real difference between Asperger's Syndrome and Autism? When I tell people that my daughter has Asperger's, they usually ask me, 'What is Asperger's exactly?' And I say, 'It's a form of Autism.' But that doesn't really help them to understand Asperger's since there is supposedly a big difference between the two disorders." There is a great deal of confusion when it comes to the differences between Aspergers (high functioning autism) and Autistic Disorder. It seems that even medical professionals have difficulty determining a clear line between the two disorders. Often, it boils down to simply categorizing children according to the specific traits they exhibit, such as how they use language. However, there are some professionals who assert that Aspergers and Autism are actually the same disorder and should both fall under the heading of Autism. Click here for more information on the new criteria for Autism as desc

The American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Fourth Edition (DSM IV), defines oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) as a recurrent pattern of negativistic, defiant, disobedient, and hostile behavior toward authority figures that persists for at least 6 months. Behaviors included in the definition include the following: • actively defying requests • arguing with adults • being touchy, easily annoyed or angered, resentful, spiteful, or vindictive. • blaming others for one's own mistakes or misbehavior • deliberately annoying other people • losing one's temper • refusing to follow rules OPPOSITIONAL DEFIANT DISORDER is usually diagnosed when an Aspergers youngster has a persistent or consistent pattern of disobedience and hostility toward parents, teachers, or other adults. The primary behavioral difficulty is the consistent pattern of refusing to follow commands or requests by adults. Aspergers kids with OPPOSITIONAL DEFIANT DISORDER are

Aspergers (high functioning autism) is a developmental disorder falling within the autistic spectrum affecting two-way social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and a reluctance to accept change, inflexibility of thought and to have all absorbing narrow areas of interest. Individuals are usually extremely good on rote memory skills (facts, figures, dates, times etc.) many excel in math and science. There is a range of severity of symptoms within the syndrome, the very mildly affected youngster often goes undiagnosed and may just appear odd or eccentric. While Aspergers is much more common than Autism it is still a rare condition and few people, including professionals, will know about it much less have experience of it. It seems to affect more boys than girls. In general terms they find making friends difficult, not understanding the subtle clues needed to do so. They often use language in a slightly odd way and take literal meanings from what is read or heard. They

Aspergers is a developmental disorder falling within the autistic spectrum affecting two-way social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and a reluctance to accept change, inflexibility of thought and to have all absorbing narrow areas of interest . Individuals are usually extremely good on rote memory skills (facts, figures, dates, times etc.) many excel in math and science. There is a range of severity of symptoms within the syndrome, the very mildly affected youngster often goes undiagnosed and may just appear odd or eccentric. While Aspergers is much more common than Autism it is still a rare condition and few individuals, including professionals, will know about it much less have experience of it. It seems to affect more boys than girls. In general terms they find making friends difficult, not understanding the subtle clues needed to do so. They often use language in a slightly odd way and take literal meanings from what is read or heard. They are happiest w

  Do you need some assistance in parenting your Aspergers or HFA child? Click here to use Mark Hutten, M.A. as your personal parent coach. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I have just listened to you program and now am more able to be more specific!!!  Seriously I have seen 5 psychiatrists, behavioural peds, many psychologists and now 2 specialist psychologists in OCD and Mark, your program is the only one that is practical!  I have been to the “best” specialists in my state and no real progress has been made.  In fact the last person told me this was as good as it was going to get and to just get use to being his carer!!!!! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dear Mark Thank you for your email. I am running a small parent support group in Grahamstown, South Africa and have encouraged the parents to sign up for your newsletter too. It comes highly recommended. Keep up the great work! Kind regards, Amanda Edwards Speech, Language & Hearing Therapist ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~