My ASD Child

Despite the rapid growth of interest in Asperger disorder in kids, there continues to be a lack of awareness of the diagnosis and its implications for teens and grown-ups. The reasons for this lack of awareness lie in the history of the disorder and in the historical development of mental health services. Because, as Santayana wrote, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” this article reprises some of the history given elsewhere in this volume, but in a highly partial way, to bring out what the author believes to be the historically grounded prejudices that are the first challenge to anyone wanting to help teens and adults with Aspergers. The diagnosis of Aspergers (AS) is more than 50 years old, nearly as old as autistic disorder. The year of 1943 saw the publication of Kanner's description of autistic disturbances in kids [1], and 1944, Aspergers paper on autistic personality disorder [2]. Asperger, like Kanner, worked with kids, and his paper, lik

Do you have a teenager on the autism spectrum? Is he or she really having difficulty coping with life? Are you worried about how he or she is going to handle adulthood? For teenagers with Asperger's and High-Functioning Autism, change is especially hard. They have grappled with the perplexing and disturbing nature of a highly unpredictable world most of their lives. For those parents of teens on the spectrum, we have compiled our top 15 picks for self-help books to assist your “special needs” teen in multiple areas of life: 1. The Aspie Teen's Survival Guide: Candid Advice for Teens, Tweens, and Parents, from a Young Man with Asperger's Syndrome 2. The Asperkid's (Secret) Book of Social Rules: The Handbook of Not-So-Obvious Social Guidelines for Tweens and Teens with Asperger Syndrome 3. Asperger's Teens: Understanding High School for Students on the Autism Spectrum 4. Asperger Syndrome and Adolescence: Helping Preteens & Teens Get Ready for

 "I need some tips on how to deal with my HFA teenager. We're dealing with so many issues at the moment - depression, social isolation, backtalk, failing grades, and the list could go on and on here..." Parenting adolescents brings many challenges – hormonal changes, self-identity, and the pressure of being socially acceptable, just to name a few. When you add Asperger’s or High Functioning Autism (HFA) to the equation, the element of difficulty increases significantly. Parents can help their “special needs” adolescents, but this begins with becoming knowledgeable about what they face. Parents should learn as much about the disorder as possible and how they can support and help these young people face their challenges. The “typical” teenager is really into his or her friends. The tools for developing social skills as an adolescent are shared experiences and conversation with peers . But, for the teenager who has poor social skills or struggles to communicate, t