My ASD Child

"Is it common for children with high functioning autism to be highly explosive? My daughter can fly off the handle in a heartbeat for what seems to be rather trivial matters (to me anyway)." Children with High-Functioning Autism (HFA) often have a difficult time controlling their anger as compared to “typical” children, which is due to the fact that they have problems understanding their emotions and their impact on others. In addition, they aren’t living in a void in which they don’t understand that they’re different from other kids. Often teased and rejected by their peers, they can have emerging anger they don’t understand and can’t easily control. Helping these children with anger problems requires direct communication about the effect of their anger on others as well as methods of improving their low self-esteem and poor sense of self-worth, which is often at the root of the youngster’s anger. Anger that’s acted-out badly needs to be treated like any ot

Many moms and dads recognize that their Aspergers or high functioning autistic (HFA) child has a problem with anger management. They feel their child needs to develop anger management skills, or needs to find some kind of anger management counseling that will help them get along better in life -- in school, at work, with a parent, with siblings, and others. In some cases, professionals may have diagnosed the Aspergers or HFA child with a “conduct disorder”, or “oppositional defiant disorder”. Types of Anger— The natural response to fear is to fight it or avoid it. When confronted with fear, animals and humans both go into “fight or flight”, “violence or silence”, or “gun or run”. They engage in the conflict, or they withdraw. Though many moms and dads may equate “child anger management” with the “fight-violence-gun,” uncontrollable rage, parents must also recognize that anger may be “turned inwards” in the “flight-silence-run” mode, which can often times be as dangerous, if

Question My Aspergers son has anger problems. How can I help him understand what his real emotions are? Answer For kids with Aspergers (high functioning autism), anger can be a major challenge. Many people do not realize the strong connection between Aspergers and behavioral issues like anger, anxiety, and depression. The very characteristics of Aspergers lead to these behavioral issues. Some of these characteristics are: Gross and fine motor problems Inflexible thinking Lack of language skills, especially social language, gestures and cues Narrow interests Sensory issues Social skills weaknesses Understanding anger in Aspergers children is quite simple. Nearly all of your son’s anger stems from frustration. The characteristics of Aspergers listed above (plus others) create a confusing and uncomfortable social environment. The natural reaction is frustration, and the natural escalation of frustration is anxiety, then anger. Helping an Aspergers child un

"I'm in desperate need of some strategies to deal with my Aspergers (high-functioning) son's anger. When he starts to stew about something, it's not long before all hell breaks loose. Any suggestions?!" ==> CLICK HERE for the answer... References— • American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders. 4th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association. 1994. • Anger Management for Substance Abuse and Mental Health Clients • Barkley, R.A. (1997). Defiant Children: A Clinician’s Manual for Assessment and Parent Training. 2nd ed. New York: Guilford Press. • Beck, R., and Fernandez, E. (1998). Cognitive behavioral therapy in the treatment of anger: A meta-analysis. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 22, 63-74. • Berkowitz, L. (1970). Experimental investigations of hostility catharsis. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 35, 1-7. • Carroll, K.M.; Rounsaville, B.J.; and Gawi

Young people with ASD [High-Functioning Autism] respond with anger mostly because they feel frustrated - they feel helpless to understand the situation fully, and helpless to change it. Parents need to understand that anger is not the same thing as aggression. Anger is a feeling, while aggression is a behavior. Anger is a temporary emotional state caused by frustration; aggression is often an attempt to hurt a person or to destroy property. Explain to your ASD child that anger is OK – aggression is not. Dealing with your child’s anger requires first finding out what he is feeling. Ask him what happened, what went wrong, what he wants, and what he is feeling. He may - or may not - be able to tell you very clearly, and he may need your help to label his feelings. Contrary to some popular opinions, punishment is not the most effective way to communicate to ASD children what we expect of them. Explaining, modeling, and setting rules are far more effective. However, expect you

"I desperately need ideas on how to deal with an autistic child (high functioning) who is often agitated and angered. We rarely know what will trigger him, as it seems to vary widely from situation to situation - and from day to day." All children experience anger. But, young people with Asperger’s (AS) and High-Functioning Autism (HFA), in particular, have difficulty channeling their strong emotions into acceptable outlets. Anger is a response to a real or perceived loss or stress. It results when an individual’s body, property, self-esteem, or values are threatened. Anger is often a reaction to feeling frustrated, hurt, misunderstood, or rejected. If your youngster does not learn how to release his or her anger appropriately, it can fester and explode in inappropriate ways, or be internalized and damage his or her sense of self-worth. As a mother or father, dealing with an angry youngster is inevitable. Many of us have heard our own pre-parenting voice whisper to

Have you experienced an out-of-control yelling match with your Aspergers (high functioning autism) teen? While parenting these teens, moms and dads often find themselves in a power struggle. Teen "Aspies" try all sorts of things to get what they want, and sometimes this involves yelling and cussing-out their parents. The techniques that follow should help parents deal with aggressive Aspergers teens: 1. Avoid Excessive Negative Attention— It's a mistake to pay more attention to what the Aspergers youngster is doing wrong (e.g., his failures, mistakes, misbehaviors, etc.) than to what he is doing right (e.g., his successes, achievements, good behaviors, etc.). When you go to bed at night, review the day you have had with your Aspie. Have you spent as much time during the day looking at his appropriate behaviors as you have looking at his inappropriate actions? You should avoid using punishment as a primary method of control. Instead, substitute positive conse

Would you say your child has frequent mood swings and an anger-management problem? If so, then read on… As a parent of a child with Asperger’s (AS) or High Functioning Autism (HFA), it’s a very good idea to draw up a written contract detailing the things you want your child to practice in the course of his anger-management program. Drafting such a contract is a way of providing structure and support, which is crucial for children on the autism spectrum since they need and crave structure. The items included in the contract should be written from the perspective of the child (i.e., phrased in the first person). For example, “When I get angry, I will stop what I’m doing and go get my favorite stuffed toy to hug” …rather than, “When Michael gets angry, he will stop what he’s doing and go get his favorite stuffed toy to hug.” The details of the contract are important. You want to be very specific in describing: The goals for the anger-control program (i.e., what you hop