My ASD Child

Aspergers (high functioning autism) affects behavior, personality, and the way a person interacts with others. As females with Aspergers become adults, they may feel isolated because they react differently to certain "stressful" situations. Their comments can seem insensitive and uncaring, when in reality, they simply may not fully understand the concept of empathy. These ladies often look for companionship with other adult females who have similar behavior patterns and outlook. The symptoms of Aspergers in adult females are usually displayed in a more subtle manner, which often results in missed or incorrect professional diagnoses, a lack of access to special education services and provisions in school, and a greater chance of social and emotional problems in adulthood. Several distinct differences exist in regard to the ways that females and males with Aspergers behave. Females with Aspergers are not often aggressive when they get frustrated. Instead, they tend

"Do some teens with ASD make awkward advances to the opposite sex, which are viewed as harassment? Our 17 y.o. was recently called down to the Dean's office for 'making inappropriate advances' to a girl he has a crush on!" Perhaps the most obvious trait of Asperger’s (AS) and High Functioning Autism (HFA) is impairment of two-way social interaction. This is not due primarily to a desire to withdraw from social contact. Rather, the problem arises from a lack of ability to understand and use the rules governing social behavior. These rules are complex, unwritten and unstated, constantly changing, and affect choice of clothing, eye contact, gesture, movement, posture, proximity to others, speech, and many other aspects of behavior. The degree of skill in this area varies among “typical” people, but those with AS and HFA are outside the normal range, for example: Many are over-sensitive to criticism and suspicious of others. Some have a history of rather bi

More often identified in males than females, Aspergers and High-Functioning Autism (HFA) are characterized by compulsive pursuits, awkward communication skills, and problems with social cues. The signs and symptoms of the disorder in females are often exhibited in a more subtle manner, which leads to missed or incorrect professional diagnoses, a lack of access to special education services and provisions in education, along with an increased potential for interpersonal and psychological difficulties in the adult years. A number of unique differences exist regarding the ways that young ladies versus males with Aspergers behave: Females that have Aspergers and HFA aren't usually aggressive once they get irritated; instead, they tend to be withdrawn and may very easily "fly under the radar" in classrooms and other interpersonal situations.  Females with the disorder can communicate their feelings in a more calm way than their male counterparts.  Aspergers and

Do girls with Aspergers experience the same symptoms as boys? The male to female ratio for referrals for a diagnostic assessment is about 10 males to each 1 female. However, the epidemiological evidence indicates the ratio is 4:1. This is the same ratio as occurs with Autism. So far there have not been any studies that specifically investigate any variation in expression of features between males and females with Aspergers, but males tend to have a greater expression of social deficits with a very uneven profile of social skills and a propensity for disruptive or aggressive behavior, especially when frustrated or stressed. These characteristics are more likely to be noticed by moms/dads and educators who then seek advice as to why the youngster is unusual. In contrast, females tend to be relatively more able in social play and have a more even profile of social skills. Females with Aspergers seem more able to follow social actions by delayed imitation. They observe the ot

From A Woman's Perspective: A young lady who has participated for several years in a social group for adults with high functioning autism and Asperger’s Syndrome sponsored at our TEACCH Center in Asheville, recently remarked, “There aren’t a heck of a lot of ladies who have Asperger’s Syndrome or autism. The majority are males, and although we get along with the guys, there are some issues that they are never going to understand. I wish there was more information specifically for ladies who have autism.” Her comment prompted the initiation of the first ladies’ group at the Asheville TEACCH Center.  While talking with this lady, who is in her 20’s, I was reminded of my own early adulthood. I remember the strong support of “ladies’ consciousness-raising groups” that sprouted up on college campuses and in living rooms in the 60’s and 70’s. While struggling for and demanding equality between the sexes in the society at large, we discovered that there were important distincti

"We think our daughter may have a form of autism due to her severe shyness, excessive need to have things just so, certain rituals she has with food, major touch sensitivity, a lot of anxiety, just to name a few. What are some of the signs to look for to help us decide if an assessment is in order?" Females with ASD, or High-Functioning Autism. often present with a unique set of characteristics that can make diagnosing their disorder very difficult. In addition, their strengths often mask their deficits. There has been considerable discussion among professionals about the way girls with ASD demonstrate their major characteristics. Some girls have obvious social difficulties, whereas others appear to have excellent skills because they imitate the behaviors of others (often without understanding them). There are many females who do not receive a diagnosis, possibly because, compared to males, (a) they have fairly good social skills (particularly when interacting wi

"It seems that there are more boys than girls with the high functioning version of autism. Is this true? If so, what accounts for the difference?" Interestingly, different research studies list the ratio of males to females with High-Functioning Autism (HFA) as being anywhere from 4-10 to 4-1 (i.e., some research suggests that for every 4 males, there is 1 female). Other studies suggest that the male population is much higher (8-10) relative to females. Obviously, much research is needed in this area. As there is no known specific cause of autism as yet, researchers don’t know why there seems to be such a diagnostic difference between boys and girls. A couple things could account for this difference: 1. There could be a hereditary or structural difference in boys that account for such a difference. There are other disorders associated mostly with boys (e.g., hemophilia) that have been found to be related to the genetic basis of the disease. 2. There coul

“What are some of the traits of high functioning autism that are unique to girls with the disorder?” High-Functioning Autism (HFA) affect behavior, personality, and the way the child interacts with others. The symptoms of HFA in females are usually displayed in a more subtle manner, which often results in missed or incorrect professional diagnoses, a lack of access to special education services and provisions in school, and a greater chance of social and emotional problems in adulthood. Several distinct differences exist in regard to the ways that females with HFA behave as compared to their male counterparts, for example: “non-autistic” females will play with dolls by pretending that they are interacting socially, but HFA females may collect dolls and not use them to engage socially with their peers a girl with HFA is more likely to have interests that are common to “typical” females, whereas an HFA male is more likely to have an unusual interest (e.g., a girl may be obsessed

 "We're trying not to use the same discipline methods with our autistic child (high functioning) that we use with the other two children, but we fall back into old habits and end up using traditional methods that usually backfire. Any suggestions?" Many kids and teenagers with Asperger’s (AS) and High Functioning Autism (HFA) are prone to behavior problems, and on occasion, aggression. Even though frequently motivated to be near to – and to socially interact with – peers and grown-ups, young people with HFA are deficient in age-appropriate, reciprocal social interaction skills (e.g., those required to participate in cooperative play and related activities). A propensity for socially unacceptable behavior and insensitivity to – or unawareness of – verbal and nonverbal social cues makes these “special needs” kids vulnerable to displaying a variety of behavior problems. Accordingly, parents and teachers must provide appropriate instruction and supports for HFA children

Aspergers (high functioning autism) is a developmental disorder, which was first described around 1940, about three years after the introduction of the first main commercial antibiotics (i.e., sulfa drugs). As antibiotic usage grows, so do rates of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Aspergers is really a disorder of the antibiotic era. Why? Simply because antibiotics help the yeast Candida albicans grow within the intestinal tract. Candida albicans makes toxic chemicals, which hurt the developing brain. The yeast Candida albicans can be discovered inside of our intestinal tract, mouth and in the female genital tract. Occasionally this yeast overgrows and the doctor recognizes this overgrowth of yeast as a yeast infection of the female genital tract or in the mouth, where this infection is commonly known as thrush. Bacteria are also resident inside the intestinal tract, sharing space with the yeast. Antibiotics kill bacteria, not yeast. After the use of antibiotics, the yeast grows