My ASD Child

"One of my new students this year has Autism (high functioning female, age 6). She will throw a major temper tantrum whenever she is asked to stop one activity and get ready for the next one, which is very disruptive to the entire class. What can I do to help her move from one task to the next quickly and without resistance? It's like she has to complete the first project completely and perfectly before she is willing to go to the next." First of all, your student may be experiencing a "meltdown" rather than a tantrum ( click here to see the difference). Transitions are very difficult for children with ASD, or High-Functioning Autism. It's an interruption to their day and a change in their schedule. In order to minimize difficulty in transition, try to keep their schedule as routine as possible. Always let them know ahead of time that a transition in routine is coming.  Using sensory integration techniques can be very helpful for some ASD stud

A child or teenager with Aspergers or High Functioning Autism may exhibit less eye contact with you and others than expected, and he or she may not read faces for cues about feelings or consequences. This lack of connectivity is often felt in an intangible way, especially by caregivers. We anticipate with open hearts the child who will “give back” our attention. However, in children with Aspergers, there may be very little variation in expressions of emotions and little joy in playing interactive baby games. The arrival of the youngster’s social smile may occur later and infrequently. What can moms and dads do to help their kids with Aspergers? Be understanding when we don't feel like looking - we're not being rude, just feeling insecure. Encourage "looking at my face" but don't push it - it's really uncomfortable for us. Explain how some folks need to see you looking in their direction before they think you're listening. Give your children a f

School- and community-based personnel generally have had little training on how to support the youngster with Aspergers (high functioning autism). Thus, even though they are now taking an increased role in the lives of children with Aspergers, school counselors, school social workers, school psychologists, agency workers, family counselors, and other educational professionals must educate themselves about Aspergers in order to best meet student needs. Because of the complexity of the disorder and the need for a comprehensive support system, it is important that counseling and human development professionals become familiar with Aspergers and the roles that they may have in the treatment of this population. Social Characteristics of Students with Asperger Syndrome— As originally noted by Asperger (1944) and confirmed by others (Frith, 1991; Myles & Adreon, 2001; Szatmari, 1991), Aspergers is first and foremost a social disorder. In this connection, Barnhill et al. (2001 b)

While much of what I'm about to talk about applies to both men and women, this post is going to lean more toward addressing the male-version of Aspergers and High-Functioning Autism... Men with Aspergers and High Functioning Autism suffer from a phenomenon called “mind-blindness,” which is a cognitive condition where the person is unable to attribute mental states to self and others. As a result of this condition, he is often unaware of others' mental states and has difficulty attributing beliefs and desires to others. Lacking in this ability to develop a mental awareness of what is in the mind of his partner, the Aspergers man is often viewed as emotionally detached. "Emotional intelligence" is in many ways the opposite of mind-blindness. Emotional intelligence (EQ) matters just as much as intellectual ability (IQ) when it comes to happiness and success in life. Emotional intelligence helps one build stronger relationships, succeed at work, and achieve care