My ASD Child

"I desperately need some advice on how to work with my son's (high functioning autistic) teacher so we can come up with a 'plan' that actually works for him - both academically and behaviorally." Collaboration between parent and teacher facilitates successful education for ALL children. But for young people with Asperger’s and High-Functioning Autism, it’s especially important to have effective communication, consistency on goals and rewards across settings, teamwork planning, and monitoring of interventions. The parent-teacher relationship is ongoing, reciprocal, respectful, and child-centered. This post offers important tips for facilitating effective parent-teacher teamwork: 1. A message notebook may be used so that the educator can communicate what is going on at school – and the mother or father can communicate what is happening at home. Notebook comments from the educator may discuss a youngster's progress, his behavior, attitude, the rate at

"Are there certain things that I should tell my son's new teacher before he starts the new school year in order to help her make any necessary adjustments or accommodations?" You have had several years of experience figuring-out what works and what doesn’t work in managing your son.    While his teacher understands the fundamentals of teaching, he/she may be lacking in crucial information about ASD [[High-Functioning Autism], and what works best in certain circumstances. This means that you have information to share with the teacher, and the time to do that is before (or very near) the time your son enters the classroom. Here are the basics to discuss with your son's teacher: You’ll want to share information on your son’s diagnosis and his  normal level of functioning. If your son has a normal or above normal IQ, tell the teacher that he has the cognitive ability to succeed under the right circumstances. Talk about visual learning and the fact that chil

"I need to understand my son better (ASD, age 7) so we can you come up with some consequences that are appropriate and not so punitive as to remove all possibility of improvement. Please help!" If you have a youngster with High-Functioning Autism (HFA) who exhibits problematic behavior, you have probably felt like an investigator, searching for clues and seeking hidden motivations.  You may have come up with some quick and easy explanations for your youngster's behavioral issues (e.g., ones offered by parents at the park, your mother-in-law, and even by behavioral experts), but your youngster often has something completely different up his sleeve. Operating according to the easiest explanation will often make matters worse. Even though there are explanations for your HFA youngster's “bad” behavior that take some of the fault from him, the effects of the behavior are unfortunate and must be addressed. For example, your youngster may push one of his friends or b

Negative reinforcement requires the student to work for the removal of an in-place, unpleasant consequence. The student's goal is to get rid of something that is unpleasant rather than to earn something that is desirable. In a negative reinforcement model, instead of working to earn a positive consequence, the student works to distance himself from an aversive consequence. Negative reinforcement is often used in the classroom to manage problem behaviors in Aspergers (high-functioning autistic) children. Educators inadvertently pay attention to a student who may not be complying and withdraw their attention contingent on the student's compliance. Surprisingly, this strengthens rather than weakens the noncompliant behavior. The next time a similar situation occurs, the student again will not comply until confronted with the aversive consequence (i.e. the teacher's attention). Negative reinforcement is often seductive and coercive for educators. It works in the short run

"My daughter was diagnosed with high functioning autism recently. What critical details can I provide to her 5th grade teachers to help them understand her cognitive, emotional and social characteristics? (I am a teacher as well, 7th grade, different school). She apparently is not doing so well in the current situation." Most children with ASD or High Functioning Autism (HFA) are impaired socially. They often do not detect social clues and are frequently unaware when they irritate others. Since they miss these social clues, they miss the lesson associated with the experience. As a result, they tend to repeat the irritating behavior since they are unaware of its effects. Many of the traits of HFA are "masked" by average to above average IQ scores. This often results in the student being misunderstood by teachers. They assume the child is capable of more than is being produced. This lack of understanding may result in teachers treating the "special needs

Students with Aspergers (high functioning autism) are unique, and they can affect the learning environment in both positive and negative ways. In the classroom, the Aspergers child can present a challenge for the most experienced teacher. These children can also contribute a lot to the classroom because they can be extremely creative and see things and execute various tasks in different ways. Teachers can learn a lot when they have a child with Aspergers in their class, but the teacher may experience some very challenging days too. Here are some tips for teachers to consider: Every child with Aspergers is different. As a teacher you want to take the information you have acquired and apply it, but every Aspergers child is different, so it's difficult to take knowledge you have gained from one experience, and apply it to a situation with another child with Aspergers. Remember that each child with Aspergers is unique, and strategies that have worked with other students in

"I have a little boy with high functioning autism that is feeling a lot of dread now that he has returned to school. I would welcome some ideas on how to make this transition as smooth and stress free as possible." Preparing kids with Aspergers (AS) and High-Functioning Autism (HFA) for the new school year requires a little more than making sure uniforms fit and backpacks are filled with all the necessary school supplies. Most U.S. schools will open their doors in August. Before then, moms and dads need to ensure all their documents are in order, transportation is prepared, and good communication is established with their youngster's school. Here are 25 ways in which you can help your youngster prepare for the new school year: 1. Ask the school whether you will be able to walk your child into the classroom and hand him off to the teacher.  Find out how long you will be able to stay.  If you suspect that your son or daughter might have a hard time saying goodbye,