My ASD Child

Parenting defiant teenagers with ASD level 1 (or High Functioning Autism) is tough (if you don’t how that is). Below are some quick tips to give parents some relief from the power-struggles. None of these strategies are particularly profound, but when used wisely and consistently, they can make bad problems significantly better - especially when used in combination with one another! 1. Active Listening – Some behaviors are bids for attention or expressions of frustration at not feeling understood. Moms and dads can reduce problem behaviors when each defiant youngster feels genuinely cared about, understood, and paid attention to. Active listening is hard work and takes energy and practice. It cannot be done when thinking about or attending to other things, or when distractions occur. Active listening need not last a long time, but attention must be focused completely on the children and the message must be communicated back to them in the listeners own words in a way that lets t

A major part of emotional development in “typical” (i.e., non-autistic) kids and teens is how they recognize, label, and control the expression of their feelings in ways that generally are consistent with social norms (i.e., emotional control). Self-regulation of feelings includes recognition and description of feelings. Once a youngster can articulate an emotion, the articulation already has a somewhat regulatory effect. Typical kids are able to use various strategies to self-regulate as they develop and mature. They begin learning at a young age to control certain negative feelings when in the presence of grown-ups, but not to control them as much around friends. By about age 4, they begin to learn how to alter how they express feelings to suit what they feel others expect them to express. By about age 7 to 11 years, “typical” kids are better able to regulate their feelings and to use a variety of self-regulation skills. They have likely developed expectations concern

Based on the challenges that Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) present, it’s no surprise that kids and teens diagnosed with Asperger’s (AS) and High-Functioning Autism (HFA) often have behavioral and emotional problems. These challenges are most often connected to social deficits associated with the disorder (e.g., when the youngster fails to take his turn in a playground game because he doesn't understand the social rules of an activity). These challenges frequently involve feelings of stress, loss of control, or the inability to predict outcomes. Therefore, children with AS and HFA typically have behavior problems connected to their inability to function in a world they see as unpredictable and threatening. As a result, they may behave in ways that appear mean-spirited or malicious. But, this is an unfair assessment. While these “special needs” children do have behavioral difficulties, their problems are most often associated with their social ineptness, an obsessive interest

  Do you need some assistance in parenting your Aspergers or HFA child? Click here to use Mark Hutten, M.A. as your personal parent coach. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dear Mark: Your course has been a lifesaver! It has helped us so much. I have referred a number of people to it. Things are still hard, but not like they were. And I find that they get worse again when I have not re-read the book or my notes for a while, so I try to keep that up. I am wondering if you have an article on dealing with a parent's romantic relationship? My 14 yr old daughter is much worse when anyone I care about is around. For example her behavior greatly improved when her sister left for college (she has always felt very primally jealous and competitive of my love for her). My boyfriend of 2 years lives in another state and is not here that much (I go there too). The last time he was here she was over-the-top, starting trouble for no reason. She has said she does not want me to ha

Tips for Teachers with Students on the Autism Spectrum Social Aspects— Students with ASD level 1, or High Functioning Autism (HFA) may fall anywhere in the continuum between withdrawn and active but odd . These children want to communicate with their peers - but may lack the ability to do so. They do not understand what people are feeling or thinking and have difficulty empathizing with them. When asked to imagine themselves in a particular situation, they experience great difficulty and may not be able to role-play. There is a lack of understanding of body language and social conventions, and they have great difficulty in making and sustaining friendships. Because of this, HFA children miss out on many aspects of teenage culture. For example, they may have no knowledge of pop music, football, fashion etc. Therefore, when such topics are used to stimulate interest in examination questions, they can be at a disadvantage. These children have little apprec