My ASD Child

"Any suggestions for my 4 year old high functioning boy that hits and bites his playmates when he’s mad?" Unfortunately, many youngsters with Asperger’s (AS) and High-Functioning Autism (HFA) are often physically aggressive …they hit, bite and scratch others. These behaviors are fairly common and often appear by the youngster's first birthday. Moms and dads often struggle over how to manage their youngster's aggressive and/or destructive behavior. While some biting can occur during normal development, persistent biting can be a sign that a youngster has emotional or behavioral problems. While many AS and HFA kids occasionally fight with or hit others, frequent and/or severe physical aggression may mean that a youngster is having serious emotional or behavioral problems that require professional evaluation and intervention. Persistent fighting or biting when a youngster is in daycare or preschool can be a serious problem. At this age, AS and HFA kids have much mo

“Is it common for children with asperger’s and high functioning autism to also have oppositional defiant disorder?” Click here for the answer...

"How can I handle tantrums with my child on the autism spectrum? How should I deal with 'meltdowns'? Should the two be treated differently? If so, how does one know the difference between the two? Sorry for all the questions... but this is all new to me. My son was recently diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and I want to do the right thing here! Please help. Thank you." Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), also known as Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDDs), cause severe and pervasive impairment in thinking, feeling, language, and the ability to relate to others. These disorders are usually first diagnosed in early childhood and range from a severe form, called autistic disorder, through pervasive development disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS), to a much milder form, Asperger syndrome (now called "high functioning autism"). They also include two rare disorders, Rett syndrome and childhood disintegrative disorder. Some ASD kids are more