My ASD Child

Question How can I deal with transition between schools for my son with Asperger Syndrome? Answer For kids with Aspergers (high-functioning autism), transition between schools will evoke a wide range of negative emotions. Change is difficult for these kids, and when a new school year rolls around, everything changes. New classmates, new teachers, and new schedules can cause major anxiety, which can spiral to depression. Dealing with the Aspergers transition problems can also affect your youngster’s home life. Anxiety brought about at school will carry over at home causing disruption. Anger and frustration can escalate, triggering meltdowns. While the transition at school cannot be avoided, there are things a parent can do to lessen the effects of all the change that comes with moving to a new school.   Here are some tips to help you deal with this unstable period in your youngster’s life: Plan ahead— Begin planning for the Aspergers transition phase w

KEY CONCEPTS: 1. Aspergers kids and teens are often described by their parents as being bright but clueless. 2. Kids with Aspergers often score well within the normal range on standardized tests typically used by schools to evaluate students. These tests usually do not test for social skills. 3. It is often helpful for parents to think of themselves as coaches for their kids. 4. Children/teens with Aspergers can have wide ranges of strengths and weaknesses which can puzzle and frustrate parents and educators. For example, since he can program a computer, why can’t he write a book report? 5. Persons with social-cognitive deficits still desire successful social relationships and companionship. Do not assume that they don’t want to have friends. 6. Poor parenting or role modeling does not cause Aspergers. INTERVENTIONS: 1. An activity notebook: These can be used to document all the activities in a given day. Then parents and youngster together can plan