My ASD Child

"I need ideas for how to reduce my child's anxiety about going to school please!" For some ASD (high functioning autistic) children, school can be a tense and fearsome place . Kids with special needs in particular may have problems understanding what is expected of them. They may (a) face painful social exclusion, and (b) find the work confusing and stressful. As a mother or father, your instinct is to charge in on a white horse and slay those dragons. But often, a listening ear, a sympathetic word, and a reassuring pat on the back will be a bigger help. 10 Tips for Reducing School Anxiety— 1. Understand the value of tears. Crying can be a great stress reliever. It flushes out bad feelings and eases tension. It's hard to see your ASD youngster crying, and your first instinct may be to help him stop as soon as possible. But after the tears have all come out, your youngster may be in a particularly open and receptive mood for talking and sharing. Provid

Your Aspergers or high-functioning autistic (HFA) youngster is naturally - and very heavily - drawn to very select topics or subject areas. As a mother or father, it will be important for you to recognize your youngster's areas of specialty and understand how to build upon them. Doing so will make your youngster feel tremendously valued, because you are communicating that you “get” the importance of the Special Interests (i.e., areas of passion and intrigue). Special Interests may be used as links to life-defining opportunities in learning, relationships, and employment. One of the diagnostic criteria for the disorder is “unusually intense preoccupation with one or more stereotyped interests.” This sets a negative precedent in how your youngster's interests are perceived. The use of words like “preoccupation,” “fixation,” and “obsession” are not helpful in everyday life. They imply that such special interests are socially inappropriate, inappropriate to one's chronolo

Are you getting complaints from school regarding your Aspergers (high functioning autistic) child's behavior? Do the teachers seem to have a hard time finding ways to cope with him or her? If so, then copy and paste the following letter, then send it in an email to your child's teacher(s): Dear Teacher, I am the parent of _____ (child’s name). As you know, he has Aspergers. Here are some things that will help you to help him in the classroom environment: 1. Please allow him to "move about" periodically …sitting still for long periods of time can be very difficult (even a 2 minute 'walk around' with a friend or aide can help a lot). 2. Allowing our youngster to write down questions or thoughts and providing a response in writing may be very helpful at times. 3. Although his vocabulary and use of language may seem high, Aspergers kids may not know the meaning of what they are saying even though the words sound correct. 4. At times, it