My ASD Child

All parents with Aspergers and high functioning autistic (HFA) children have experienced it: the dreaded meltdown in a public place. Your child is screaming at the top of his lungs while an assortment of disapproving eyes are all focused on you. The pressure is on! What can you do? Fear not, you are not alone. Below are some tips to preventing meltdowns and tantrums while shopping: 1. Anything that reduces uncertainty will help to reduce meltdowns. Give your youngster a visual list of where you are going and the places you will be visiting. Make cards with pictures of the places you are going to, or cut out pictures from a magazine. Let your youngster help you make the list and arrange the order of places where you are going. In this way, he will be able to anticipate where you are going and what will happen next. Take your list along, and every time you have finished one errand, remove the card from the list and ask your youngster to tell you where you are going next. Once

With Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up, I thought we should have a conversation about coping with the holidays – an especially important topic for parents with Aspergers children: My Aspergers Child: Coping with the Holidays : Help for Aspergers ... Nov 1, 2010 ... With Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up, I thought we should have a conversation about coping with the holidays – an especially important ... My Aspergers Child: Dear Family and Friends: A Holiday Letter Dec 18, 2008 ... “Dear Family and Friends:” was written for the purpose of it being sent to relatives and hosts of holiday gatherings who might need a crash ... How to help your child with Aspergers survive the holiday season... Dec 6, 2008 ... This is an article designed to help parents of children who have Aspergers through the holiday seasons. We all have fond memories of our own ... My Aspergers Child: Surviving Thanksgiving: Tips for Parents with ... Nov

Emotional dysregulation is a term used in the mental health community to refer to an emotional response that is poorly modulated and does not fall within the conventionally accepted range of emotive response. Emotional dysregulation may be referred to as labile mood or mood swings. Possible manifestations of emotional dysregulation include behavioral outbursts (e.g., destroying or throwing objects, aggression towards self or others, anger and rage, etc.). These variations usually occur in seconds to minutes or hours. Emotional dysregulation can lead to behavioral problems and can interfere with a child’s social interactions and relationships at home and school. Emotional dysregulation is quite common in Aspergers and High-Functioning Autistic (HFA) children. In my practice, the most frequently asked question by parents is: “What do I do when my child loses control of his emotions?” When emotional dysregulation is occurring, the best reaction is to ensure the safety of all co