My ASD Child

You, the parent, have complained ...threatened ...taken away privileges ...grounded ...and even begged, but your Aspergers teenager still fails to perform according to your (and his teacher's) expectations. If your Aspie continues to bring home nothing but D's and F's, then you may want to follow these tips in order to stop the cycle of "bad grades": ==> Discipline for Defiant Aspergers Teens

Most of the time, High-Functioning Autism (HFA) - or Aspergers - is diagnosed by a developmental doctor, neurologist, psychologist, or team of professionals. The diagnosis is made on the basis of behaviors, delays, and language deficits. That means that no one can diagnose HFA in an infant, and unless your youngster has Rett syndrome or Fragile X, no medical test can "prove" that a youngster truly has the disorder. Most professionals will provide a specific diagnosis on the spectrum. You may walk away with a diagnosis of Level 1 Autism, Level 2, or Level 3. Occasionally, your youngster will receive additional diagnoses such as "social anxiety" or "non-verbal learning disorder." All of these are descriptive of your youngster's behaviors, and different diagnosticians may give different labels depending on their experience and preference. What parents can expect from their child’s physician after the diagnosis: 1. Your physician may offer

Aspergers (high functioning autism) teens that regularly test the patience of their mother and/or father do so for a variety of reasons. For example, they: are asserting themselves and their independence are protecting themselves are stiff and rule-oriented and acting like little adults are testing whether their parents will enforce the rules can’t "fit-in" with their peer group, or they can’t get through the school day without a significant degree of anxiety, thus when they return home at the end of the school day they slip into meltdown face similar academic problems as students with Attention Deficit Disorder due to their distractibility and difficulty organizing materials feel a sense of pain, loneliness and despair, which can lead to significant behavioral problems at home or school (or both) feel bad about themselves In any event, parents can do a few things to muster-up some much needed patience: ==> Discipline for Defiant Aspergers Teens

"How common is depression in parents who have an autistic child (perhaps due to stress that comes with the territory)? Of course I love my child, but I'm thinking that I may need some counseling or some other form of outside assistance at this point to help me cope better. My fuse has been quite short lately." Research reveals  that moms of kids with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) may be prone to depression if they feel responsible for the cause or outcome of their youngster's disorder. 50% of moms with ASD kids had elevated depression scores, compared to 15% to 21% in the other groups. Single moms were found to be more vulnerable to severe depression than moms living with a spouse. Mothers are considered to exhibit symptoms of depression if they responded “all of the time” or “most of the time” to at least two of the following questions. During the past 30 DAYS, how often did you feel: 1. Hopeless? 2. Nervous? 3. Restless or fidgety? 4. So sad