My ASD Child

Moms and dads with children on the spectrum understandably want to know how their kids will cope in the future. However, Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) occur across a wide range of strengths and weaknesses, so making an accurate prognosis is difficult, particularly at a young age. Even though the range of outcomes for kids on the spectrum is so broad, the possibility of relatively normal functioning in adolescence and adulthood offers hope to many moms and dads of kids with ASD. The possibility of permanent “recovery” from ASD (in the sense of eventual attainment of social and cognitive skills) has been raised in association with a number of educational and treatment programs. Studies have revealed that there are some kids who have symptoms of ASD in early preschool years who do not have these symptoms in any obvious form in later years. Whether these improvements reflect (a) developmental pathways of very mildly affected kids, or (b) changes in developmental pathways in respo

"Is it normal (or selfish of me) to feel a sense of sadness and disappointment now that we have learned our son has autism (high functioning)? How do you cope effectively with these demands - and the stress - of raising a special needs child? I need a big dose of strength right now... been a bad day :( " Moms and dads of kids with Asperger’s Syndrome (AS) and High-Functioning Autism (HFA) play multiple roles. Often, they are the first adults to recognize a developmental problem, and they should pursue their concern until they receive a diagnosis and find services for their youngster. Once they become involved in a treatment program, moms and dads should be active partners in their youngster’s treatment process to ensure that skills learned in therapy transfer to the home-setting, school, and community at large. As members of the individualized education plan (IEP) team, moms and dads should also be active advocates for the youngster, ensuring that the educational proce

Developmentally-based assessments of cognitive, communicative, and other skills provide information important for both diagnosis and program planning for kids with Asperger’s Syndrome (AS) and High-Functioning Autism (HFA). Careful documentation of a youngster’s unique strengths and weaknesses can have a major impact on the design of effective intervention programs and is particularly critical due to the fact that unusual developmental profiles are common. Given the multiple areas of difficulty, the efforts of experts from various disciplines are often needed (e.g., audiology, neurology, pediatrics, physical and occupational therapy, psychiatry, psychology, speech and language pathology). The level of expertise required for effective diagnosis and assessment may require the services of professionals other than those usually available in a school setting. In some cases, psychological and communication assessments can be performed by existing school staff, depending on their tra