My ASD Child

Your child is majorly upset over something - but is it a meltdown, shutdown, tantrum, or full-blown panic attack? As a parent of a child with High-Functioning Autism (HFA), you know that your child is capable of having a meltdown occasionally. We’ll describe a meltdown as “an over-reaction to environmental stimuli designed to give HFA children a sense of control when they feel that their world is out-of-control.”  Let’s also make the distinction between a meltdown and a temper tantrum. We’ll describe tantrums as “normal acting-out behaviors designed to help children assert their independence as they learn they are separate beings from their parents.” Having defined meltdowns and tantrums, parents need to know that there are times when their “acting-out” HFA children are having neither a meltdown nor a tantrum; rather, they are in the throes of a legitimate panic attack. Let’s describe panic attacks as “periods of intense fear and apprehension that are of sudden onset and of

"For those parents of both neurotypical kids and children on the autism spectrum, do you basically parent the same - or is there a big difference in your approach with the autistic child?" There are basically two types of parents who are raising Aspergers and High-Functioning Autistic (HFA) children: (1) those who use "traditional" parenting techniques with ALL their children - including the one with Aspergers, and (2) those who have learned that you simply can NOT parent Aspergers children and "typical" children in the same way. Why? Because the mind of a child on the autism spectrum is wired differently than that of a "typical" child.  Think of it like this: Let's say you have 3 children. Two of them only speak English, and one only speaks German. You, as a parent,  have learned to speak both languages. So, which language will you use when you are trying to get your point across to the German-speaking child? German, of course! But