My ASD Child

Kids with Asperger’s (AS) and High Functioning Autism (HFA) tend to “act out” their feelings. This is how they communicate. They show you how they feel with their whole bodies, not just their words. The message of a meltdown is: “I’m frustrated and upset, and I don’t know what lead up to it or what to do about it.” Our role as moms and dads is to read these hidden messages and help our “special needs” kids express their frustration and confusion in more appropriate ways. CLICK HERE for more...

How was Thanksgiving last year? Did your “special needs” youngster handle the day with grace and gratitude, or did you see new behavior problems amidst the holiday hullabaloo? Witnessing more than the average amount of behavior problems during the "long" Thanksgiving weekend is not unusual, particularly when you spend the holiday with a lot of friends and family members. As much as you may attempt to keep life consistent, Thanksgiving often disrupts the routine, causing sleep and meal disruptions. Your child usually (a) sleeps less soundly if he is not in his own bed, (b) goes to bed later than usual, (c) gets too much attention from family members, and (d) gets more sugar than usual. No matter the specific cause of the behavioral issues, you are left to deal with a youngster who is not himself. Whether he is showing behavior problems or attitude issues, your child is behaving uncharacteristically. This can confuse the most well-meaning mother or father. What do y

Music has been a major factor in my life. Playing music has been a hobby since age 6, and helps me keep my sanity as an adult. Having been a music teacher since the mid-1980s (and later, a music therapist), I discovered that my brightest students were on the autism spectrum. They had the tendency to devour lessons as quickly as I could deliver them. Music was a language that bridged all gaps in communication to my autistic students. I've created a new website that I'm dedicating to all my past, current and future "gifted" students on the autism spectrum. We will be looking specifically at "improvisational soloing" for guitar. If you have children or teens who play guitar, tell them about this new "online guitar instruction" website. I hope they enjoy my lessons.   Click here to visit the site, and stay tuned because there's a lot to come (and yes, I've tried the make the site "cool" so that it would have some appe