My ASD Child

In working with families affected by Autism over the years, I’ve noticed that a lot of young adults (ages 20 – 30 approximately) are still living at home with their mother and father, not out of true need, but out of what is known as “learned helplessness.” This phenomenon occurs when a young adult comes to believe that he has little (or no) control over his life, and that whatever he does to try to change a “bad” situation is futile. As a result, this “discouraged” individual will stay passive in the face of any unpleasant, harmful or damaging state of affairs, even when he actually does have the ability to improve his circumstances. As a parent of an adult child on the autism spectrum, you may want to copy and print the following information and share it with your “late-bloomer” (especially if he is a legal adult who feels powerless to “leave the nest” and start his own life): Learned helplessness can be thought of as believing you are incompetent, that you have no cont

Mark, I watched the videos in the first lesson last night. Great job. It's like you are speaking from personal experience, like you remember what it was like to be in the mind of a child. It's just crazy because you have successfully transported into the mind of my three kids. More importantly, you have become the virtual voice of my sons with PDD. I have had trouble figuring out what is going on in their head, since they cannot speak in full sentences yet. But behavior is communication. I have to shift my focus from words to actions. Be an observer.  I am hopeful and feel liberated having week 1 strategies. They are pretty simple, if you think about it. The part on dependency and self-reliance blew MY mind. I have got work to do. And I scored an 81 on the indulgence test. Yikes. But this is all dead on and I have a part to play. It is now time for me to create these healthy boundaries the correct way.  I just wanted you to know I appreciate your de

Key points for teachers and parents regarding "capitalizing on strengths" rather than "repairing deficits" in students with Asperger's and High-Functioning Autism: ==> Teaching Students with Asperger's and High-Functioning Autism