My ASD Child

“Can an autistic (high functioning) child’s anxiety play out as anger, and then morph to a meltdown?” Good question. The answer is yes. There are many scenarios, but the most popular one I see goes like this: The Aspergers or high-functioning autistic child begins to feel anxious ...his anxiety turns to anger ...his anger is misdirected toward the parent ...the parent becomes offended and pursues some form of punishment ...the child’s anxiety increases ...the conflict escalates (meltdown). A meltdown is a state of neurological chaos where the Aspergers or HFA child's brain and nervous system overheat and stop working properly. A good analogy is a nuclear power plant where the fuel in the reactor core becomes so hot that it melts and releases energy. Sometimes it gets so hot that it causes an explosion, and the energy is released outside of the core. It’s this explosive reaction that most parents and teachers refer to when they talk about meltdowns (although many conf

"Any tips for dealing with a very fragile and overly sensitive child on the autism spectrum ...he's a chronic worrier to say the least and will go back and forth between being extremely shy or very aggressive?" As some parents may have discovered, many young people with Asperger’s (AS) and High Functioning Autism (HFA) are “emotionally fragile” (to coin a term). In other words, these individuals have great difficulty coping with day-to-day stressors, and exhibit unusually withdrawn or aggressive behaviors as a defense mechanism. Emotional fragility is most prevalent in school-age AS and HFA kids. It can manifest itself in many ways, all of which are challenging for the youngster, parents, and teachers. These young people often exhibit a variety of symptoms that cause school psychologists to misdiagnose them with depression, bipolar disorder, or some other disorder. A wrong diagnosis can often lead to the youngster being placed in inappropriate special educatio

“I have a 19 y.o. son with high functioning autism. I am curious how he will do out in the world as an adult. How well do people with the condition truly 'function' when they actually have to fend for themselves?” One of the most interesting and useful sources of data on outcome derives indirectly from observing those parents of kids with High-Functioning Autism (HFA) and Asperger’s (AS) who themselves appear to be somewhere on the autism spectrum. From these observations, it is clear that HFA does not preclude the potential for a more "typical" adult life. These grown-ups will often gravitate to a job or profession that relates to their own areas of special interest, sometimes becoming very proficient. Many young people with HFA and AS are able to successfully complete college – and even graduate school. However, in most cases, they will continue to demonstrate (at least to some extent) subtle differences compared to “typical” adults. For example: M

"How can a parent tell whether or not her preschool daughter has high functioning autism? I’m beginning to have my suspicions!" There is no single, uniform presenting picture of High-Functioning Autism (HFA) in the first 3-4 years of life. The early picture may be difficult to distinguish from typical autism, suggesting that when evaluating any young girl with autism with apparently normal intelligence, the possibility should be entertained that she may eventually have a picture more compatible with an HFA diagnosis. Other girls may have early language delays with rapid "catch-up" between the ages of 3 and 5 years. Some of these young people (especially the brightest ones) may have no evidence of early developmental delay (with the possible exception of motor clumsiness). In most cases, if you look closely at the girl between the age of about 3 and 5, clues to the disorder can be found, and in most cases a comprehensive evaluation at that age can at least po