My ASD Child

“My daughter is totally obsessed with the weather. Reads books on it, watches the weather channel constantly, listens to thunder and lightning sounds on the computer, and so on. Is this typical autistic behavior? Why an obsession about weather?”   Nearly all children with High-Functioning Autism have an area of special, sometimes obsessive interest. Often times, these kids develop this interest as a way to overcome fear (however, this is not always the case).    Weather, especially tornadoes and hurricanes, can be fearful and even terrifying. A youngster on the autism spectrum may develop a preoccupation with weather to cope with this fear.  She might watch the Weather Channel continuously, read the weather report in the paper numerous times across the day, or read about different weather phenomena – and be able to share details of past storms when the weather worsens.  In addition, trains are often a focus of interest for many kids on the spectrum, perhaps due to the trai

“Can you help me to understand what they mean when they say that children with high functioning autism appear to experience a 'lack of reciprocity' in social interactions?” This refers to a child who does not understand nonverbal communication (e.g., gestures, facial expressions, etc.) and, for example, may continue a conversation even though the person he is talking to is looking at his watch trying to get away. The child with HFA has difficulty recognizing and understanding others’ use of facial expression and gestures during conversation. His lack of response to this type of communication creates great difficulty for him in social relationships. Likewise, the child may not use nonverbal communication and may appear expressionless in most conversations or interactions with others. This is why “lack of reciprocity” is such an important issue to address in treatment and/or social skills training.  A reciprocal interaction simply means that both parties benefit e

If your child receives a formal diagnosis of AS or HFA, there are going to be a number of benefits as well as difficulties associated with getting “the label.” In this post, we will look at the advantages and disadvantages of getting labeled with a developmental disorder. It is always important to remember that no person is a diagnosis, and that no diagnosis is the person. AS or HFA is merely one quality of an individual. The person will have many other traits and aspects of his or her personality. Parents and teachers are encouraged to learn about the child FIRST, and then explore the way the diagnosis affects his or her functioning. In a nutshell, labels are useful as a tool. However, as we all know, some people use labels as a weapon. Click here for the full article...

Many children and teens with Asperger’s (AS) and High-Functioning Autism (HFA) experience “thinking errors,” largely due to a phenomenon called “mind-blindness.” Mind-blindness can be described as a cognitive disorder where the child is unable to attribute mental states (e.g., emotions, beliefs, desires, motives) to himself or others. This ability to develop a mental awareness of what is in the mind of another person is known as the “Theory of Mind.” Thinking errors are irrational patterns of cognition that can cause your AS or HFA teen to feel bad and sometimes act in self-defeating ways. If she becomes more upset the more she thinks about a troubling circumstance, she may want to consider the possibility of thinking in a different way. And you, as the parent, can help with this. Click here for the full article...