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Anger-Control Strategies for Children and Teens on the Autism Spectrum

If your youngster does not learn how to release his or her anger appropriately, it can fester and explode in inappropriate ways, or be internalized and damage his or her sense of self-worth. As a mother or father, dealing with an angry youngster is inevitable. Many of us have heard our own pre-parenting voice whisper to us, saying something like, “That will never be my child acting-out like that” (famous last words). Anger is learned, but so is composure! In this post, we will discuss the following: communicating angry feelings in a positive way expressing anger nonviolently learning how to avoid being a victim of someone else's angry actions learning how to control angry impulses learning how to problem solve learning how to remove themselves from a violent or angry situation  learning self-calming techniques recognizing angry feelings in themselves and others Click here for the full article...

Asperger's Children and Difficulties with Processing Information

Processing is a system that helps a youngster select, prepare, and begin to interpret incoming information. AS and HFA kids who have difficulty with processing may have a range of problems related to regulating the use of incoming information. There are five processing skills, which include (1) satisfaction control, (2) focal maintenance, (3) depth and detail of processing, (4) cognitive activation and (5) saliency determination . Kids who have a processing disorder have difficulty mixing with peers, reaching developmental milestones, and developing social skills. Processing disorders range from mild to extremely pervasive.   ==> Let’s look at this in greater depth ...

"Isolation-Preference" in Children on the Autism Spectrum

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“Is it typical for a child with High Functioning Autism to not have any friends? My son prefers to play by himself. Is this normal? Any suggestions on how to help him make some friends? I think he would love to have at least one good friend that understood him :)” Kids with High-Functioning Autism (HFA) and Asperger’s (AS) do indeed experience difficulty developing relationships, responding appropriately, and interacting with others with ease. Certain qualities of human interaction are very difficult for these children. Typically, people communicate with each other through verbal (e.g., speech) as well as nonverbal (e.g., eye-to-eye gaze, gestures, body posture, etc.) communication. While verbal ability is often a strength for children with HFA and AS, nonverbal communication is usually an area of difficulty. They tend to overlook - or don’t recognize - the meaning behind another person’s gestures or facial expressions. This means that they frequently miss the cues they are