My ASD Child

"How can parents teach nonverbal communication and body language to a child who can read neither?" Most children communicate naturally and instinctively. However, communication is a highly complex process that requires the spontaneous organization of several different functions. For example: Emotional controls: to be comfortable socially requires that a child learns how to control his emotions and use them in a way appropriate to the circumstance Listening skills: for a child to understand what she is hearing requires that what she hears is automatically turned into understood thoughts Reading body language: reading body language accurately requires that the child learns the meaning of non-verbal cues (e.g. smiling, frowning, etc.) Verbal communication: to speak naturally requires that the cerebellum has hard wired the process of turning thoughts into speech With Asperger's (AS) and High-Functioning Autism (HFA), one or more of these skills are not full

For some moms and dads, a diagnosis of Asperger's may feel like a kick to the groin. You feel overwhelmed, and your world has been turned upside down. 

Kids with Asperger’s (AS) and High-Functioning Autism (HFA): frequently have an excellent rote memory, but it is mechanical in nature (i.e., the youngster may respond like a video that plays in set sequence) have a pedantic speaking style and impressive vocabularies that give the false impression that they understand what they are talking about, when in reality they are merely parroting what they have heard or read have poor problem-solving skills  tend to be very literal (i.e., their images are concrete, and abstraction is poor) usually have average to above-average intelligence – especially in the verbal sphere – but lack high level thinking and comprehension skills Programming Suggestions for Teachers: 1. The writing assignments of students with AS and HFA are often repetitious, flit from one subject to the next, and contain incorrect word connotations. These kids frequently do not know the difference between general knowledge and personal ideas, and therefore assume t

"Our daughter (autistic) has trouble managing her mood and behavior when changes in her daily routine occur. How should we handle this?" Children with Asperger’s (AS) and High-Functioning Autism (HFA) tend to crave sameness, despise change, become upset when there is a break in routine, or experience a “meltdown” when it is time to transition from one activity to another. Among these “special needs” children, there is a propensity for doing - or thinking about - the same things over and over, because doing so brings great comfort (e.g., repeatedly lining up toys in a certain order). Unlike “typical” children who may, for example, experiment with lining up train cars in a variety of ways, and move them along the track once they have decided on an order, a youngster with AS or HFA might have only one acceptable order – and have a temper tantrum if a single car is moved out of place. Many children on the autism spectrum have deep-seated “rituals" where certain thi