My ASD Child

Do you need some assistance in parenting your Aspergers or HFA child? Click here to use Mark Hutten, M.A. as your personal parent coach. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hi Mark, Thanks so much for this. I just want to let you know that I am reading and digesting, and so is my ex-wife and her partner (both in CC). As we all co-parent Anna (our lovely 15 year old Aspie girl) we are actively working together to try to help her with these socialisation issues. I just want to add that I find your specific descriptions of the kind of issues Aspie kids face to be so helpful. Speaking for myself, there have been so many times where I have felt a bit baffled as to why certain types of situations haven't worked out well for her. It changes the game to have these insights, as well as useful strategies for improving things. Anna is not without friends, but has experienced painful rejection a few times, and could  definitely use some help. I'm very hopeful that we can do that, with

“We have a 28 year old son with ASD (high-functioning) who refuses to leave our house. He is a college graduate with a marketable degree, but he refuses to get a real job. He has earned a considerable amount of money playing online poker and just laughs in my face and tells me to shut up when I tell him that gaming is not a way to earn a living. I recently told him that if he was going to support himself by gambling that he needed to find a new place to live. He threw a huge tantrum, got in my face, cussed me out, and dared me to kick him out. On top of everything else, he does not clean up after himself. You’d think we had a 16 year old living here! We are at our wits end. We don't want to strain our relationship with our son by getting the police involved because we love him and have had plenty of good times over the years. But we are getting older, and it’s time for him to go. My wife and I are getting ready to retire and we do not need to spend our retirement dealing with thi

“I have a 17-year-old son with high functioning autism. A big issue is social. He prefers to be alone rather than be with people. He has acquaintances at school that are nice and friendly with him but really no actual friends. He is perfectly content staying in his room playing video games. He is also very anxious and OCD. He likes things perfectly routine and on schedule. Gets very anxious if things aren't exactly on schedule, if something is out of place, or if doors and windows aren't closed and locked before we leave home or at bedtime. Homework is like dragging a horse to water, and short of drowning it, won't take water! Also, he has poor eating habits and problems with taking showers, combing his hair, and other hygiene-related things. I guess my main question is how can I help him cope better as a teenager – and help him get ready for adulthood? We seem to be so far behind schedule. There are so many things he needs to improve on, but I feel time is running out.