My ASD Child

"Is it common for children with high functioning autism to be highly explosive? My daughter can fly off the handle in a heartbeat for what seems to be rather trivial matters (to me anyway)." Children with High-Functioning Autism (HFA) often have a difficult time controlling their anger as compared to “typical” children, which is due to the fact that they have problems understanding their emotions and their impact on others. In addition, they aren’t living in a void in which they don’t understand that they’re different from other kids. Often teased and rejected by their peers, they can have emerging anger they don’t understand and can’t easily control. Helping these children with anger problems requires direct communication about the effect of their anger on others as well as methods of improving their low self-esteem and poor sense of self-worth, which is often at the root of the youngster’s anger. Anger that’s acted-out badly needs to be treated like any ot

"Is it common for a child with Autism (high functioning) to also have other disorders? My son had been diagnosed with ADHD and ODD, but now they think he may also be on the autism spectrum." Children with High-Functioning Autism (HFA) and Asperger's (AS) are known to have several comorbid conditions. Comorbid conditions are those conditions that go along with having an Autism Spectrum Disorder. One of these conditions is known as ADHD. Sometimes, these young people can be misdiagnosed as only having the more common ADHD, with the ASD diagnosis being missed. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) can be a comorbidity with HFA and AS. In some cases, this doesn’t show-up until the youngster is an adult. What both conditions have in common is the need for order, and the presence of compulsive, sometimes irrational, repetitive behaviors. Some researchers believe that there is a neurological relationship between the two conditions. Because those with HFA an

"I have two boys, one of which has ASD [high functioning autism]. My husband has been diagnosed as well. I often feel like I'm in a constant state of playing mediator (and sometimes feel like I'm parenting 3 children, rather than 2 children and one adult). Is this common for families like ours, and what can I do to reduce our stress?" Being a member of a family in which one or more members have ASD Level 1 or High-Functioning Autism (HFA) can be extremely stressful at times. Sometimes it seems as if the entire family focus is on the "special needs" child and on the various tantrums, meltdowns, and other and behaviors that come with it. ALL family members can feel a low level of anxiety in anticipation of what could happen next. Are you too stressed? Ask yourself these questions: Are symptoms of stress impeding my functioning? Am I finding it hard to get through the day's activities? Am I having a hard time eating, sleeping, or getting

"How do I make my child understand the rules of board games like monopoly? He wants to play it only his way and gets extremely angry if he has to pay a penalty. He does not understand the sets of rules for different games and only wants to win with his own rules." The child with ASD level 1 or High-Functioning Autism (HFA) may get upset over game rules, sharing, or taking turns. This applies especially when following the rules means that sometimes the child with HFA loses the game! Hence, your son’s insistence on playing with his own rules. He does not understand that others want to win a game sometimes, too. And, even if he does come to understand that, he may not care about their feelings enough to play the game appropriately. While some children act as “the warden” or keeper of the rules, others find it hard to grasp the give and take of peer relationships, including following rules while playing games with others. To help your son with this problem, targe