My ASD Child

“Any tips for assisting my autistic student (high-functioning) with staying more focused and on task?” Children with High-Functioning Autism (HFA) and Asperger’s are often off task, distracted by internal stimuli, can be very disorganized, and have difficulty sustaining focus on classroom activities. Often it is not that the attention is poor, rather that the focus is "odd." In other words, the child can’t figure out what is relevant, so attention is often focused on irrelevant stimuli. In addition, these “special needs” students tend to withdrawal into complex inner worlds in a manner much more intense than is typical of daydreaming. Here are a few suggestions to help with poor concentration in students on the autism spectrum: 1.  Work out a nonverbal signal with your HFA student (e.g., a gentle pat on the shoulder) for times when he or she is not attending. 2.  Encourage the student to leave his or her inner thoughts and fantasies behind and refocus on the real

“Any tips for dealing with a child (high functioning) who only talks about his current favorite game (Lego DC super-villains)? When I say ‘only’ – I mean as in 100 % of the time. His incessant rambling on this subject gets in the way of homework, chores, dinnertime, bedtime, and annoys his siblings (just to name a few). Please help!” You’re definitely not alone. Kids with High-Functioning Autism (HFA) and Asperger’s often have eccentric preoccupations or intense fixations (e.g., sometimes obsessively collecting unusual things). They tend to ask repetitive questions about the special interest, follow their own inclinations regardless of external demands, have trouble letting go of ideas, refuse to learn about anything outside their limited field of interest, and relentlessly "lecture" on areas of interest. Here are a few suggestions for dealing with your son’s obsession: 1. Use your son’s fixation to broaden his interests. Get really creative here! For example,

“I’m a 5th grade teacher (Baltimore area) with a challenging 10 year old student diagnosed on the high functioning end of autism. My question is what are some of the ‘social areas’ these special needs students struggle in, and how can I tailor my approach to make accommodations for those areas?” Children with High-Functioning Autism (HFA) and Asperger’s have several important areas of challenge that can negatively impact their social competence.  Here are the main ones: usually have a desire to be part of the social world, but lack the skills to do so use monotone or stilted, unnatural tone of voice use inappropriate gaze and body language take expressions literally over-eagerness to answer questions or participate in classroom activities often talk at people instead of to them often avoid eye contact misinterpret social cues may not like physical contact may “appear” egocentric lack of control of facial expression inability to grasp implied meanings have well-d