My ASD Child

When using words and phrases to teach new behaviors to your child with High-Functioning Autism, it will be crucial to develop and write them down on a poster board or white board.    These words and phrases will be used when introducing or generalizing new behaviors to your child. By making them visual, you guarantee both greater understanding and usage of them. Strange phrases or catchy sayings are often attractive and easy to remember, but actually using the words and phrases - not simply writing them down – is what makes them effective. Also, they should be developed by you AND your youngster, which will increase the likelihood that they will be remembered. The steps to creating a list of key words and phrases: Choose the area you want to work on with your youngster. Select (or have your youngster select) a word or phrase to be used as a quick reminder for appropriate responding.  Teach your child to use the key words and/or phrases as needed. With consistent use, th

“Are there some ways to prevent some of the discipline-related problems encountered with children who have high functioning autism, specifically meltdowns associated with receiving a consequence for misbehavior? I say ‘prevent’ because it seems that once my son knows he is going to be punished, it quickly escalates into meltdown, which by then is much too late to intervene. Is there a way for us to ‘predict’ and thus prevent a potential meltdown?” Most parents of kids with High-Functioning Autism and Asperger's wait until a problem occurs, and then try to deal with it by issuing a consequence. Consequences can be positive (gaining something desirable) or negative (losing something desirable). Sometimes, consequences are discussed prior to an event, but usually in terms of a motivator: "If you do this, you will gain (or lose) that." Too often, parents use consequences in the middle of a behavior problem (e.g., "If you don't stop that, you’re not going to p

“We suspect that our 6 y.o. son has autism (the high functioning end of the spectrum). I know you can’t diagnose a child with an autism spectrum disorder via the internet, but is there an informal quiz or test that will give us a hint as to whether or not we should pursue a formal assessment? And where do we go to have him checked?” Of course, parents will only know for sure if their child has High-Functioning Autism (HFA) by getting a professional diagnosis. Having said that, if you answer “no” to most of the questions below (1 - 21), seeking a formal assessment would be warranted: Are people important to your child?  Can your child easily dress him/herself? Can your child easily tie his/her shoes? Can your child keep a two-way conversation going? Can he/she ride a bicycle (even with stabilizers)? Does your child care about how he/she is perceived by the rest of the group? Does your child enjoy joking around? Does he/she enjoy sports? Does your child find it easy to inte