My ASD Child

“My son with autism (high functioning) has recently turned 25. He still lives with us, he struggled in college and bailed out, can’t seem to find employment, has few friends (no girlfriend), is on his computer all day long (and through the night), refuses to seek the assistance of a job coach or other therapist. He's simply not 'growing up'. This is the same behavior we witness when he was a teenager. My question is, what happens typically in situations like this, where the person is now an adult with the disorder and seemingly unable to ‘make it’ out in the real world? What can we expect from our son as time goes by? Thanks in advance.” Here are a few possible outcomes with respect to what may occur as your son continues to age: 1.    Behaviors that result from “mind-blindness” and a lack of understanding of non-verbal cues (e.g., body language, facial expression, etc.) can leave romantic partners (e.g., girlfriend, spouse) with the impression that the person w

"When dealing with my autistic child (high functioning), I'm so often kept busy 'reacting' to his bad behavior - and it's hard to find the time to be proactive. I need a reminder about the necessity of this...just wish the schools would get on board and actually 'teach' our special needs kids what they 'should' be doing! In any event, my question is: how can I deal with my son's anger and rage?" Hostility for many kids and teens with Aspergers or High-Functioning Autism (HFA) stems from the difficulty they have in communicating their needs to their educators, moms and dads, and peers. Aggressive behaviors are one way they have for conveying their needs and emotions to others. As their communication skills grow, continued violence may be the result of never having learned appropriate, non-aggressive ways of communicating when they were faced with a difficult situation.  The cause of hostility may be due to any or all of the followi

“I’ve known for some time that something is not quite right with my child, and I’m starting to wonder if he has an autism spectrum disorder. What should I look for?” Learn the signs, and act early. Find out if your son’s development is on track, and learn the signs of developmental delays. Skills such as taking a first step, smiling for the first time, and waving "bye bye" are called developmental milestones. Kids reach milestones in how they play, learn, speak, behave, and move (e.g., crawling, walking, etc.). Track your son’s development and act early if you have a concern. Here are the milestones that parents should look for if they are trying to track the possibility of an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in their child (ages 2 months - 5 years): Baby at Two Months— What most babies do at this age: Begins to act bored (cries, fussy) if activity doesn’t change Begins to follow things with eyes and recognize people at a distance Begins to smile at peopl

Teaching students with Aspergers or High-Functioning Autism (HFA) who also experience social anxiety in the classroom WILL be challenging. School can be difficult for these special needs students without the anxiety issue, but it is especially difficult for the anxious child on the spectrum.    If you are a parent or teacher of an anxious student with the disorder, knowing how to encourage and foster a good environment for learning is paramount. There is no one sign that indicates that an HFA student has social anxiety. However, some common signs include: appearing very anxious when the center of attention being constantly alone in the playground clinging crying for no apparent reason devoting an excessive amount of time to the computer experiencing severe anxiety about tests and quizzes freezing for no apparent reason frequent claims of illness so as to avoid going to school having no friends, or having only one friend hovering on the edge of groups not joining in