My ASD Child

  Resources for parents of children and teens on the autism spectrum :   ==>  How to Prevent Meltdowns and Tantrums in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder ==>  Parenting System that Reduces Defiant Behavior in Teens with Autism Spectrum Disorder ==>  Launching Adult Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Guide for Parents Who Want to Promote Self-Reliance ==>  Teaching Social-Skills and Emotion-Management to Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder ==>  Parenting Children and Teens with High-Functioning Autism: Parents' Comprehensive Handbook ==>  Unraveling the Mystery Behind High-Functioning Autism: Audio Book ==>  Crucial  Research-Based  Parenting Strategies for Children and Teens with High-Functioning Autism ==>  Videos for Parents of Children and Teens with ASD

"One of my new students this year has Autism (high functioning female, age 6). She will throw a major temper tantrum whenever she is asked to stop one activity and get ready for the next one, which is very disruptive to the entire class. What can I do to help her move from one task to the next quickly and without resistance? It's like she has to complete the first project completely and perfectly before she is willing to go to the next." First of all, your student may be experiencing a "meltdown" rather than a tantrum ( click here to see the difference). Transitions are very difficult for children with ASD, or High-Functioning Autism. It's an interruption to their day and a change in their schedule. In order to minimize difficulty in transition, try to keep their schedule as routine as possible. Always let them know ahead of time that a transition in routine is coming.  Using sensory integration techniques can be very helpful for some ASD stud...

"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...