My ASD Child

There is yet another aspect to the diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) that further complicates the task most families face. This aspect is that the day to day, hour by hour, moment by moment experience of life with a youngster on the spectrum may be profoundly affected in very difficult and disconcerting ways. Unquestionably, there is tremendous variance here. Some ASD kids are relatively quiet and docile and in this respect, easier to live with. Others are quite unpredictable, even volatile, and extremely hard to manage. The most simple, mundane things most people take for granted – the natural, unquestioning way people get through the day - moms & dads of ASD kids may be unable to do. For example, some kids perseverate in ways that turn family life upside down and some become profoundly upset by the way they think things are supposed to be. Some are terrible sleepers and some may be difficult to bring out in public because of behavioral outbursts. While the mom...

Some parents grieve for the loss of the youngster they imagined they had. Moms and dads have their own particular way of dealing with the situation based on a number of factors (e.g., their personality style, life experiences and support systems, among others). Clearly there are a range of stages and coping techniques, such as denial, depression, anger and rationalization. Most families recognize, at least at some level, that there is something significantly wrong with their "special needs" youngster. To at last be given a name for it (i.e., Asperger's or High-Functioning Autism) can be a relief. Click here for the full article...

"Any tips for helping my 'typical' kids to understand their older brother (high functioning autistic)?" Almost more than spouses, brothers and sisters are thrown together for better or for worse. When a sibling has an autism spectrum disorder, it can complicate that relationship because one youngster lacks social skills and another just can’t figure out “why my brother acts that way.” Tips for Parents— 1. Don’t accept bad behavior from your HFA youngster, and don’t expect perfection from your other kids. That can lead to resentment and acting-out. 2. Fully educate yourself about your HFA youngster, and then inform his siblings on an age-appropriate basis. Know that kids on the autism spectrum find it very difficult to pick up on social cues and often have intense, narrow interests. Even a young sibling can understand that, “Jacob gets upset when we stop talking about trains, but we’re working on ways to make that better.” 3. Realize just as you m...

There are several different pathways to the diagnosis of Aspergers. Some kids receive the diagnosis fairly early in life, while some individuals are not diagnosed until well into adulthood. In some cases, kids are inaccurately diagnosed with another disorder, (e.g., a language disorder, depression, schizoid personality), and are only later correctly diagnosed with Aspergers. Some kids are considered autistic early in life, but progress well enough to ultimately be diagnosed with Aspergers. The impact of the diagnosis of Aspergers on a family is no doubt partly related to the manner in which the individual was diagnosed. Families who recognize early on that there is something seriously wrong with their youngster and are given a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (and only later learn their youngster has Aspergers) will experience many of the reactions families with autistic kids have. These reactions are described below. Many families, whose kids progress far enough to no longe...

Hyperactivity— There has recently been considerable interest and research into the possible connection between autism spectrum disorders and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). This interest includes both the similarities in symptoms as well as genetics. Hyperactivity, inattentiveness and impulsivity can be present in a number of childhood onset disorders, including ADHD as well as autism spectrum disorders. Kids with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) are often considered as having some characteristics indicative of Aspergers. Although they are two distinct disorders, they are not mutually exclusive and a youngster could have both conditions. One nine year old boy with Aspergers, Jake, displayed severe symptoms of hyperactivity. He could barely contain himself when in his therapist's office, preferring to remove all the books from her bookshelf and trying to race down the hallways. Another possibility is that of misdiagnosis. Some kids originally diagnosed...