Aspergers: Coping with the pressures of middle school...

Question:

I'm worried about how my 12-year-old son with Aspergers is going to cope with the pressures of middle school. That is a difficult age for any child and most people don't accept him as he is. My husband thinks we should focus on making him more acceptable to the majority, but I don't think he should have to change who he is. I haven't heard from anyone who has been through those middle & high school years and I am terrified!!

Answer:

This is a common fear that parents of spectrum kids have. Middle school, as we all know, is cruel to everyone, and especially to those who are different. How do you let your kids be who they are while still protecting them so they don't emerge traumatized?

I feel what is most important is not to let your kids feel ashamed of who they are. If they've got a spark to them, they've got things they're interested in, don't kill it by making them conform. Most people lose that spark naturally when they get older; there's no reason to do it prematurely. Don't take away one of best things your Aspergers child has going for himself: his passion for living life, even if it's living life on his own terms. If he wants to fit in, he'll ask you how to fit. It'll come, but let it be when he's ready for it rather than force him into a cookie cutter existence.

Some Aspergers kids go through middle school so excited about their passions that they barely notice they're the odd ones out, or if they notice, they don't care (probably not a lot, but some). Others are unfortunately bullied quite a bit.

There are a few things you can do to try to either prevent this from happening or minimize the effects if it does. First, use his talents and passions to find him a niche in the school where he can succeed. The drama club is a natural place. Many quirky kids find refuge in drama clubs; and if he can succeed in school plays, then he has one place where he belongs and can be accorded respect. If there's a particular subject he's interested in, see if he can start a club and find other kids interested in the same thing. Or find if you can a group outside of school interested in that kind of thing. Buffer him so if he does encounter some rejection he will already belong to and have found success in enough other activities that it won't really matter so much. Perhaps you could encourage him to take interest in a particular teacher, especially in a subject he enjoys, so he could have an ally at the school. Teachers were always invaluable support people to me when I was in school.

If he does encounter problems, try to find ways around some of the biggest trouble spots. For example, he could eat lunch in a classroom instead of the lunchroom if the lunchroom is problematic. If bullying does occur, hopefully you can work with him and the school to minimize the amount of places that it occurs. Keep reminding him of how great he is, and let him cry to you if he needs to. But the most important thing you can do, it seems, is continue to let him be who he is because it's not worth losing yourself for a bunch of junior high kids, and give his outlets where he can succeed so he's not as bothered by the junior high kids. Also, if he's into it and they're available, a support group for Aspergers teens may be valuable.

Do I have Aspergers?

Do you find yourself confused in social situations? Are you passionately interested in a single topic? Is it tough for you to make and maintain eye contact? Then you, like many talented and intelligent adults, may be diagnosable with Aspergers.

Aspergers is different from other disorders on the autism spectrum, in part, because it is often diagnosed in older kids and adults as opposed to very young kids. That's because Aspergers is a relatively mild form of ASD which does not include problems with basic language skills. Many individuals with Aspergers are very bright and capable. The issues that emerge for individuals diagnosed with Aspergers are related specifically to social and communication skills -- skills that only become significant as individuals get older and need to negotiate complex social situations.

What Does It Mean to Have Aspergers?

What does it mean to have Aspergers? Clearly, since so many successful individuals seem to have the diagnosis (Dan Ackroyd, for one, announced his diagnosis on the air -- and rumor has it that Bill Gates may also have Aspergers) it is not a disability in the classic sense. In fact, some historians suggest that Einstein, Mozart, and Alan Turing (the inventor of the first electronic computer) may all have been diagnosable with Aspergers.

What individuals with Aspergers do have in common is a set of characteristics that may make social interaction particularly difficult. Many individuals with Aspergers have been bullied or teased as kids. They may be awkward with the opposite sex. And they may have a tough time maneuvering through complex social cues at school, at work, or elsewhere.

The Cambridge Lifespan Aspergers Service (CLASS), an organization in the United Kingdom that works with adults with Aspergers has developed a simple ten question checklist to help with a preliminary self-diagnosis. If you answered “yes” to some or most of these questions, you may decide to find out more.

• I am good at picking up details and facts.
• I can focus on certain things for very long periods.
• I did not enjoy imaginative story-writing at school.
• I do certain things in an inflexible, repetitive way.
• I find it hard to make small talk.
• I find it hard to work out what other individuals are thinking and feeling.
• I find social situations confusing.
• I have always had difficulty making friends.
• I have unusually strong, narrow interests.
• Individuals often say I was rude even when this was not intended.

If you do answer “yes” to many of these questions relative to yourself or a loved one, you may have uncovered an undiagnosed case of Aspergers. For some teenagers and adults, this is a tremendous relief: it puts a name on a set of issues that has troubled them throughout their lives. And it also opens the door to support, treatment, and community.

But there is no obligation to do anything at all about Aspergers. In fact, many adults feel that being having Aspergers is a point of pride. They are unique, often successful individuals who are simply … themselves!

23-year-old grandson has Aspergers...

Question:

My 23-year-old grandson has Aspergers. He is intelligent and is doing well in college -- but is lonely. He has met a woman online who wants him to move to California, and I fear for his safety. He is obsessed with moving and believes that "friends" are waiting for him. How can I help him see that he may be headed for trouble?


Answer:

In cases like this, unfortunately it seems like experience is the best teacher. I can see both sides: that of the parents convinced their child is making a potentially fatal mistake and wanting to do anything to prevent it; and of the young man who has experienced nothing but loneliness and rejection all his life and who finally believes he has a chance to make it on his own and find both friendship and love. He is not likely to be persuaded from his dreams, and you may damage your relationship with him if you push too hard.

Could you ask him more questions about the relationship? How long ago did he meet her, what are her interests, what is the thing he most loves about her, what are his plans for once he gets to California, what is his idea of an ideal relationship....subtle questions if possible to gauge how much he really even knows about her and how serious he is, and what a relationship really means to him. If it sounds serious and valid, you can be relieved; if not, you can hopefully subtly push him in the right direction. The other thing you can do is let him go, but try to get him to promise you that he will call X amount of times per day, get as much contact info as you can - her phone number and address, his itinerary, etc.

I do think that if he could just have some social success, maybe he wouldn't be so bent on chasing this lady to the other coast. And meeting other people on the spectrum through support groups could give him that. But he may or may not be interested in learning about Asperger's and meeting other people with it.

I wish I could offer you something decisive to do. If he does go, just try to prepare him for the possibility that it might not quite work out the way he thinks it will. Tell him that relationships take time and don't always work out; the most important thing you can do, actually, is not to antagonize him so that he is not too embarrassed to come home if things fall apart. Make clear to him that you love him and will support him no matter what he does, and that you will help him in any way you can and that he always has a home to come back to. Hopefully, he will spread his wings a little and keep the lines of communication open with you. Get him a cell phone if he doesn't already have one.

New Theories of Autism and Aspergers

Two separate new theories have been proposed that may explain the development of autism, and the milder form of autism known as Aspergers.

The new theory of autism that suggests that the brains of children with autism are structurally normal but dysregulated, meaning symptoms of the disorder might be reversible. The theory suggests that autism is a developmental disorder caused by impaired regulation of a bundle of neurons in the brain stem that processes sensory signals from all areas of the body.

Some of the symptoms Aspergers, such as a need for routine and resistance to change, could be linked to levels of the stress hormone cortisol suggests the second theory.

Normally, children have a surge of this hormone shortly after waking, with levels gradually decreasing throughout the day. It is thought this surge makes the brain alert, preparing the body for the day and helping the person to be aware of changes happening around them. Researchers have discovered that kids with Aspergers do not experience this surge.

The two new theories, announced separately, provide intriguing new insights into these childhood disorders, and suggest the focus of future treatment strategies.

A New Theory of Autism—

The new autism theory stems from decades of anecdotal observations that some autistic kids seem to improve when they have a fever, only to regress when the fever ebbs. A 2007 study in the journal Pediatrics took a more rigorous look at fever and autism, observing autistic kids during and after fever episodes and comparing their behavior with autistic kids who didn’t have fevers. This study documented that autistic kids experience behavior changes during fever.

On a positive note, we are talking about a brain region that is not irrevocably altered. It gives us hope that, with novel therapies, we will eventually be able to help children with autism.

Autism is a complex developmental disability that affects a person’s ability to communicate and interact with others. It usually appears during the first three years of life. Autism is called a “spectrum disorder” since it affects individuals differently and to varying degrees. It is estimated that one in every 150 American kids has some degree of autism.

Einstein researchers contend that scientific evidence directly points to the locus coeruleus—noradrenergic (LC-NA) system as being involved in autism. The LC-NA system is the only brain system involved both in producing fever and controlling behavior.

The locus coeruleus has widespread connections to brain regions that process sensory information. It secretes most of the brain’s noradrenaline, a neurotransmitter that plays a key role in arousal mechanisms, such as the “fight or flight” response. It is also involved in a variety of complex behaviors, such as attentional focusing (the ability to concentrate attention on environmental cues relevant to the task in hand, or to switch attention from one task to another). Poor attentional focusing is a defining characteristic of autism.

What is unique about the locus coeruleus is that it activates almost all higher-order brain centers that are involved in complex cognitive tasks.

Drs. Purpura and Mehler hypothesize that in autism, the LC-NA system is dysregulated by the interplay of environment, genetic, and epigenetic factors (chemical substances both within as well as outside the genome that regulate the expression of genes). They believe that stress plays a central role in dysregulation of the LC-NA system, especially in the latter stages of prenatal development when the fetal brain is particularly vulnerable.

As evidence, the researchers point to a 2008 study, published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, that found a higher incidence of autism among kids whose mothers had been exposed to hurricanes and tropical storms during pregnancy. Maternal exposure to severe storms at mid-gestation resulted in the highest prevalence of autism.

Drs. Purpura and Mehler believe that, in autistic kids, fever stimulates the LC-NA system, temporarily restoring its normal regulatory function. This could not happen if autism was caused by a lesion or some structural abnormality of the brain. This gives us hope that we will eventually be able to do something for children with autism.

The researchers do not advocate fever therapy (fever induced by artificial means), which would be an overly broad, and perhaps even dangerous, remedy. Instead, they say, the future of autism treatment probably lies in drugs that selectively target certain types of noradrenergic brain receptors or, more likely, in epigenetic therapies targeting genes of the LC-NA system.

If the locus coeruleus is impaired in autism, it is probably because tens or hundreds, maybe even thousands, of genes are dysregulated in subtle and complex ways. The only way you can reverse this process is with epigenetic therapies, which, we are beginning to learn, have the ability to coordinate very large integrated gene networks.

The message here is one of hope but also one of caution. You can’t take a complex neuropsychiatric disease that has escaped our understanding for 50 years and in one fell swoop have a therapy that is going to reverse it — that’s folly. On the other hand, we now have clues to the neurobiology, the genetics, and the epigenetics of autism. To move forward, we need to invest more money in basic science to look at the genome and the epigenome in a more focused way.

A New Theory of Aspergers—

Cortisol, the body’s stress hormone, might be a key component to understanding Aspergers, according to researchers.

Cortisol is one of a family of stress hormones that acts like a ‘red alert’ that is triggered by stressful situations allowing a person to react quickly to changes around them.

In most children, there is a two-fold increase in levels of this hormone within 30 minutes of waking up, with levels gradually declining during the day as part of the internal body clock.

Our study found that the kids with Aspergers didn’t have this peak although levels of the hormone still decreased during the day as normal.

Although these are early days, we think this difference in stress hormone levels could be really significant in explaining why kids with Aspergers are less able to react and cope with unexpected change.

These findings are important as they give us a clearer understanding about how some of the symptoms we see in AS are linked to how an individual adapts to change at a chemical level.

The new study suggests that kids with Aspergers may not adjust normally to the challenge of a new environment on waking.

This may affect the way they subsequently engage with the world around them.

The researchers hope that by understanding the symptoms of Aspergers as a stress response rather than a behavioral problem it could help care-takers and teachers develop strategies for avoiding situations that might cause distress in kids with the condition.

The next step in the research will be to look at whether kids with other types of autism also lack a peak of cortisol after waking.

Source: Albert Einstein College of Medicine and University of Bath

Aspergers and Post High School Education

"My 18 year old with AS just graduated from high school. What are the best options for post high school education?"

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