Aspergers Teens and College

Your intelligent Aspergers (high functioning autistic) child has made it to his junior year in high school, and it's time to consider colleges! The good news is that more and more colleges are meeting the special needs of Aspergers teens to help them succeed.

Here are some important suggestions for teens with Aspergers (and their moms and dads) as they think about applying for, managing, and thriving in college:

1. Consider broadening your search if your youngster has additional disabilities such as ADHD, which often co-exists with Aspergers. Academic programs for kids with organizational disabilities may also offer social help for Aspergers people.

2. Consider taking a few classes online. Young people with Aspergers may be overwhelmed by the harsh lighting and noise from a classroom. You may want to check and see if a couple of your required classes may be taken online. However, be advised that taking classes online actually requires more self-discipline than in a traditional classroom.

3. Do your best! Speaking as an instructor who also has Aspergers, I am sensitive to young people who have special needs. However, this also means I expect people to attend class unless they have medical documentation.

4. Establish a medical care provider near your campus. This is extremely important because as a person with Aspergers, you have special medical conditions that many college students will not share. Do some research online or ask your hometown physician for a referral.

5. Have the number of a personal counselor nearby. You may have your good days and bad. Some issues can be especially daunting for a college student with Aspergers. There’s no shame in speaking with a counselor on campus that can help you work through those issues.

6. If you are planning on living in a dorm, you may want to let the administration know about your Aspergers or request a private room. If you are someone who is extremely sensitive to external stimuli (e.g., light, sound, etc), you may want to be placed in a “study floor” instead of a “sorority wing.” Or, if possible, you may want to request a private room so that you have a little more control over your environment.

7. Join an activity to meet people with similar interests to your own. Socializing is not something that always comes easily to people with Aspergers. Think of those activities you enjoy or in which you have succeeded. There are bound to be groups or clubs focusing on that activity.

8. Let your teachers know of your Aspergers and what may be helpful to you. If possible, arrange a meeting with your teachers before the beginning of the semester, but no later than the first week. They will probably respect your honesty and the initiative you are taking in your courses. Also, don’t hesitate to ask for help. As an instructor, I am always willing to help someone who asks for it.

9. Obtain certification of your Aspergers from your medical professional. In order to obtain accommodations on a college campus (such as disability support services), you will probably be required to have documentation of your Aspergers from a physician, neurologist, or psychiatrist.

10. Research universities. Talk with high school counselors and other moms and dads; search online for schools offering support to Aspergers people. Some schools designate certain dorm floors for young people with social difficulties and facilitate interactive activities to ensure they connect with others right from the beginning.

11. Seek career counseling as soon as possible. Finding a job after graduation is particularly challenging for young people with Aspergers. Unfortunately, society tends to focus on the limitations that come with the word “autism” rather than the strengths. So you may want to write down some activities you really enjoy doing or perform particularly well. This can be very helpful for a career counselor who will work to provide you with some direction in terms of courses, volunteer, and internship opportunities.

12. Streamline the process by honing in on schools that offer majors in your youngster's areas of interest and then contact the departments of disability accommodations in each of those schools to see what they offer.

13. Understand that your youngster can have a successful college experience. More than likely she is doing OK or even brilliantly at academics and will just need extra help with social and life skills.

14. Utilize your advisor. Take an active approach with your advisor. It can’t hurt to mention your Aspergers so you can work with your advisor to find a career that is compatible with your strengths. Share the results of any career testing with your advisor, so that you may receive more guidance.

15. Visit several colleges. Most Aspergers kids are very concrete thinkers and cannot just "imagine" what a school will be like from descriptions and photos.

16. When applying for college or a program, it is a good idea to indicate your disability. Of course, you are not required to do so. However, state institutions are not permitted to discriminate against someone due to a disability.

17. Without delay, locate the disability support services on campus. This is very important, as they will likely be the professionals who will arrange (or provide verification) for you to receive necessary accommodations to perform well in your courses.

18. Write down your strengths as well as your limitations. As I mentioned, society tends to focus on the limitations of Aspergers rather than the strengths. You need to advocate for yourself by writing down what you do well and those tasks in which you have succeeded.

Congratulate yourself for having the ambition to attend college and not letting yourself be limited by Aspergers! You’ve made it this far – what else will you do!"

Dealing with Fixations in Aspergers Children

Hello Mr. Hutten: I am a Master of Social Work student at the University of Windsor in Canada. I am currently doing a clinical placement at a children’s mental health organization. I am very interested in Asperger’s and would like to move forward with a research proposal for my MSW thesis. More specifically, I am interested in examining whether (through treatment) it is possible to assist adolescents in shifting their fixation/obsession with a specific object. The reason I am interested in this is because we are currently working with an adolescent who has a fixation with cars and this fixation is potentially harmful to him and others due to the fact that he has already been in contact with the law from this fixation. If it is possible to shift a fixation through treatment, my colleagues and I would like to know what treatment approaches are successful. Would you be able to answer this question or point me in the right direction (i.e. specific studies surrounding evidence based treatment)?

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Your school library should have several psychiatric journals that have researched Aspergers fixations and how to address them. I’m not aware of any evidenced-based treatment programs that address fixations specifically.

Fixations (or perseverations) with certain topics or objects (e.g., books, video games, trains, history, movies, etc.) are a classic symptom of Aspergers. In addition to impairments in social functioning, the DSM lists as a characteristic of the disorder restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests, and activities, as manifested by at least one of the following:

• apparently inflexible adherence to specific, nonfunctional routines or rituals
• encompassing preoccupation with one or more stereotyped and restricted patterns of interest that is abnormal either in intensity or focus
• persistent preoccupation with parts of objects
• stereotyped and repetitive motor mannerisms (e.g., hand or finger flapping or twisting, or complex whole-body movements)

While these fixations must be understood and accepted as part of the disorder, they are also coping mechanisms that young people with Aspergers use to escape social anxiety.

For example, video games are becoming an increasingly common interest among young people with Aspergers. Although the virtual world of games can be a great place for young people to practice social skills, make friends, and have fun, the interest in video games can quickly become an unhealthy and even dangerous obsession.

For young people who get picked on all day at school or feel ostracized and out of place in their everyday lives, it's soothing to come home and play video games for hours. In the safe haven of online gaming, young people with Aspergers can isolate themselves from real-life people and the complexities of face-to-face interactions.

However, the social setting in online gaming or chat rooms is unrealistic and far more predictable than real-life social situations. While social conversations in real life are highly complex and unpredictable, online gamers share a common and simple language for communicating.

Since most online interaction occurs through typing, there is time to think about a response, and the response can be given in symbols and phrases without regard for facial expressions or nonverbal cues. In addition, curse words, rude remarks, and hurtful jokes may be considered socially acceptable online, but they will not be welcome responses in the real world. This disjunction between socially acceptable interactions in the virtual world and the real world can be terribly confusing to young people with Aspergers who already struggle to understand basic social conventions.

Moms and dads of a youngster with Aspergers are thus faced with a dilemma: Do we limit our youngster's time spent doing the activities that interest him most and run the risk that he will withdraw even more, or do we allow him ongoing, easy access to things like video games and science fiction/fantasy books and movies despite the obvious social repercussions?

It’s important for mothers and fathers to find the balance between accepting their youngster's unique interests, and encouraging him to develop social skills and additional interests that might take him outside of his comfort zone. By granting unlimited access to video games and other fixations, parents offer their young ones nothing more than a quick fix. The perseveration may be a convenient coping skill for facing the hardship of a long, difficult day at school but it will not be the healthiest path into adulthood.

Young people with Aspergers need to be challenged to explore other interests and find healthier coping skills. It's easy to use video games and other antisocial outlets to cope, but easier isn't usually better.

If Aspergers children aren't encouraged and helped to develop social skills and independent living skills, there will be a direct impact on how many friends they have, and how successful they are in school and on the job later in life. They may be soothed in the short term, but that deep underlying desire to make friends or have a boyfriend or girlfriend will remain a source of constant dissatisfaction and further isolation.

Addressing fixations is difficult for the parent. On one hand, video games and other interests encourage more social interaction than young people with Aspergers would ordinarily have, but on the other hand, it's not the kind of social interaction that prepares them for life.

Parents should encourage their youngster to develop interpersonal skills off of the computer, and set limits around how often their youngster with Aspergers uses or talks about their fixations. Mothers/fathers should also offer incentives to their youngster to balance his time spent focused on the fixation and time spent doing social activities. For example, if a youngster is passionate about video games, a parent could agree to allow the youngster a certain amount of time to play each week in exchange for the youngster's participation in an after-school activity.

When young people with Aspergers have “structure” around when they can engage in their particular interest, they are more willing to accept rules limiting its use. In our facility, the Aspergers child is allowed to read his favorite book at designated times, but he is not permitted to bring the book to meals. This way, the child learns that his interest is perfectly acceptable when explored in socially appropriate ways, places, and times.

The fixations of young children with Aspergers fulfill a need in their lives that will likely never disappear completely. However, their usefulness in real life is extremely limited. Everyone needs an occasional break from the rigors of daily life, but Aspergers children depend on their mothers and fathers to set limits around these fixations and offer guidance in navigating the complex social world around them. By making a plan and following through with it, you accept your Aspergers child for the unique being he is while giving him the tools he needs to live up to his full potential.

Many of the advances in history have been made by people who are obsessed with one topic – learning more about it, experimenting with it, sharing their knowledge, etc. Great discoveries can come out of this obsessive focus.

In an ideal world, there would be a way to turn an obsession into a productive job. With some obsessions such as counting ceiling tiles, you might have to be a bit more creative …but if an Aspergers child is consumed by his interest in cars, he may be able to combine his interest with a useful profession.

Sometimes the obsession is so all-encompassing that it's hard to get the youngster to pay attention to anything else. This means that he'll be missing some of the learning time he needs to develop his other skills.

In my experience, it's very difficult, almost impossible to remove a kid's obsession. If you absolutely forbid access to the obsession, the upset might be huge and last for a long time and the child might cling even more tenaciously to what he wants.

Rather, you may have better luck in limiting his access to his current fixation. You could employ the "First.....then....." strategy. First, he must complete this task, then he gets so many minutes of ______ time …or you could ration his time by clocks or timers. Every half hour, he gets five minutes of _____. You'd have to adjust the times to whatever is reasonable for your Aspergers youngster. You could gradually increase the time intervals or the amount of work he must accomplish before he gets time for the activity of his choice.

Rather than attempting to remove his access to it totally, you could try to find a substitute. Just plain removing an obsession may not work, but finding a substitute may.

The substitute would need to fill some of the same purpose that the Aspergers child finds in his obsession. This takes some detective work on the parent’s part. Does he like the sound? Is the appeal visual? Feels? Smells?

Once you figure out what the appeal may be, then you can start to find appropriate substitutes. A word of caution though; whatever you substitute could then become the child’s obsession. So, make sure the substitute is socially acceptable, age appropriate and something that could endure for several years.

If you have access to an Occupational Therapist (OT), they're great at helping determine the possible sensory appeal some obsessions may have for your client and in coming up with acceptable substitutes. If there is no OT available, you can play detective yourself.

Sometimes, an Aspergers child will cling more tenaciously to his obsession when he's upset or unsure. The more calm and sure he is of his routine, the more he may feel he can let the obsession go or at least spend less time on it.

Children with Aspergers love routine. When you have trouble making sense of your world, it's hard to predict what may come next, how it might affect you and what other people will expect of you. That's why routines and schedules are so important. A visual schedule lets the youngster know what will happen next in his day. And a visual schedule, whether in words or in pictures is better than just telling the kid. Besides, teaching him to rely on a schedule rather than on an adult telling him what to do helps in his independence.

The Aspergers Comprehensive Handbook

Comment:

I would really like to know some ideas for computer/video game substitutes. My son particularly relies on these "fixations" during out-of-the-ordinary social times and we often let him play the games so that we're not all miserable. What else can we do?

Response:

Video games may seem like the dominant form of entertainment for kids nowadays, but it has proven to have its share of consequences, too. For example:

• growing waistlines

• lack of real social contact (cell phones, texting, and emails do not count here)

• shortened attention spans

But moms and dads have it in their power to show their kids there are in fact better ways than spending 5 plus hours a day in front of the X-Box or Nintendo. Assuming the youngster has schoolwork in addition to attending classes, video games can be cut down to a mere fifteen minutes a day, or not at all, in order to help increase a youngster's intellectual and emotional growth.

1. Action figures increase kid’s visual motor skills, spatial skills, strategic planning skills, concentration and creativity. Winston Churchill considered action figures one of his favorite toys.

2. Books should always have a place in a youngster's bedroom, and they can be both fiction and non-fiction. Most grammar schools offer suggestions as to what is age appropriate for kids, but if your youngster is an advanced reader, library books will also work out fine. Being able to sit quietly and read will open up worlds for your youngster, stimulating not only intellectual but also creative capacity. If your youngster has dreams to become a writer, reading is very important as it will show him or her how a story or essay is well constructed.

3. Drawing and painting is another great alternative to video games. Creative skills are especially important for kids who do not have the opportunity to take art classes in school. As sad as it sounds, art and music classes are usually the first to be eliminated when school budgets need tightening. Art is helpful as it also allows a youngster to tell a story about the drawing or painting made.

4. Exercise is one of the best alternatives to a sedentary life of video games, too. Childhood obesity has grown in the past ten years as the result of this lifestyle. Playing outside, running around, bicycling, and creative play outdoors has been beneficial to kids in decades past, along with the monkey bars on the gym set. A few hours a day playing outside will get your youngster in shape and be close to nature, which will also stimulate and extend a youngster's attention span, which is required for reading and schoolwork.

5. Mad Gab increases auditory processing, divided attention and executive processing. It is an excellent game for kids that are learning to read! Mad Gab forces kids to think about words rather than guessing at them.

6. Music lessons have long been shown to help boost those math scores. The ability to read music and play a favorite instrument will also allow a youngster to appreciate cultural heritage, versus just listening to the rap and hip-hop so frequently played on the radio today.

7. O, Monopoly; so many moms and dads and kids have turned to this tried-and-true game, and for good reason. Monopoly teaches money skills, math concepts, investing and planning.

8. Pictionary increases visual memory.

9. Simon Says increases kid’s deductive reasoning skills, executive processing, numerical concept, planning, processing speed, selective attention, sustained attention and visual processing. Simon Says can be played anywhere – and it delivers fun and cognitive enrichment.

10. Taboo enhances word retrieval, builds vocabulary skills, increases one’s ability to think and create synonyms.

11. Yoyos enhance kid’s fine motor skills, dexterity, spatial planning skills and muscle coordination. Additionally, kids love yo-yoing! Learning yo-yo tricks is challenging; there will be frustrated moments for your youngster, but these moments present challenges the youngster must work through. Yo-yoing also assists kids with peripheral vision.

And the list would go on and on…

Be creative, use your imagination!

How can I stop meltdowns when routines change?

Kids with Aspergers (high functioning autism) need to have a routine and need to know what is going to happen next at all times. Routine is stabilizing and essential to kids with Aspergers; they get very anxious when they are not prepared for what will happen.

Having a routine and predictability helps kids with Aspergers feel safe. Whether you're trying to figure out how to best help a youngster, creating a routine, using explicit, literal, verbal language to communicate, being aware of sensory issues and trying to minimize them as much as possible, and having lots of love and understanding will go a long way to helping kids with Aspergers navigate the world.

What are some things a parent can do to help?

The most important thing is to be consistent. Kids with Aspergers thrive on routine. Everything needs to be done at the same time, in the same way, every day, as much as possible, to give a sense of safety and security. When there will be a change in routine, tell your youngster as far in advance and explain what will happen.

When you talk to your youngster with Aspergers, you should use a calm and even tone of voice, and use explicit language that says exactly what you mean.

Do not make requests too complicated or ask an Aspergers youngster to do things with too many steps at once. Try to keep your language as literal as possible.

Try to be very verbal. If your youngster does something right, praise them for it. But this advice is definitely not just for kids.

I received this email from an adult which describes how he feels when things get complicated and he begins to meltdown:

“An Aspie is like a juggler who can keep one ball in the air at a time, but struggles with more than one. Right now I am battling with four or five balls (problems) that just do not seem to get resolved and at times, like today, and my mind is on overload and cannot cope - it just goes blank, I forget things, lose things, which are uncharacteristic. Can you recommend anything to help me, please?”

If your youngster has a meltdown, the most important thing to remember when dealing with these situations is to try to figure out what caused them. Your youngster is not doing this to intentionally annoy you; he is doing it because he has reached his limit of tolerance in whatever he is dealing with. If you feel his meltdown was caused by a change in routine, reassure him of the routine for the rest of the day and that the routine will not change the next day, if that is the case.

In the research I conducted for my ebook entitled My Aspergers Child, I interviewed hundreds of parents. The following are specific actions that parents of Aspergers kids told me helps minimize or reduce the likelihood of meltdowns:

"We try not to change anything around him. I try to be with him as much as possible."

"Keeping on a strict schedule and explaining if something will be different, aside from the normal routine."

"We have added visual cues where possible we try not to stray from routine, even when something exciting is happening we created 'retreats' where our son can go to calm down."

"I try to keep some kind of structure. Any change in his routine, will result in a meltdown - from his morning routine all the way to his bedtime."

"We provide warnings (30 minute, 10 minute, 5, etc.) when we know a transition is approaching. We have ‘do overs’ as an opportunity to ‘go back in time’ and make things the way she likes them. We don't raise our voice with her because that causes her to become highly agitated. Instead, we try to be silly and cajole her into calming down."

"We have tried to ‘slow down’ and work around his temperament. We no longer ‘rush’ to do things and try to allow plenty of time because we found that by telling him we were ‘running late’ it only caused him to get more upset. We have tried to cut down/eliminate those items that we know send him on ‘sensory overload.’ We have altered his diet and we are still working at how to lessen/shorten the melt downs as well as what other things trigger them."

"Making changes would be the wrong thing to do in Sara's case. We have had the same routine since she was 2 and any change would pretty much destroy her perfect world."

"We tend to follow the same routine, or sequence of activities, we have to be careful about transitions, make sure that preferred foods are available, he needs very close following to see that homework and other non preferred activities are completed well so use picture schedules at times."

 An email from a parent who has tried the strategies outlined in the My Aspergers Child eBook:

"My grandson is 12 and a half. Before the ebook, he would have anger and aggression issues. He would go into his own world and block everyone completely out. He would not listen. He would stare completely right through you as if you were not even there. He would freak out and basically have a temper tantrum. It was a severe temper tantrum like you were dealing with a two year old – like the terrible twos.

You can't go to restaurants. You can't go to the grocery store. You can't go to the movies. You are afraid to go to family functions. You're actually afraid to go anywhere. You get constant phone calls from the school because he is labeled as a problem child. That has been my son all of his life.

After the ebook, he no longer has any meltdowns. I immediately started implementing things and the way that I handled things and I started focusing on all of the positives in his life. The My Aspergers Child eBook helped establish the understanding of what my son goes through – how he sees the world – because I had absolutely no clue. Then around family he is fine because now the family understands because I have explained the situation with them.

The greatest thing that I got out of the My Aspergers Child eBook would be Mark Hutten’s detailed solutions on how to cope with Aspergers, the way he puts it into laymen's terms and understanding how my son sees the world by giving examples. And I think it helped that he has a grandson with Aspergers as well."

==>  My Aspergers Child: How to Prevent Meltdowns

Comments:

• Anonymous said... Please help us our twelve year old son is out of control!!!! We have tried everything... except the online 90 min. seminars with you. Our son lives in Marathon, Florida and Todd(his dad) works 24/7 and has a hard time getting him to counselors, doctors, etc. He was diagnoised with Asp. Syn. when he was six and has been on Concerta and Risprodol for quite sometime but has recently been switched to Ambilify then to Seriquil but still stays on the Concerta. He is absolutely out of control, he is defiante with everything and cannot be left alone with his siblings for fear of hurting them. I am Melissa the girlfriend to Todd, the dad and I have had to recently come back to my hometown of Franklin, KY. to care for my mother and Todd is left taking care of his three children and it is getting to be to much for him! I want to help him with whatever I can do... please give us some insite to what to do as Todd is at whits end with Mitchell and we love him very much he is just very unruly right now and needs help and we are unsure what else to do!!!

• Anonymous said...I suspect my son has asperger's I have read loads of info on My Aspergers Child taken the CAST test on which he scored very highly & I have ticked "many" of boxes in sensory sensitivities checklist. This boy displays so many of the traits it is quite scary, & to be honest the more I read the more convinced I become, so I have made a doctors apointment & had a meeting with his class teacher yesterday who was dismissive & told me it couldn't be Aspergers because he has discussed aspergers with his wife in the past & she is a nurse & she says if it was aspergers there would something very obvious (outstanding about the child). My understanding is that at a young age it is very easily over looked because the children are bright. Jack is bright.......had an enormous range of sounds as a baby spoke early & did not sleep. He is often called a little professor or young Einstien. Reads well above his peers but just doesn't get math, loves facts is obsessed with guns & cars. video games, movies (only guns & cars), when he plays he just re enacts a movie or a video game & only plays games that envolve guns. Give him anything to build with ie lego, connector pens & he makes a gun! When he talks which is constantly he only talks about video games & movies (all guns) in great detail he'll recount the entire movie/game, it's like he does not know when to stop,(when he has made his point) or that the person is no longer interested & I often tell him..... ok stop talking now. He cosntantly interupts our conversations. No matter how many times I tell him it's rude or to say excuse me & wait his turn he doesn't get it. He has extreme inflexability of thought is anxious & worriesome & wont ask for help. Is fearfull of strange things ie Hand drier in public toilets. Comes across as rude & selfish but is shoked or confused when told so. Has meltdowns over socks & shoes etc. Can not tolerate certain fabrics & materials. Eats the same thing for breakfast every day. Freaks out over the slightest change in routine & wants to know all of the details. You can never tell how he will react to certain situations often I think he will react one way but he reacts the opposite?? Says he has difficulty making friends & has strong neg reactions to new environments & new situations ie frequently rushing to the toilet & avoiding eye contact. He says he feels like he is different to the other kids. Tries to set or change the rules of games to suit himself & tells other children & or adults what they must do, like he is trying to control the game even if its free play. Does not allow different foods to touch on his plate. & the list goes on & on. He is afraid of certain strangers for no apparent reason & when he was little would get hysterical if strangers were just to look at him. Regular forms of discipline don't work on him as with his brother. Am I imagining things? am I waisting my time going to the doctors?? is he just a difficult child? I know you cant diagnose him one way or the other via email but please what are your thoughts? Incedentally his father & I both scored 27 on the adult aspergers test & his father was extremely shy as a child & still has trouble with social situations. I would really love it if you told me that he was just being difficult & that I should just stop trying to understand why he does odd things. I have been trying to work out why I cant understand him.... what is wrong with me, him, us since he was a baby & eventually just became dismissive of his behaviour & have been for so long now that I just feel like a terrible mother.

• Anonymous said...My best recommendation is to find a certified Rhythmic Movement Training consultant and set up an evaluation appointment for your child. They are trained to teach kids and parents an exercise program that is proven to give kids self-control and social skills. My husband and I are two of only twelve consultants in the US; we are located in Tulsa, OK. Search Rhythmic Movement Training and Brain Fitness Strategies to learn more about the program.  If you are exhausted from managing a teenager who is out of control, depressed, and unable to stay focused, you need a solution and you need it fast. All of our clients have seen improvements in attitude in the first week of doing the RMT program for 20 minutes a day. Ninety days can give you relief and confidence that you have found the right solution in RMT.

• Anonymous said...I hope you've already found help, but wanted to say you are not a terrible mother or you wouldn't be worried or wondering about AS. You clearly know your son. He'll do well in life with you to guide him. Would love to chat more cynthiarramsey@gmail.com

Post your comment below...

Dealing with Disrespect in Aspergers Teens: Tips for Parents

Question

Our Aspergers teenager is rejecting us and not listening. She is a loner, no friends, and depends 95% on us for daily living. She only goes out to school. Other than that, she is in her room and only comes out to the kitchen for meal time. She has frequent minor and major meltdowns …is very destructive, rude, disrespectful etc. I don't feel safe in my own house. I'm scared most of the time because her meltdowns are unpredictable. The problem is we are not communicating! We need your advice …and thank you for your time and your hard work.

Answer

She’s giving you the silent treatment because she is harboring resentment. Resentment can be a rather toxic emotion both for the youngster stuck in a swirl of resentment and for the parent on the other side of it. When our youngster is harboring resentment about something that might have happened or is feeling resentful toward us, it can be hard to take, but there are ways of coping and helping our youngster through a tough emotional time.

What might make a youngster feel resentful? Well, if a youngster feels slighted or as if she hasn't gotten a fair share of something, or she might be upset over something that has happened that felt completely out of her control. We've all been there …feeling resentful because life just didn't go the way we thought it should. For many of us, it takes time for us to be able to let go of resentful feelings depending on how tightly we may be clinging.

Don't take it personally when a youngster gives you the silent treatment or directs her resentment toward you. While you may have been the one who made the decisions that led to the circumstances that are fueling the resentment, your feeling guilty is not going to help matters at all.

In order for all of us to learn how to take ownership of our own feelings (resentment included), we need to NOT have other people take it on. So, try to separate your youngster’s feelings from your own. This way you can share your empathy and understanding, and help her to work through letting go of the resentment, without letting your own feelings of guilt or whatever gets in the way.

Learning to let go of resentment and other negative feelings can take time, but it can be learned. It helps if we, as parents, have learned how to manage our own resentful feelings too, before we help our kids cope with theirs.

Here are some tips for dealing with the silent treatment:

1. Be the bigger person. Make the first attempt at communication. If you are getting the silent treatment, it's unlikely that your daughter will take the initiative and actually talk to you. Be the one to offer an olive branch. Show that you are mature. Give her a compliment and see if she is willing to talk.

2. Keep your cool and survive the silent treatment with an even keel. It's tempting to lose your temper with someone who won't acknowledge you, but don't let your emotions get the best of you. Stay rational even though you may feel like you have lost control of the entire situation. Offer to take your daughter to a restaurant for a meal and some small talk.

3. Write her a letter and put it in her room for her to read. In this letter, tell her that you love her whether or not she talks.

4. Let go! The more you try to get her to talk – the more she will be silent. Conversely, the more you “act as if” talking is not an issue, the more she will open up.

RE:  destructive, rude, disrespectful behavior

This is a separate issue, and one that requires some disciplinary measures specifically designed for teens on the autism spectrum (use the link below).

Discipline for Defiant Aspergers and High-Functioning Autistic Teens

Living with an Aspergers Spouse

The public and professionals are becoming more aware of the impact of Aspergers on families. Aspergers (also referred to as high-functioning autism or ASD level 1) is a subtle, almost paradoxical, disorder that seems to adversely affect men slightly more than women.

It was believed by some professionals that most males with Aspergers do not marry, but this is not the case and the more able people do form relationships, marry and have kids. They are often capable workers and are highly qualified but nevertheless have great difficulties in personal relationships.

Diagnosis is problematic because of disagreements about criteria, but also because of a convergence between "macho" male characteristics and many traits associated with Aspergers. There are obvious dangers in confusing the two.

Research supported by the National Autistic Society into the intimate relationships of couples where one partner is affected by Aspergers shows that males with the condition tend to choose spouses who are maternal, strong, and with nurturing qualities, often older than themselves. Females are attracted to males who appear to be kind, gentle and slightly immature, and who flatter with obsessive attention.

Although males with Aspergers can have relatively high status occupations, including engineers, computer specialists and university teachers, problems can arise when they are married. Attwood1 describes a spectrum of Aspergers behavior, from the passive to the arrogant and aggressive, and it is likely to be the latter who perpetrate domestic violence. 

==> Living with ASD: eBook and Audio Instruction for Neurodiverse Couples 

Also, the whole responsibility for the relationship rests with their spouses, who report a feeling of "going mad", and who frequently become depressed and may take medication, yet are reluctant to separate because of concern about how the person with Aspergers will cope. Living with the condition is stressful for the family, particularly if both spouses work. It might be less so in traditional families with role differentiation by gender and greater overt control of kids.

Having a diagnosis can be helpful and whole family interventions can be developed to manage everyday life. Also, having Aspergers does not make a person abusive, but it can make them controlling.

However, if the partner with Aspergers is in denial, he may try to deflect his problems on to his partner and the kids, and there are anecdotal reports of stalking, intimidation, manipulation of kids, and domestic violence. There is an added danger that in such situations males may appear to be calm, in control, and shocked to be accused of abusive behavior when approached by the police or social workers. It is important to stress that many males with Aspergers do not harm their families, but some of the key features of Aspergers make it more difficult to address any such abuse.

Consequently, the syndrome presents challenges for service providers, because the psychodynamic model which underpins social work and mental health traditions does not help in understanding a disability which is organic. Also, there are still many misconceptions; for example, that autism is caused by poor parenting - although bad family experiences undoubtedly make problems worse.

Meanwhile, there are deficits in skills, training, and service provision. People with Aspergers are likely to present to mental health services, often through civil or criminal court action, and the condition is easily confused with psychosis or personality disorders. There has been criticism of the failure of psychiatry to learn about Aspergers, and although more progress has been made through the assessment of kids by special educational needs services, what happens when people get older?

Any serious strategy to assist families must start with the principle of protecting kids from significant harm, as well as the unacceptability of violence and intimidation. But what else could be done?

The National Autistic Society published Ignored or Ineligible, which set out the parameters of an effective service. This emphasized collaborative planning between statutory spouses, users, care-givers, kids and voluntary organizations. Also, educational models of the management of kids with Aspergers have been developed and could inform clinical practice and family counseling.

In addition, families affected by the syndrome have a special insight and can tell us about their needs. They must also be part of the solution. Meanwhile, local routes for assessment, diagnosis and clinical support should be established so that GPs and psychiatrists routinely consider Aspergers and can refer people to specialists who can confidently diagnose and offer management strategies. This service need not be medically-led and psychologists, caregivers of people with learning difficulties, and speech therapists have a significant contribution to make. 

==> Living with ASD: eBook and Audio Instruction for Neurodiverse Couples 

There also needs to be a network of services available, from care management, family counseling and employment support, to help for spouses and kids as care-givers. Links between youngster and adolescent mental health services and adult mental health services are crucial. Then front-line domestic violence agencies, including the police, Female's Aid and the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) need to build up their knowledge base, as should family lawyers.

Currently, social work awareness of Aspergers is poor. There is some knowledge in teams working with learning difficulties but they are highly targeted and most people with the syndrome will not receive a service. Also, the identification of Aspergers is undermined by the focus of social work assessment in kid's services on mothers rather than fathers.

Nevertheless, those in children's services should be able to screen, using the assessment framework, although the ability of people with the syndrome to camouflage their problems and of spouses to protect them should never be underestimated. The taking of a full history is essential. Similarly, listening to kids and spouses is crucial, though direct accounts in the early stage of a relationship may be hard to obtain. 

Schools, health professionals and extended family members might also give clues about parental behavior and its impact on kids. Because of the relationship dynamics, legal intervention to protect the kids (and the partner) might need to be undertaken at an early stage. Finally, practice managers should be trained so the possibility of Aspergers is considered during supervision sessions.

The danger of conflict also needs to be recognized. Anger, threats of violence and litigious complaints are features of the behavior of some people with the syndrome. Intimidation of workers is a real possibility. To deal with threats to families or workers, clear and consistent messages need to be given that this behavior is not acceptable, using the courts and the police to protect families and workers if necessary.

Aspergers presents gender politics in families and between social workers and users at their crudest, and a key question is whether there are educational interventions which can influence adult behavior in an intimate relationship. We would be interested to hear from any practitioner who has developed methods for working with kids or adults with Aspergers who would like to contribute.

Aspergers facts:

• It is an autistic spectrum disorder.
• Special interests are often pursued obsessively.
• The key diagnostic features are social relationships, communication and imagination.
• There is a strong genetic link.
• There is no cure. 
• It can be managed through recognition, support, medication and structured counseling.

Problems reported by spouses of people with Aspergers:

• Alcohol abuse
• Irrational blame of others
• Kids over-controlled and emotionally abused
• Lack of empathy
• Lack of executive control over life
• Problems in socializing
• Selfishness
• Sexual problems
• Unpredictable outbursts of anger 

 

Resources for Neurodiverse Couples:

==> Online Group Therapy for Men with ASD

==> Online Group Therapy for NT Wives

==> Living with ASD: eBook and Audio Instruction for Neurodiverse Couples 

==> One-on-One Counseling for Struggling Individuals & Couples Affected by ASD

==> Online Group Therapy for Couples Affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder

==> Cassandra Syndrome Recovery for NT Wives

==> ASD Men's MasterClass: Social-Skills Training and Emotional-Literacy Development

Best Comment:

I spent most of this summer seperated from my husband after enduring so much emotional abuse that I could no longer function well enough to care for our children on a daily basis. We have a two year old and a set of infant twins, all girls. There were several emotionally traumatic events that ocurred in the latter of part of my pregnancy. The emotinonal stress culminated and finally manifested as physical trauma when I fell after getting so worked up about TD just shutting down one night. I was throwing things, cussing him, anything to get some acknowledgement and help from him. And he didn't seem to even notice. He was too inconsolable about the furniture being rearranged. The fall left me unable to walk for two weeks. But he took care of me until I recovered and had his mom watch our two year old. I was back to normal before the twins were born, and luckily I was stil able to have them at home as planned.

But then the emotional abuse escalated after I recovered from having the twins. We slept in different rooms and I cared for two screaming babies by myself. He went days without talking to me except to say "The card board trash goes in this container to be recycled. I've told you that four times now." or "If you do your dishes as soon as you are finished eating, the food will not stick to them." Then he decided that the dryer used too much electricity and unplugged it so I couldn't use it. When I plugged it back in (it's not easy to move a dryer after having twins), he took the door off of it and hid it. And finally, after avoiding the discussion about my fall for two months, I finally addressed it. I told him how hurt I was, physically and emotionally, and how scared I was that I might lose both our babies just weeks before they were supposed to be born. He told me it was all my fault - that if I would learn to control myself it wouldn't have happened, and that he was mad at me for being so irresponsible. So the next day, June 27, I packed as much clothes and diapers as I could fit into three duffle bags, and I left. The twins were only 6 weeks old.

For two months, T.D. only saw his children two or three times. We both went to religious counselors in different cities. And we went together to see my counselor once. Being away from him, I was finally able to think clearly and review what was going on. The more I thought about everything that had happened the past year, as well as the entire five years we were married, the less sense any of it made. It was easy to see T.D. loved me and our children and took care of us, but why did he treat us so indifferently and not seem to care about anyone but himself? The only thing we could figure out from counseling was that we needed more of it, but it didn't seem like we could make any progress on any issue I brought up. At first TD didn't see any problem with our marriage and could not understand at all why I had left in the first place. Then he seemed to realize that he had hurt me, but said he had no idea his actions were hurtful, and didn't really seem to know what he should do differently. I felt like I'd hit a brick wall.

Then my aunt mentioned that she had seen a documentary about Asperger's Syndrome back in April or May and thought the symptoms fit TD well. So I started researching AS online and I found your YouTube video and then your website.

I downloaded your ebook, Living With an Asperger's Partner, a few weeks ago. I read it in shock of how accurately all the issues you addressed described my current situation. I began to use some of the communication techniques when I spoke with TD on the phone. It was difficult for me to rethink everything I said, but in the end, it was very productive. The more research I did on AS, the more I was convinced TD had it. So I wrote a 5 page letter to my husband reviewing our current situation and the events leading up to it. I told him about Asperger's and why I thought he probably had it, and I implored him to get tested so we could know for sure and get the counseling that we both needed. I emailed the letter to his counselor. On Monday, August 22, we went to see his counselor together. The pastor read the letter out loud as we followed along on another copy.

After that session, I went back to my mom's. T.D. called to ask for more online resources and I sent him some links. He took a few online self diagnosis tests. All of them said he may have a mild case of AS.but to go to a professional to be sure.

I have convinced him, at least in theory, that getting a diagnosis is necessary. He of course, doesn't care if he has it or not, but he concedes that it would be a waste of time to continue with counseling that doesn't help us. And we can't know what counseling would help us until we know if he has AS, another condition, or just bad communication skills.

I have been home with him for a week now, and we have gotten along very well. I just have to make sure the issues we had before don't overtake us again. In her book, Alone Together, Katrin Bentley called AS "Beauty and the Beast Syndrome". TD is being a prince right now, but I can't commit to moving back in until I know how to tame the beast.

So now I am looking for someone who can give us a diagnosis and possibly counseling, or at least resources.

We live in San Antonio, Texas. If you have any contacts or can make any recommendations for someone in our area, please let me know ASAP.

He misses me and the girls, and I miss him too. But I have to know what I'm up against before I can come back.

Response:

If you love a man with Aspergers, you might want to consider using word pictures to help him identify what’s going on inside. A word picture uses a story or object to simultaneously activate the emotions and intellect of the hearer. As a result, he experiences your words rather than just hearing them.

It’s important to realize that helping your husband learn to express his feelings will take time. You might have to use several examples or try for several days, weeks, or even months before he is able to feel and share with you what’s in his heart. And until he reaches that point, he won’t be able to connect with you on an emotional intimate level.

I’ve found that a woman’s definition of intimacy is very different from a man’s. Consider the following lists:

What women mean by intimacy—

A sensitivity to know immediately when feelings are hurt

Ability to cry easily and together at emotional moments

Closeness of the heart and soul

Daily time hearing the heart of the one you love

Daily time sharing your heart

Deep emotional connection

Understanding each other’s dreams and goals

What men mean by intimacy—

A sensitivity to know when physical needs are present

An ability to communicate physical needs

Deep physical connection

Foreplay

Hand-holding, hugging, kissing

Physical time alone together

Understanding each other’s physical needs

One of the reasons men may be more focused on physical closeness is that men aren’t as sensitive to physical touch as women are. In other words, it takes more physical touch to meet a man’s physical needs. In the same way that a woman has twice the daily word count, a man has twice the need for physical stimulation.

The point is this: Women often feel unloved because their emotional needs aren’t being met, and in the same way, men often feel ignored because their physical needs aren’t being met.

MORE COMMENTS:

Anonymous said...

I split up unintentionally with my undiagnosed interstate partner 3.5 months ago. Despite me apologizing for my frustrated outburst to him...is aid I've noticed that you don't touch me except when you want sex.no response of course! The more he said nothing, the more I tried to get a reaction, as even after eight months, I still had had no signs to show me that he cared. All too familiar?
He knows he is dyslexic, but I think has no idea he is Asperger. Mind you, I didn't know either! I was told that he was very shy. Last November, when his ex wife, who left him 3 years before,found out that he was dating me, did an attempted suicide and a rape allegation when she was 11. She drove him mad with text messages for six months, which made him understandably stressed. I became very wobbly and fearful that they may get back together, as I had fallen in love with him...for the first time in my life. I am 61 and have 25 year old twins who I have raised on my own since they were four. So you can glean that falling for this man was a momentous occasion for me!
I have just phoned him, and told him I think we had a big misunderstanding, that I had no intention of splitting up with him, I apologized yet again for my outburst of frustration, and said I'd like to think that we could forgive each other. That everyone has misunderstandings,and you need to communicate.I said I would like to see him again...he said he wasn't sure and that he was still going through a difficult time of trying to organize himself and get things done.
At no stage did he ask me how I was or say he was sorry too or that he missed me. He did keep lapsing into conversation about what was happening in his life and did not return to the talk we were having.
I got off the phone and thought wow this is one hard nut to crack!!
You said you may be able to help. Any suggestions? I am wondering if this is just way too hard to get myself back into...it sure makes me wonder what I am attracted to !! But like in your e book you say how boyish and honestly naive and loyal, intelligent and handsome...and he is all of that!

Boy is this ever confusing...I find it so hard to know what to do. I would love your advice!

Mark said...

The best approach would be the honest approach.

He will not be very "connecting" -- but he will probably be honest.

You can say things like,

"Do you miss me?"
"Do you want to work things out?"
"What are you feeling now?"

...and so on. You get the idea.

Remember, you have to be direct and concrete with Aspies (shy people too).

Anonymous said...

Dear Mr. Hutten,

Thank you for your wonderful book. I wish I had read it about 15 years ago, before I married my husband in 2000. I believe my husband has Aspergers. I am a physician myself who has worked with many children with DD and have also been reading every book I could find on the subject since I realized Aspergers was likely the cause of my husband's odd behaviors. For a long time I thought it was his upbringing --with selfish, distant parents, or me, that he wasn't in love with me, or I was too emotional and needy. He doesn't like to make eye contact, unless it's an overly direct, almost aggressive stare, and pulls away quickly after a stiff hug. He is very intelligent in some ways, especially about mechanical and electrical things and political topics, and oddly off base about very basic aspects of pleasant human interaction. I have been driven into a rage more than I care to admit by his rudeness, and into despair, near suicidal, living with someone who has so little empathy. He absolutely refuses to accept he has Aspergers. He even took an online test where I felt he basically lied so that it would not come out as Aspergers. His parents are the same-weirdly rude and unemotional and isolated and very intelligent. Who knows-maybe Aspergers is the evolution of our species. But I am not there. For me, love and joy and art and music are more important than anything else. If I had parents or other family members or friends I could rely on for love and emotional support in my life, perhaps I could stand this marriage. But we have gotten to the point of no return. We have been to 3 different marriage counselors, I have been to counseling alone, and I have read dozens of books (he has read none as the only problem he sees is my dissatisfaction with him!) I have told him I am sure I want a divorce and his main concern, appropriately, is that he gets enough time with our 6 year old daughter. Inappropriately, he has suggested I sleep on the couch and let him come to the home for visits, have him continue to live here but in the basement room, and has had coffee to discuss the divorce with a divorced father with whom we are only distantly acquainted through our children in the same neighborhood. I know he is dependent on me for his social and family life, not to mention finances. I want to continue to have him as a friend, and will continue to help him. He is tall and attractive and self-confident so I expect he will find a new partner much sooner than will I. I also want to be happy, and especially to give my daughter a peaceful household. I am hoping you have some advice to get through a divorce and set up a healthy "after marriage" with your ex-Aspergers partner.

Very Sincerely,

Marietta

Mark said...

We have been taught that marriages are 50/50, but this really isn't true – they are 100/100. How you treat your husband will often influence how he will respond to you. That makes you 100% responsible for the presence or absence of love in your relationship. Your husband is 0% responsible because he is merely responding to whatever you say or do. But the reverse is also is also true. How your husband treats you will influence how you're going to respond. That makes your husband 100% (and you 0%) responsible for the presence of love in your marriage. In other words, each of you is 100% responsible for the presence or absence of love in your marriage.

Unfortunately, we seldom recognize our 100% responsibility. All we see is what our partner does to us. We then blame the partner for the conflict, and everything we say about him or her is the truth – that individual really is 100% responsible. The problem is that when you focus on your partner’s 100% responsibility, you make yourself 0% responsible. When you are 0% responsible, you have 0% power. By blaming your partner, you make yourself a victim. You can only reclaim your power by accepting 100% responsibility for your role in the marital problems. If you're responsible for the problem, you can also be responsible for the solution. Now, you can put water on the fire instead of adding more fuel.

So… take a moment and examine your marriage. Find your 100% responsibility for the loss of love. Notice how judgmental and critical you've been, how much you may have hurt your husband, and how you may have forced him to resist you in turn. Keep working with this until you can see that you single-handedly destroyed the experience of love in your relationship.

Of course, your husband is also 100% responsible, but blaming him doesn't change a thing. You can't force him to change – even if it's for his own good. The only thing you can change in your situation is your own thoughts, feelings and behaviors. Once you're willing to see yourself as a powerful being that created the situation (rather than a helpless victim) the next step is to heal your hurt and to let go of your automatic resistance towards your husband. Your goal is to end the conflict, heal the hurt, and restore the love in your relationship – not necessarily as husband and wife, but as one spiritual human being to another.

Anonymous said...

Dear Mark,
Thanks for such a quick response. I see that I am responsible for my own anger and resentment and criticism, and the response it has provoked in him. I feel terribly guilty about that. But I also see that he will never be someone who will hug me spontaneously, kiss my cheek when I am crying, grab my hand when we are walking, look me in the eyes and truly understand emotionally what I am going through. Not sure I can live with that in a husband, although I can love him as the wonderful father of my child that he is. Do you understand that?
Very Sincerely,
Marietta

Mark said...

Re: Do you understand that?

Sure do! You don't need to defend yourself. And you deserve to be happy :)

Mark

Anonymous said...

The problem is that we are already separated. I'm in Arizona and he's still back in Michigan.

Have you dealt with Asperger's folks who's parents are ultra controlling and possessive? He comes from a nightmarish family that never accepted me even though I did the best job care taking him and was the best woman he has ever had. I know that I did a great job and so did my 11 year old son. I did everything and anything to keep the marriage going but his parents were jealous of me and Kent's happiness as well, so they poisoned him with negative talk about me that is just not true. Being a disabled person he probably didn't have the sense to not listen to them even though he admitted to me on several occasions that his family was 100% crazy. I have no doubt that they had been coaching him to leave us because back in February his dad came with him to our house to move him out (without giving me any warning).

So here I am with my precious son and no hubby. How can a wife compete with a spouse's parent? I feel helpless and hopeless, even with your communication techniques because I'm afraid that his parents will continually try to break up our marriage. His dad told his mom that he does not want Kent to be happy. It's sickening to watch them continually ruin his life by not letting him live it on his own without their control.

Do you have any ideas of what we can do? My son and I thought of sending him an email this Thursday about watching the brand new office episode since we'll be watching it at the same time at our house. We used to always watch The Office together as a family so it would be something to connect us, we thought. I know we are supposed to be together but I couldn't move back to Michigan since his unstable family lives there. I would need him to move out here if he did want to get back together. We have had very little communication since the split (a few weeks ago). My dad did yell at him and told him he would have Kent arrested if he continually emotionally abused me anymore (Kent was blaming me for all kinds of untrue things at the end of the relationship. He also struggles with bipolar and was having paranoia. He would not go to the doctor even though I encouraged him to). My dad told Kent he better not ever bother me again after I moved out here to AZ, so I think he really scared Kent into not calling us.

We have a tough situation because I feel deeply that we should be together but I'm up against his medication issues (not taking his health seriously), his family, and his fears of my dad.

Anonymous said...

I am a 45 year old AS man married to an NT woman for the past 17 years. We live in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada and have 2 teenage daughters. My wife and I self-diagnosed me almost a year ago. The initial suspicion entered my wife's mind when she first met my father (17 years after we first met) whom she suspected immediately to have AS. She ordered some books on-line in an effort to help me understand and resolve and some of my childhood issues growing up with him. However, I wasn't very far into the first book when I realized that it was describing our tumultuous relationship and the effect it has had on my wife which has been called "Cassandra's Syndrome". So in my case I didn't immediately associate myself as an AS man but definitely recognized the effects an AS man can have on his NT wife. From there is was not difficult for both of us to accept that I had AS - albeit not in many of the text book stereotypical ways used to characterize AS men and in a very different way than my father exhibits his AS.

My wife started exhibiting physiological symptoms of Cassandra's Syndrome a couple years ago and it has gotten to the point where she is anxiety ridden and unable to handle traffic, crowds let along get on a plane to attend an AS workshop. Her inability to cope with everyday things has hampered our progress and is testimony of the problem our relationship brings to her. It has gotten to the point where she often concludes that change is impossible and that leaving me is the only solution to her well being - something I have been hearing for 17 years now but am finally starting to sympathize with. Luckily, we still love each other, are devoted to our children and have always been fully dependent on my self-employed income - typical reasons couples stay together. However, this doesn't seem to be enough anymore now that the initial elation of diagnosed AS is over and very little has changed in our marriage.

 

Anonymous said...

I am a non-aspergers male, married to a self diagnosed aspy female. We have been married for 14 1/2 years and I am really struggling. Struggling with the whole aspy thing as well as her reaction to my 16 year old son who came to live with us 1 1/2 years ago. Is there anyone out there like me? I'm sinking fast...

Anonymous said...

My husband is a total workaholic, never allowing himself time for fun, Because of him, I missed some great concerts over the years, such as Queen + Adam Lambert & Ringo Starr and his All Starr Band.

Aspie said...

I can relate to your situation. At 41 and being with my NT wife for 13 years I got my diagnosis of ASD, and we were elated at first. It put many of our problems into context, but as that inital releif of discovery wore off we were left with the problem of what to do about it. In addition to Mark Huttons relationship articles and ebook, we found videos by aspergerexperts on youtube and their website to be helpful, especially regarding the "sensory funnel". Maybe some of these resources will help you as well, best of luck.