Do you need some assistance in parenting your Aspergers or HFA child? Click here to use Mark Hutten, M.A. as your personal parent coach.
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Our son is 16 and was going to stay on into 6th form at his school, however he didn't get the grades he needed and had a poor academic and attitudinal reputation. We were able to find a college course at the last minute which he has started to attend, but unfortunately the issues have followed and he's already on his first disciplinary.
To cut a long story short, my husband and I are to visit the college and subject lead later this week, but could really do with some back up advice. You see we have no formal diagnosis - we always thought our son quirky in some ways, however as he has gone through teen developmental stages, his difficulties have worsened and put together, have informed us of a bigger picture. the headteacher at school commented as he had previously managed an autistic unit within another school that the symptoms presenting sounded very much like HFA. We all agreed a diagnosis at this stage would be unhelpful and our son would be mortified with such a label. We have found teaching staff largely very unhelpful and unsympathetic and we get the impression they think our son is simply a pain in the backside. In the UK as I'm sure you're aware without formal diagnosis, there is no extra funding or support available.
At this point, enough is enough hence the purchase of your book and meeting later this week. We somehow have to get college to understand and support but this will be very difficult as why should they? We were going to therefore, offer to be our son's mentors - in the background of course, but is there anything you can think of to help us get the message through this week etc etc
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I found your name on the internet when researching Apserger’s children who drop out of college. My son does not believe anything is wrong with him or that he should be labeled with “Aspergers.”
He’s been attending college for the last 2 years. I thought he was adjusting pretty well. I know he had some problems but he seemed to be able to take care of them until this semester – his junior year. He wants to drop out of college. He has been experiencing physical symptoms – achiness, can’t sleep or eat (he lost 30 pounds, can’t focus or concentrate on anything, extreme sweating, very cold all the time. He had great grades the first 2 years but is now barely passing. He was on several different medications – the doctors were trying different ones to help him with his depression (although my son says he was never depressed) and his outbursts – he was on zoloft, risperdal, geodon, abilify, to name a few. He says he is slowly dying. He feels that this medication that he took in the past damaged his hypothalamus. Could this be possible? I don’t know what to do. He was crying on the phone and begging for help. He is afraid to come home because he feels that he will die because his home state is contaminated. This was his way of experiencing OCD – it was more of an aura than a specific germ thing. I can’t just let him drop out and then put him up in an apartment somewhere. Does your book address anything like this? In some ways he sounds so intelligent and then in other ways, he is so dependent still. He doesn’t have a driver’s license and he is 21.
Please help.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In a nut shell I am now a single parent of a 13 year old girl. her older sister now 22. The girls father past away from a sudden heart attack 1.5 years ago. My older daughter and I have had problems getting along for a long time. I divorced their father over 10 years ago and she blames me for everything. She is a negative influence on her younger sister who is out of control. Last night was the final straw. She won't go to therapy, and last night she touted me with wanting to go live with her step mother laughed at me while she told me to hit her. Which of course I did not do. I told her I was taking her phone as punishment for 24 hours and that's when it got crazy. She pushed me into the wall then the window and she left bruises on my arm but I showed restraint and I never hit her. I got the phone and gave it back today but was it worth it? She says she hates me, refuses to do any chores, treats me disrespectfully.
My older daughter told me I am selfish, wants nothing to do with me because I told her I hated her. I don't recall ever saying those words exactly but when it got too much I am sure I told her to go live with their father. What I do recall is my older daughter spitting in my face in front of her friend Emily. I have tried to make peace with my older one but is content to tell me that if I don't change I will be alone not invited to weddings grandchildren. I have to tell you her perception of reality is jaded but it feels like fighting a loosing battle. Both my children focus on the one thing I did wrong, not the things I have done right. They both were spoiled, more by their father as he had the means.
My younger one is out of control and I feel I have all the responsibility of children and none of the joy. I am at my wits end. I deserve to be happy weather my children want me to or not. I just don't know what to do. Let me know if you think you can help.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hi Mark, I've read your newsletter with interest and bought a few of your guides. My son is 14 and when he was 2 we were told he had moderate to severe autism. In kindergarten, we were told he had Aspberger's. But today, he has very few remaining issues. (He got an incredible amount of ABA therapy, music, pt, OT therapy before kindergarten and we tried numerous biomedical interventions which I felt made a difference.)
However, he's never stimmed or had odd repetitive behaviors. (His lining up trucks and trains as a child put him in that repetitive behavior category by the evaluating psychologist.) He doesn't have narrow fields of interest. He just has a bit of social misunderstanding in certain situations and poor organizational skills. He has a very hard time focusing in class, but did not meet criteria for ADHD when evaluated. His IQ is average. However, he has no motivation to do well in school. He's not black-and-white literal, but does tend toward that way of looking at the world. I think most people would never guess he had this diagnosis. He has friends, he's friendly, and empathetic. The only items on his 504 plan are extra time for tests over 30 minutes, and moving to a separate location for tests over 30 minutes. I'm wondering if his initial diagnosis was too aggressive (perhaps in order to secure ABA therapy, which brought in more state funding reimbursement for the therapy group) or perhaps he outgrew it, or our treatments were successful.
So my question, which might be helpful for other newsletter subscribers, is whether to have him reevaluated at this age. What are the pros and cons of having a child evaluated again years after the initial diagnosis? Or is it dumb to "give up" a diagnosis so many people fight to get in order to secure help for their kids? (I read your article today on NVLD, but that doesn't totally sound like him either.) Thanks so much for any feedback you can provide.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hi Mark,
Thank you for your newsletter!
My interest is because I have become very concerned about my 11 year old grandson and feel he may have Asperger’s. He seems to fit the pattern – very bright, intelligent, interested in many things beyond his years, advanced language skills … but no social sense or eye contact, talks on and on in detail about what interests him with no clue that the listener has lost interest. He is home-schooled but really ‘freaks out’ when given work to do (guess that’s considered a meltdown), he cries and says he can’t do it, and he argues incessantly. The one thing that doesn’t fit from what I read is that he is very loving and compassionate and cares about people especially if they are hurting for some reason, however his mom says he was not always compassionate, e.g. when she hurt herself. He is loving to the point where he pops out with “I love you Gran” at the oddest times.
I have read some material on the Internet but just starting on this journey. I was not planning on mentioning my suspicion to my daughter yet, until I was a bit more convinced myself. Then a few days ago she told me that somebody had suggested to her that George might have AS so I did mention it then. She is not willing to accept it although I think she will when she has time to absorb it. Her husband is totally unwilling to entertain such a thought – there’s nothing wrong with George!
I look forward to being ‘educated’ on this syndrome and being able to help in some way. I was very interested in your online coaching and hope my daughter will soon be willing to subscribe to that to learn more.
Just one question about genetics – his mom’s female cousin’s son (both share the same grandparents on moms’ side) who is now around age 20, is diagnosed with Asperger’s. Any comment on that?
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My son is in his 3rd year of college at a small Christian college 6 hours from home. He has Aspergers and high functioning autism. He has done remarkably well through the years thanks to the wonderful support we have received through the years at school. He is very gifted artistically and we were thrilled to locate a Christian college with a great art department. We understand that he gets fixated on certain subjects and can’t seem to move on. We has developed an addiction to pornography. We have tried to talk with him and help him by putting a filter on his computer. He understands it is a tool to help him. Complicating this matter is that it is male pornography that he is looking at. When we first discovered the problem, we assumed that he was looking at men since it would be “wrong” to look at naked women. He has never had close friends, but has always seemed OK with that. People like him and talk to him, but when it comes to spending quality time with him, they are not so interested. He plays on a Frisbee team and loves it. These guys have always included him. They practice 3 times a week and go to tournaments on the weekends. He isn’t a very good player and they don’t put him in to play during the games, but he says he likes to go along and keep score. His grades are always a struggle for him, but he has been hanging in there. I was monitoring his computer usage and found a website that he has been frequenting. He actually put his name and birthdate on the website and told where he was going to school! He said he was attracted to men and was very lonely. My husband and I have tried to look at this rationally to try to figure out how to help him. He has always longed for male friends and I think he is just fixated on finding a male friend. He mentioned the last time he was home that he was getting pretty lonely and would like to find a girlfriend to date, but didn’t know how. We encouraged him to be friendly and try to join in a group of guys and girls to socialize and not just start out trying to find someone to date. We explained that you usually try to be friends and talk a bit before dating someone. I don’t know what else to do! He’s not here where we can talk to him regularly and he doesn’t call home much. He always seems fine when we talk to him, but I know he’s lonely. He escapes with his computer. He talked with a counselor at the college last year and didn’t do well talking to him in person. He had a meltdown last year on his birthday and sent me an email confessing his feelings. I told him I was proud of him for being so honest and encouraged him to send it to the counselor. He did and so they decided to correspond through emails. Apparently, that didn’t happen.
I am at a loss at what to do. We have told him the dangers and pornography and that it is the new drug and in his head, I think he understands, but when he’s down and lonely, he must think he has no where else to turn. He thinks all this is a secret from us, and I am unsure how much to confront him with. I am open to any suggestions.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hello Mark, I've discovered you wonderful on-line resources for those with High Functioning Autism and Aspergers Syndrome. I am amazed and grateful for what you do in your profession of Psychology and how you help those seeking assistance and enlightenment. My son Sam has Aspergers (OCD, ADD and anxiety) I only wish I had seen your posts much sooner! Though my experience is only from my family and self study, my passion is helping others going through similar situations. 4 years ago my sons and I embarked on producing a documentary on Aspergers. I just received my 501c3 status! I wanted to reach out to you for a couple of reasons. One, to see if you would allow me to post your blogs (on a weekly basis) on aspergers101. If you visit the site you will see that I have regular bloggers (experts in their fields of study) and offer a bio and links with every blog post. I see you have many positive venues and we could list and link with each one if you would like. Also we could skype interview you on our Top of the Spectrum News segment on various topics. Whether you write new content or use the library of content you already have....you're message is so strong and so very needed. I would be proud and honored to share your valuable info if you are interested! Second reason I wanted to write was to say thank you! I will share your resource with my friends as it's needed and is quality. (which is why i started my site in the first place...wanting a site for those seeking info but not sure where to turn) My son Sam and I have been asked to speak at the 23rd Annual Texas Autism Conference this week and I'll share you site as a great resource! Thank you.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I am struggling with my 9-year-old son, who is in the third grade. I have read Ross Green's "The Explosive Child" and identify my son as someone with very low frustration tolerance. When things don't go his way, he screams and runs away. We homeschool, and unfortunately he seems to have some delays (like fine motor difficulties that make it challenging for him to do writing assignments) that frequently trigger defiant and/or meltdown behavior during our school time. He also annoys others on purpose, argues and whines constantly, and doesn't respond well to parenting strategies which my two older kids do respond to. I am frequently at wits' end about how to handle his behavior and the chaos it causes in our family. I do feel like I am at a point of frustration.
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Dear Professor Hutten,
Very recently a psychiatrist who I've been seeing for several years unofficially diagnosed my husband of 22 years with potentially having Aspergers Syndrome. To my astonishment all but a very few of the character traits described my husband's behavior and what I've been experiencing over, and over, and over again.
With that said, for 15 of my 22 year marriage, I slowly, but steadily transformed from a confident, independent, person who loved and loved to laugh to being emotionally confused, over whelmed with parental/household responsibilities, depressed/anxious, unable to work, and isolated from family and friends who saw a totally different person in my husband than the one I experienced behind closed doors. I was the one who was unstable and only I, was the problem. To put it mildly, my spirit was broken. I was a shell of the women I once was. For 15 years my husband was able to have me committed to various mental institutions against my will until finally my psychiatrist, as if for the first time, heard my voice and the cycle of being institutionalized stopped for by that time I had become much more resilient, less emotional, and could explain more calmly what I was experiencing within my relationship with my husband. I'm slowly, very slowly, taking back my spirit.
Question: Professor, is my experience of being traumatized and met with unbelief by others, even by the Behavioral Health profession, "average" for the neurotypical spouse...the wife in my case? I'm still reading and considering whether to purchase your book. I'm also meeting, without my husband, with a therapist familiar with Aspergers.
I look forward to your response and am grateful that I discovered the professional guidance you may be able to provide me along my journey towards recovery....with or without my spouse but definitely with my restored mental, physical and spiritual health.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I guess my question is how do I help my son to realize that just because he is lonely and longs for male companionship doesn’t mean he is gay. He has seen porn images that makes it look like this is a way men “bond” and relate to each other. We told him that these pictures are not a true picture of life and how sad it is that these men have to do this for a living. He lives in an all male dorm and I don’t think he truly knows how to relate to females. Most of the females in his life are tutors or motherly types. How can we encourage him without seeming judgemental?
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My 16 year old strangled me, threw me to the floor and continued to try and get his hands around my neck, from the living room all the way out to the kitchen door where I was finally able to grab my phone, get outside and call the police. He has 2 charges, is not living with me right now. Court date in a month. That's what I get for setting rules.
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Hello, Mark.
I just came across through a friend’s post on Twitter. Thank you for being such a help, especially to those with high functioning autism. Our 23-year-old son has aspergers and is stuck as a Burger King lobby attendant. I was happy to run across your recently posted video today giving encouragement for those on the spectrum.
I couldn’t find your name as an author on my Swiss Valley Christian Bookstore. Please, Mark. I urge you to add your book(s) to DeeperCalling Media's database for Christian books so it can be seen by customers throughout our chain of stores. Your publisher should be able to do that for you. I would love to see your book(s) listed so I could embellish the listing and give it a push in the search engines through the access I have as admin to adding keywords to listed books.
Thanks again for your words of encouragement.
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Dear Mr. Hutton;
Thank you so very much for your services and valuable information. I have a 28 yr old daughter that has Aspergers and need advice please. My daughter refuses to or can not see that she has Aspergers so it has been near impossible to get her help. If I even watch a show or talk to someone including Doctors about her, she has a melt down and accuses me of trying to label her. It would be so much easier to help her if I can get her to see she has a problem in certain areas and will let me or anyone help her. Have you seen this behavior before and what do you suggest?
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Our son is 16 and was going to stay on into 6th form at his school, however he didn't get the grades he needed and had a poor academic and attitudinal reputation. We were able to find a college course at the last minute which he has started to attend, but unfortunately the issues have followed and he's already on his first disciplinary.
To cut a long story short, my husband and I are to visit the college and subject lead later this week, but could really do with some back up advice. You see we have no formal diagnosis - we always thought our son quirky in some ways, however as he has gone through teen developmental stages, his difficulties have worsened and put together, have informed us of a bigger picture. the headteacher at school commented as he had previously managed an autistic unit within another school that the symptoms presenting sounded very much like HFA. We all agreed a diagnosis at this stage would be unhelpful and our son would be mortified with such a label. We have found teaching staff largely very unhelpful and unsympathetic and we get the impression they think our son is simply a pain in the backside. In the UK as I'm sure you're aware without formal diagnosis, there is no extra funding or support available.
At this point, enough is enough hence the purchase of your book and meeting later this week. We somehow have to get college to understand and support but this will be very difficult as why should they? We were going to therefore, offer to be our son's mentors - in the background of course, but is there anything you can think of to help us get the message through this week etc etc
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I found your name on the internet when researching Apserger’s children who drop out of college. My son does not believe anything is wrong with him or that he should be labeled with “Aspergers.”
He’s been attending college for the last 2 years. I thought he was adjusting pretty well. I know he had some problems but he seemed to be able to take care of them until this semester – his junior year. He wants to drop out of college. He has been experiencing physical symptoms – achiness, can’t sleep or eat (he lost 30 pounds, can’t focus or concentrate on anything, extreme sweating, very cold all the time. He had great grades the first 2 years but is now barely passing. He was on several different medications – the doctors were trying different ones to help him with his depression (although my son says he was never depressed) and his outbursts – he was on zoloft, risperdal, geodon, abilify, to name a few. He says he is slowly dying. He feels that this medication that he took in the past damaged his hypothalamus. Could this be possible? I don’t know what to do. He was crying on the phone and begging for help. He is afraid to come home because he feels that he will die because his home state is contaminated. This was his way of experiencing OCD – it was more of an aura than a specific germ thing. I can’t just let him drop out and then put him up in an apartment somewhere. Does your book address anything like this? In some ways he sounds so intelligent and then in other ways, he is so dependent still. He doesn’t have a driver’s license and he is 21.
Please help.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In a nut shell I am now a single parent of a 13 year old girl. her older sister now 22. The girls father past away from a sudden heart attack 1.5 years ago. My older daughter and I have had problems getting along for a long time. I divorced their father over 10 years ago and she blames me for everything. She is a negative influence on her younger sister who is out of control. Last night was the final straw. She won't go to therapy, and last night she touted me with wanting to go live with her step mother laughed at me while she told me to hit her. Which of course I did not do. I told her I was taking her phone as punishment for 24 hours and that's when it got crazy. She pushed me into the wall then the window and she left bruises on my arm but I showed restraint and I never hit her. I got the phone and gave it back today but was it worth it? She says she hates me, refuses to do any chores, treats me disrespectfully.
My older daughter told me I am selfish, wants nothing to do with me because I told her I hated her. I don't recall ever saying those words exactly but when it got too much I am sure I told her to go live with their father. What I do recall is my older daughter spitting in my face in front of her friend Emily. I have tried to make peace with my older one but is content to tell me that if I don't change I will be alone not invited to weddings grandchildren. I have to tell you her perception of reality is jaded but it feels like fighting a loosing battle. Both my children focus on the one thing I did wrong, not the things I have done right. They both were spoiled, more by their father as he had the means.
My younger one is out of control and I feel I have all the responsibility of children and none of the joy. I am at my wits end. I deserve to be happy weather my children want me to or not. I just don't know what to do. Let me know if you think you can help.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hi Mark, I've read your newsletter with interest and bought a few of your guides. My son is 14 and when he was 2 we were told he had moderate to severe autism. In kindergarten, we were told he had Aspberger's. But today, he has very few remaining issues. (He got an incredible amount of ABA therapy, music, pt, OT therapy before kindergarten and we tried numerous biomedical interventions which I felt made a difference.)
However, he's never stimmed or had odd repetitive behaviors. (His lining up trucks and trains as a child put him in that repetitive behavior category by the evaluating psychologist.) He doesn't have narrow fields of interest. He just has a bit of social misunderstanding in certain situations and poor organizational skills. He has a very hard time focusing in class, but did not meet criteria for ADHD when evaluated. His IQ is average. However, he has no motivation to do well in school. He's not black-and-white literal, but does tend toward that way of looking at the world. I think most people would never guess he had this diagnosis. He has friends, he's friendly, and empathetic. The only items on his 504 plan are extra time for tests over 30 minutes, and moving to a separate location for tests over 30 minutes. I'm wondering if his initial diagnosis was too aggressive (perhaps in order to secure ABA therapy, which brought in more state funding reimbursement for the therapy group) or perhaps he outgrew it, or our treatments were successful.
So my question, which might be helpful for other newsletter subscribers, is whether to have him reevaluated at this age. What are the pros and cons of having a child evaluated again years after the initial diagnosis? Or is it dumb to "give up" a diagnosis so many people fight to get in order to secure help for their kids? (I read your article today on NVLD, but that doesn't totally sound like him either.) Thanks so much for any feedback you can provide.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hi Mark,
Thank you for your newsletter!
My interest is because I have become very concerned about my 11 year old grandson and feel he may have Asperger’s. He seems to fit the pattern – very bright, intelligent, interested in many things beyond his years, advanced language skills … but no social sense or eye contact, talks on and on in detail about what interests him with no clue that the listener has lost interest. He is home-schooled but really ‘freaks out’ when given work to do (guess that’s considered a meltdown), he cries and says he can’t do it, and he argues incessantly. The one thing that doesn’t fit from what I read is that he is very loving and compassionate and cares about people especially if they are hurting for some reason, however his mom says he was not always compassionate, e.g. when she hurt herself. He is loving to the point where he pops out with “I love you Gran” at the oddest times.
I have read some material on the Internet but just starting on this journey. I was not planning on mentioning my suspicion to my daughter yet, until I was a bit more convinced myself. Then a few days ago she told me that somebody had suggested to her that George might have AS so I did mention it then. She is not willing to accept it although I think she will when she has time to absorb it. Her husband is totally unwilling to entertain such a thought – there’s nothing wrong with George!
I look forward to being ‘educated’ on this syndrome and being able to help in some way. I was very interested in your online coaching and hope my daughter will soon be willing to subscribe to that to learn more.
Just one question about genetics – his mom’s female cousin’s son (both share the same grandparents on moms’ side) who is now around age 20, is diagnosed with Asperger’s. Any comment on that?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My son is in his 3rd year of college at a small Christian college 6 hours from home. He has Aspergers and high functioning autism. He has done remarkably well through the years thanks to the wonderful support we have received through the years at school. He is very gifted artistically and we were thrilled to locate a Christian college with a great art department. We understand that he gets fixated on certain subjects and can’t seem to move on. We has developed an addiction to pornography. We have tried to talk with him and help him by putting a filter on his computer. He understands it is a tool to help him. Complicating this matter is that it is male pornography that he is looking at. When we first discovered the problem, we assumed that he was looking at men since it would be “wrong” to look at naked women. He has never had close friends, but has always seemed OK with that. People like him and talk to him, but when it comes to spending quality time with him, they are not so interested. He plays on a Frisbee team and loves it. These guys have always included him. They practice 3 times a week and go to tournaments on the weekends. He isn’t a very good player and they don’t put him in to play during the games, but he says he likes to go along and keep score. His grades are always a struggle for him, but he has been hanging in there. I was monitoring his computer usage and found a website that he has been frequenting. He actually put his name and birthdate on the website and told where he was going to school! He said he was attracted to men and was very lonely. My husband and I have tried to look at this rationally to try to figure out how to help him. He has always longed for male friends and I think he is just fixated on finding a male friend. He mentioned the last time he was home that he was getting pretty lonely and would like to find a girlfriend to date, but didn’t know how. We encouraged him to be friendly and try to join in a group of guys and girls to socialize and not just start out trying to find someone to date. We explained that you usually try to be friends and talk a bit before dating someone. I don’t know what else to do! He’s not here where we can talk to him regularly and he doesn’t call home much. He always seems fine when we talk to him, but I know he’s lonely. He escapes with his computer. He talked with a counselor at the college last year and didn’t do well talking to him in person. He had a meltdown last year on his birthday and sent me an email confessing his feelings. I told him I was proud of him for being so honest and encouraged him to send it to the counselor. He did and so they decided to correspond through emails. Apparently, that didn’t happen.
I am at a loss at what to do. We have told him the dangers and pornography and that it is the new drug and in his head, I think he understands, but when he’s down and lonely, he must think he has no where else to turn. He thinks all this is a secret from us, and I am unsure how much to confront him with. I am open to any suggestions.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hello Mark, I've discovered you wonderful on-line resources for those with High Functioning Autism and Aspergers Syndrome. I am amazed and grateful for what you do in your profession of Psychology and how you help those seeking assistance and enlightenment. My son Sam has Aspergers (OCD, ADD and anxiety) I only wish I had seen your posts much sooner! Though my experience is only from my family and self study, my passion is helping others going through similar situations. 4 years ago my sons and I embarked on producing a documentary on Aspergers. I just received my 501c3 status! I wanted to reach out to you for a couple of reasons. One, to see if you would allow me to post your blogs (on a weekly basis) on aspergers101. If you visit the site you will see that I have regular bloggers (experts in their fields of study) and offer a bio and links with every blog post. I see you have many positive venues and we could list and link with each one if you would like. Also we could skype interview you on our Top of the Spectrum News segment on various topics. Whether you write new content or use the library of content you already have....you're message is so strong and so very needed. I would be proud and honored to share your valuable info if you are interested! Second reason I wanted to write was to say thank you! I will share your resource with my friends as it's needed and is quality. (which is why i started my site in the first place...wanting a site for those seeking info but not sure where to turn) My son Sam and I have been asked to speak at the 23rd Annual Texas Autism Conference this week and I'll share you site as a great resource! Thank you.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I am struggling with my 9-year-old son, who is in the third grade. I have read Ross Green's "The Explosive Child" and identify my son as someone with very low frustration tolerance. When things don't go his way, he screams and runs away. We homeschool, and unfortunately he seems to have some delays (like fine motor difficulties that make it challenging for him to do writing assignments) that frequently trigger defiant and/or meltdown behavior during our school time. He also annoys others on purpose, argues and whines constantly, and doesn't respond well to parenting strategies which my two older kids do respond to. I am frequently at wits' end about how to handle his behavior and the chaos it causes in our family. I do feel like I am at a point of frustration.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Professor Hutten,
Very recently a psychiatrist who I've been seeing for several years unofficially diagnosed my husband of 22 years with potentially having Aspergers Syndrome. To my astonishment all but a very few of the character traits described my husband's behavior and what I've been experiencing over, and over, and over again.
With that said, for 15 of my 22 year marriage, I slowly, but steadily transformed from a confident, independent, person who loved and loved to laugh to being emotionally confused, over whelmed with parental/household responsibilities, depressed/anxious, unable to work, and isolated from family and friends who saw a totally different person in my husband than the one I experienced behind closed doors. I was the one who was unstable and only I, was the problem. To put it mildly, my spirit was broken. I was a shell of the women I once was. For 15 years my husband was able to have me committed to various mental institutions against my will until finally my psychiatrist, as if for the first time, heard my voice and the cycle of being institutionalized stopped for by that time I had become much more resilient, less emotional, and could explain more calmly what I was experiencing within my relationship with my husband. I'm slowly, very slowly, taking back my spirit.
Question: Professor, is my experience of being traumatized and met with unbelief by others, even by the Behavioral Health profession, "average" for the neurotypical spouse...the wife in my case? I'm still reading and considering whether to purchase your book. I'm also meeting, without my husband, with a therapist familiar with Aspergers.
I look forward to your response and am grateful that I discovered the professional guidance you may be able to provide me along my journey towards recovery....with or without my spouse but definitely with my restored mental, physical and spiritual health.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I guess my question is how do I help my son to realize that just because he is lonely and longs for male companionship doesn’t mean he is gay. He has seen porn images that makes it look like this is a way men “bond” and relate to each other. We told him that these pictures are not a true picture of life and how sad it is that these men have to do this for a living. He lives in an all male dorm and I don’t think he truly knows how to relate to females. Most of the females in his life are tutors or motherly types. How can we encourage him without seeming judgemental?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My 16 year old strangled me, threw me to the floor and continued to try and get his hands around my neck, from the living room all the way out to the kitchen door where I was finally able to grab my phone, get outside and call the police. He has 2 charges, is not living with me right now. Court date in a month. That's what I get for setting rules.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hello, Mark.
I just came across through a friend’s post on Twitter. Thank you for being such a help, especially to those with high functioning autism. Our 23-year-old son has aspergers and is stuck as a Burger King lobby attendant. I was happy to run across your recently posted video today giving encouragement for those on the spectrum.
I couldn’t find your name as an author on my Swiss Valley Christian Bookstore. Please, Mark. I urge you to add your book(s) to DeeperCalling Media's database for Christian books so it can be seen by customers throughout our chain of stores. Your publisher should be able to do that for you. I would love to see your book(s) listed so I could embellish the listing and give it a push in the search engines through the access I have as admin to adding keywords to listed books.
Thanks again for your words of encouragement.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Mr. Hutton;
Thank you so very much for your services and valuable information. I have a 28 yr old daughter that has Aspergers and need advice please. My daughter refuses to or can not see that she has Aspergers so it has been near impossible to get her help. If I even watch a show or talk to someone including Doctors about her, she has a melt down and accuses me of trying to label her. It would be so much easier to help her if I can get her to see she has a problem in certain areas and will let me or anyone help her. Have you seen this behavior before and what do you suggest?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hi Mark,
My son is 16 years old and socially
inept. I have read your article and tried many social groups for him
and with him and he just refuses to cooperate or engage with anyone. At
present he attends high school as a junior but right after school comes
home and stays in his room. Teachers tell me he has a lot of friends
in the classroom but nothing outside of school. How do I help this
extremely stubborn child with social skills. He has no emotion
whatsoever for anyone, which is typical, but it has now filtered down to
me and I was always the person he felt most comfortable with. Please
guide me in a direction that will help Peter come out of his room and
live a semi happy and meaningful life. Thanks so much.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I
am a pediatrician in MI and follow several kids with Autism and HFA. I
have a family with a recent death of a significant grandparent and
trying to deal with grief issues. Do you have any resources or
suggestions that might help?
Thanks,
Sandra Wiederhold MD
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hello Mark,
I was very pleased to find your site today, in particular
the article about "dealing with destructive behaviour in children with
aspergers or HFA". My son was diagnosed early last year as having ASD
(autism spectrum disorder); I identified many food sensitivities in him
when he was a toddler, most of which are linked to making his ASD
symptoms far more severe.
When I am able to keep his diet clean, his behaviour is far
more stable, and his symptoms minimal. However, even a small amount of
anything he reacts to can cause major problems with his behaviour, his
cognitive abilities, and mental and physical health.
He is 10 years old, and so wanting to be like his peers,
and eat the foods they eat. Because of his severe reactions, I don't
feel like I'm doing him any favours by allowing him to eat things that
make him sick. We have spent many hours at the hospital each year, with
fevers, headaches, seizures, hallucinations, abdominal/intestinal pain,
and he also suffers eczema, and explosive behaviours which have lead to
injuries (his and mine), and destroyed property.
I have been seeing the therapist who diagnosed his ASD,
regarding his behaviour, and how to teach him the things he needs to
know to grow to be a functional adult. She insists that I should be more
lenient with his diet, even to the point of including many foods he
reacts to, and having a free choice day, where he eats whatever he
likes, at least once every month. She has suggested medications to mask
the more severe physical symptoms, and punishment and other behaviour
modification techniques to deal with that side of things.
I feel that is the equivalent of feeding peanuts to someone
with anaphylaxis, and relying on the epipen to keep them alive. Or
flashing a strobe light at someone with epilepsy, then slapping them if
they have a seizure. There has to be a better way!
What do you suggest in this kind of situation, where there
are known sensitivities, and a strong desire to conform to what peers
are eating?
I thank you in advance for any advice you are able to offer, and look forward to reading more of your site.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We purchased your program & are excited to begin learning how to
better handle our defiant, EXTREMELY stubborn, 14 year old son with
Aspergers. He has such a good heart, but boy, he sure knows how to push
our buttons! This is sort-of a last ditch effort for us, sadly. We are
nearly at our wits end with his lies, lack of respect, & general
abuse of the 'system' (home, school, etc). So, we're crossing our
fingers that your recommendations will work for him like they have for
so many others! Thanks for all of your efforts, for helping us &
other people struggling just like us...
We'll let you know!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Good morning.
I found your website while searching for help for my nephew who has been
placed in my home by DHS. He is 15 years old and was only diagnosed as
being on the spectrum within the last month since being placed in my
home.
He is the son of my brother who was killed in an accident in December of
2007. By the spring of 2008, his mother moved a man into her home that
was abusive to him. I have him in PTSD therapy and am working closely
with the therapist, the school, caseworkers and psychiatrists to handle
the major problems. However, I need help dealing with the daily
issues. We have a lot of problems with common courtesy issues - i.e.
throwing garbage on the floor, eating like he’s the only one at the
table. I am working with his caseworker to get him into a residential
home as I believe he needs more therapy and supervision than I can
provide. However, the goal would be to have him move back here when he
has completed their program. Until the ideal situation is found for
him, he will continue to live with me and we need to find a way for him
to cope with living with a family. With the abuse issue, would this be
something that would help?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hi Mark
Hope your well and I was hoping if you could help me.
My
name is Hafifa Habib and I am Masters student at the University of
Derby, studying psychology. I am currently undertaking my research
project and have chosen the area Asperger's syndrome. My study involves
to investigation the correlational link between Asperger's syndrome in
young children and sleeping difficulties they may face. I hope to
recruit mothers, parent or guardians of AS children to fill in a
questionnaire and one other survey that still needs to be confirmed as
my study has not been approved just yet by the ethical approval
department at my university as I am currently working on the project for
the deadline date.
Therefore I was wondering because you hold
such a great Parenting group blog, would I be able to provide a link to
my research methods(questionnaires) where you can support me in
recruiting participants through your blog. The link would be directly to
the questionnaire where parents could fill in if they wished. I believe
you will need all the ethical form and information regarding the study
which you will also receive in relation to the project.
Could
you please let me know and this would be a great opportunity to recruit
participants for my study. Please do not hesitate in asking questions.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hi there ,
We are pretty new to the Autism Spectrum world. Our son was diagnosed in Feb this past year- and we are still trying to figure out how to help him. We have no idea if he needs in home therapy, or a couple hours a week, etc. He is 7 yo and high functioning. He is still having a hard time adjusting to a little sister - who is 2 years old. Any help you could give us would be awesome. We went thru a autism consultant group for an in home therapist and it was a disaster.
Thanks !
We are pretty new to the Autism Spectrum world. Our son was diagnosed in Feb this past year- and we are still trying to figure out how to help him. We have no idea if he needs in home therapy, or a couple hours a week, etc. He is 7 yo and high functioning. He is still having a hard time adjusting to a little sister - who is 2 years old. Any help you could give us would be awesome. We went thru a autism consultant group for an in home therapist and it was a disaster.
Thanks !
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mark.
We are
really trying to work the system but we have a teen who is addicted to
video games and has admitted that it is the only place he feels good and
safe. We are in therapy to try and deal with all of the emotional
aspects of his anxiety around going to school (btw, he currently is not
going to school and now have him enrolled in an alternative school where
there are less pressures than a traditional school system, but he is
not going to this school either). We have created a totally dependent
teen who feels entitled to everything. If we go cold turkey on the
video games we are going to slip into deeper and deeper resentment where
we have finally made some progress where he admits that he is having
difficultly coping with the outside world.
Would love to hear your thoughts around this issue (video games).
Thanks and be assured that when we work the plan we see results.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hi Mark,
I share the pain of those people who write to you in total desperation.
I accept that when kids explode into tantrums and meltdowns, there is little you can do to calm it.
But I have a wife of 36, a girl of 13 and a boy of 11, and all have Aspergers, so of course I have tried EVERYTHING.
Aspergers is very different in boys and girls, and my wife, but there is a common theme that seems to get insufficient mention:
They are all very distressed by being with PEOPLE
My BOY: He was FROZEN and apparently terrified at school for years. I took him out of school permanently at 9, and should have done it at 6. I do home-schooling. We just love doing that. I do just 40 minutes a day, with one-to-one that is enough. I also have an enthusiastic untrained girl of 24 to do 15 hours a week, which is also brilliant. You can use a High School gorl of 16 to 18 for that: great little job for her and a blessing for everybody.
My GIRL: Always locked in her room, never spoke to anybody, never had a friend, very unhappy. Patience and Love go a long way, but she was still distressed. I tried sertraline 25 mg a day, and the difference is absolutely dramatic. She was cheerful, chatty, happy, relaxed and full of energy within 10 days.
My WIFE: Appeared to hate me for a hundred reasons that were all ridiculous, a mixture of fantasies and lies. Never ever spoke to the kids, or played, or came on holidays or trips. Never fed them. So she moved out, and is now very happy, just a few short visits each week.
So all three seem to be very uncomfortable with PEOPLE near them.
It seems better to ACCEPT that, but slowly work on it, bringing in gentle people now and then, to nurture friendship skills.
Who to bring in?
Young better than old, friend better than stranger, 1 or 2 better than 3. Girls better than boys. Outside easier than inside.
Despite the wide range of aspects of Aspergers, after ten years of suffering with all 3, I have the impression that there is NOTHING ELSE in Aspergers except fear of people!
Watching Forrest Gump is also a good move!
Dr Andy Gudgeon in Philippines
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hi Mark,
I am an autistic adult with an autistic child. I am also a full-time college student, business owner, and an autism advocate and activist. I am constantly asked for recommendations from allistic parents who are struggling to understand their autistic child. I co-facilitate two Autism groups and am involved with numerous others.
From what I have reviewed so far on your website, I am really impressed by your approach and understanding of autism and autistic people. I would really like to review your material further. I have reviewed Love & Logic, Conscious Parenting, and Total Transformation - not really impressed with any of them. Although, all three had some good points.
Would you be willing to allow me to review your program for free for a few days? (I am currently living on student loans and ten hours of paid work a week.) I would be happy to provide you with a detailed review from an Autist's perspective. I will not share my review with anyone but you. If your program is as awesome as it seems, I'd love to promote it within the Autism community here in North Carolina as well as online. I am so happy to see that it is actually affordable for most families!
I completely understand if you can't allow me access to it for a few days, I will just save up for a while and then pay the fee. (no hard feelings at all!)
Thank you for your time!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Mr Hutten
I was reading your page and I saw an article stating that 50% of kids with Aspergers or HFA are known to have delayed speech. I have always read that Aspergers kids never have speech delay. My son Luca, just turned 4 and I have always believed he has Aspergers not HFA. I live in the UK and all the professionals will tell me is that he has Autism nothing else. They have said that "they do not like to say which end of the spectrum a child is in" Which I find completely distressing.
My son fully understands instructions and does a lot of pointing but is severely speech delayed. He is a big smiler but only makes fleeting eye contact, he loves puzzles and enjoys choosing short kids videos online using a touch screen computer. Need some advice please.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hello--I came across your website, and wanted to know if you offer help with educational placement ideas. Our daughter has just been diagnosed with high functioning autism, at age 16, and has slipped through the cracks all her life. She recently attended a wilderness therapy program, and is now in a therapeutic boarding school, but we are wanting to bring her home. Would you be able to consult with us on educational alternatives to therapeutic boarding school/how to live with an autistic teen in the home who has shut down/is defiant/anxious/withdrawn? Thanks.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What
is your availability for skype counseling? I am interested in this if
you have time. I am a 53 year old male who is married with 2 children
Ben 20 and Alexis 14. My wife and I are attending marriage counseling
and at about the 3rd session my therapist said he thought I
likely have Aspergers. I never looked into this as a possibility. I
have been diagnosed in the past with depression, anxiety and most
recently ADD. ADD seemed like a good possibility since I had many of
the symptoms. I tried just about every variation of ADD drug and almost
every anti depressant you can think of and none of them did anything
positive. My wife is threatening to leave me which is what brought on
the marriage counseling and when the guy brought up Aspergers and after I
looked into it (I read your “Living With An Aspergers Partner”
publication among other stuff) I am starting to think this is the
missing link. I have looked around to see if there was someone who
could give me an official diagnosis and I found a guy in Buffalo NY who
can see me at the end of January. In the mean time I would like to
start working with a therapist who understands Aspergers and if you
could do that I think that would be a great help for me. If you have
availability maybe we could discuss this sometime? Thanks very much.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear mr huttten,
allow me to introduce myself & why I am emailing you . I am Mrs Greta Josso born 1924
& I have a 25 year old grandson who most possibly has S.C.D. His parents are aware that he is different , but don`t want to label him, consequently he has never had help.
I love this boy & am so sorry that he is missing out on so much that I am prepared to go to the ends of the earth to find a way to help him. In this case to America.
Please mr. Hutten.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hi Mark, I found your website last night during a search trying to figure out what to do with my son. He has been getting into trouble for the last six months and just two weeks ago we found out he is smoking marijuana. What's worse, he's getting the marijuana from the dad of a friend of his. I also suspect this dad is giving or selling it to other friends too.
I'm not sure why I'm writing other than I got your reply to my site registration. I assume you do telephonic consultations. Right now my husband and I are contemplating our actions with regard to my son's situation none of them are good, but this is very scary.
I wonder if you might have experience with something like this . . . my son is turning into someone I don't even know anymore, and we need to get it turned around.
Thanks.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Mr. Hutten,
Hi Mark,
I came across your ebook online and am looking for some more information...
We
are living in Tokyo and my high functioning son just turned 13. He is
in an American school and doing well academically. Socially he
struggles, although he continues to make steady progress in this area.
Unfortunately, there are no English speaking specialists in Tokyo that
work on theory of mind and social reciprocity specifically.
I
am a school psychologist and am looking for a specific program to
utilize to help him develop these skills. After reading the reader
reviews, I am a bit concerned that your techniques may be geared to
younger children. (?)
Also,
I am looking for some information about how to present his diagnosis to
him...he knows he has attention difficulties and social relationships
are hard for him. He has communicated feeling different from his peers.
We have never used the term autism or Aspergers, but are now wondering
if it could be helpful for him.
Would appreciate any feedback you may have!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hi Mark,
I share the pain of those people who write to you in total desperation.
I accept that when kids explode into tantrums and meltdowns, there is little you can do to calm it.
But I have a wife of 36, a girl of 13 and a boy of 11, and all have Aspergers, so of course I have tried EVERYTHING.
Aspergers is very different in boys and girls, and my wife, but there is a common theme that seems to get insufficient mention:
They are all very distressed by being with PEOPLE
My BOY: He was FROZEN and apparently terrified at school for years. I took him out of school permanently at 9, and should have done it at 6. I do home-schooling. We just love doing that. I do just 40 minutes a day, with one-to-one that is enough. I also have an enthusiastic untrained girl of 24 to do 15 hours a week, which is also brilliant. You can use a High School gorl of 16 to 18 for that: great little job for her and a blessing for everybody.
My GIRL: Always locked in her room, never spoke to anybody, never had a friend, very unhappy. Patience and Love go a long way, but she was still distressed. I tried sertraline 25 mg a day, and the difference is absolutely dramatic. She was cheerful, chatty, happy, relaxed and full of energy within 10 days.
My WIFE: Appeared to hate me for a hundred reasons that were all ridiculous, a mixture of fantasies and lies. Never ever spoke to the kids, or played, or came on holidays or trips. Never fed them. So she moved out, and is now very happy, just a few short visits each week.
So all three seem to be very uncomfortable with PEOPLE near them.
It seems better to ACCEPT that, but slowly work on it, bringing in gentle people now and then, to nurture friendship skills.
Who to bring in?
Young better than old, friend better than stranger, 1 or 2 better than 3. Girls better than boys. Outside easier than inside.
Despite the wide range of aspects of Aspergers, after ten years of suffering with all 3, I have the impression that there is NOTHING ELSE in Aspergers except fear of people!
Watching Forrest Gump is also a good move!
Dr Andy Gudgeon in Philippines
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hello Mark,
I am the Special Education
Representative for a high school in South Orange County, CA. I am the
coordinator of All Abilities Day. All Abilities Day is a day where
students rotate through stations to get a glimpse of what it would be
like living with a disability. I am proposing this day to the high
school for the first time. I have created the event for Elementary 2x
and Middle school 1x. Since this is high school I need to increase the
information and gear it toward their age range.
I
was wondering if I could get your help in assisting me with ideas for
this station. It will probably be a 15 min station which includes an
experience then ideas to help. I read your website information about the
Defiant Teen. This is the exact information that I would like to create
this station around.
Please let me know.
Thank you so much,
September Warren
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hi Mark,
I am an autistic adult with an autistic child. I am also a full-time college student, business owner, and an autism advocate and activist. I am constantly asked for recommendations from allistic parents who are struggling to understand their autistic child. I co-facilitate two Autism groups and am involved with numerous others.
From what I have reviewed so far on your website, I am really impressed by your approach and understanding of autism and autistic people. I would really like to review your material further. I have reviewed Love & Logic, Conscious Parenting, and Total Transformation - not really impressed with any of them. Although, all three had some good points.
Would you be willing to allow me to review your program for free for a few days? (I am currently living on student loans and ten hours of paid work a week.) I would be happy to provide you with a detailed review from an Autist's perspective. I will not share my review with anyone but you. If your program is as awesome as it seems, I'd love to promote it within the Autism community here in North Carolina as well as online. I am so happy to see that it is actually affordable for most families!
I completely understand if you can't allow me access to it for a few days, I will just save up for a while and then pay the fee. (no hard feelings at all!)
Thank you for your time!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Mr Hutten
I was reading your page and I saw an article stating that 50% of kids with Aspergers or HFA are known to have delayed speech. I have always read that Aspergers kids never have speech delay. My son Luca, just turned 4 and I have always believed he has Aspergers not HFA. I live in the UK and all the professionals will tell me is that he has Autism nothing else. They have said that "they do not like to say which end of the spectrum a child is in" Which I find completely distressing.
My son fully understands instructions and does a lot of pointing but is severely speech delayed. He is a big smiler but only makes fleeting eye contact, he loves puzzles and enjoys choosing short kids videos online using a touch screen computer. Need some advice please.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hello--I came across your website, and wanted to know if you offer help with educational placement ideas. Our daughter has just been diagnosed with high functioning autism, at age 16, and has slipped through the cracks all her life. She recently attended a wilderness therapy program, and is now in a therapeutic boarding school, but we are wanting to bring her home. Would you be able to consult with us on educational alternatives to therapeutic boarding school/how to live with an autistic teen in the home who has shut down/is defiant/anxious/withdrawn? Thanks.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hello,
I found you on the internet and was interested.
My son is 11, will be 12 on Monday. He was diagnosed with Asperger’s at the age of 8 and is very high functioning.
He
started middle school this year and makes excellent grades, he always
has. He is in the AIG program (Academically, intellectually gifted) as
his reading scores are sky high!
He
has been acting out a lot lately with me, (hitting, yelling, refusing
to mind). My friends say this is just his age but I know if I don’t do
something, things might get worse. He seems so angry at me a lot. I am
a single parent and not so young.
Is there an online support group you would recommend or anything you recommend?~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mark,
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear mr huttten,
allow me to introduce myself & why I am emailing you . I am Mrs Greta Josso born 1924
& I have a 25 year old grandson who most possibly has S.C.D. His parents are aware that he is different , but don`t want to label him, consequently he has never had help.
I love this boy & am so sorry that he is missing out on so much that I am prepared to go to the ends of the earth to find a way to help him. In this case to America.
Please mr. Hutten.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hi Mark, I found your website last night during a search trying to figure out what to do with my son. He has been getting into trouble for the last six months and just two weeks ago we found out he is smoking marijuana. What's worse, he's getting the marijuana from the dad of a friend of his. I also suspect this dad is giving or selling it to other friends too.
I'm not sure why I'm writing other than I got your reply to my site registration. I assume you do telephonic consultations. Right now my husband and I are contemplating our actions with regard to my son's situation none of them are good, but this is very scary.
I wonder if you might have experience with something like this . . . my son is turning into someone I don't even know anymore, and we need to get it turned around.
Thanks.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We
adopted my two nieces 2 years ago Kaela & Ava. They have been with
us 4 years. My brother's wife (their mom died of a massive heart
attack when Kaela was 4 and Ava 5 months). Without going into the very
long story, my brother had 5 girls and 4 years ago I got 4 of them
because CPS wanted my brother to complete some services. (The oldest
was an adult at the time). A lot of dysfunction in their family, my
brother rewarded them to sneak and spy on each other and to manipulate.
He openly had his two favorites, one of them being the youngest baby.
We had all 4 girls for a year, the favored one caused a lot of issues
and started her pattern of manipulation here and CPS allowed her to go
back to my brother for a time period until the Court intervened. Some
friends of ours stepped in and offered to let her stay with them because
of the conflict she was causing with her
sisters I had and also my 2 boys. A year later, the older sister was
trying to manipulate and divide by two sons and also myself and husband,
another characteristic of my brother. She was also very mean to Kaela,
and would make fun of her and hit her. I discovered that she was
steeling my jewelry and my asthma medication and that was the last straw
for me. The family that had my other niece stepped up and took her.
Now we have adopted Kaela (15) and Ava (10) and our friends have Jamie
(19) and Maia (14).
Since
Kaela was very
young, even when her mom was alive, she was always just different, saw
things a different way and just lived in a make believe world. Kaela's
mom used to say that she would probably have to home school her because
she didn't think Kaela could handle school. After her mom passed away, I
registered Kaela for Kindergarten. She has always struggled with
grades. My brother didn't have the girls in school for 9 months, when
we got them, I registered them for school. Kaela was in 3rd that year.
It really didn't hurt to hold her back for 3rd because she was very
behind. At first Kaela had a lot of friends and our community embraced
the girls. I had the girls in counseling and we noticed that Kaela had a
focusing problem which was diagnosed as ADHD. We got her set up on medication and that seemed to help. Toward the end of 4th grade and all of 5th grade I noticed that all of the friends had dropped off significantly. I couldn't figure it out. Our 5th
grade teacher insisted that the school test Kaela and they revealed
that she had short-term memory loss, poor language arts, communication
& a low IQ. They wanted to blame it on her environment. We went
into 6th grade but none of her accommodations
went with her. We had her tested by an outside facility and they said
her language arts/vocab/writing was on a 2.5 grade level, low IQ, short
term memory loss, ADHD, math facts were fantastic. We
started going to a pediatric neurologist and I had him run a MRI, CAT
scan and
they also conducted genetic tests in an effort to determine if her
learning disabilities were related to a past accident or genetic. Test
results were negative. They also tested her for Autism and she tested
positive for moderate Asperger's. We were surprised because her IQ is low but then she did have a lot of the characteristics. Kaela also has OCD and is extremely, extremely immature. The doctor has indicated that the immaturity coupled with the ADHD and Asperger's is why her friends started dropping off. She cannot keep up with them.
My biggest concern is that Kaela went from wanting to become a McGinnis (our last name), changing her hair color from blonde
to brown, and eye color from blue to brown to not wanting to be a part
of our family. In fact, she has fixated on wanting to go back to her
"awesome family" which consists of my brother, her formerly abusive
sister and her other sister. I found a picture she posted on instagram
of them, not us. From the time their mom died, until CPS stepped in, I
paid for their groceries, bought everything
they needed for school, bought all of their clothes, bought every
Christmas present, paid for electric bills and this went on for 4 years
and then when my brother couldn't hold it together, I rescued them but
now she perceives me to be the enemy. I am the one that has set her up
in the 504 program at school so she can pass her classes and get help
and I have gotten her help with counselors and doctors but I am the
enemy, she talks about me behind my back to her sister that lives with
the other family and to kids at school but yet her outward appearance is
this sweet quiet girl that would never hurt a fly. She purposely says
things to try to upset me in front of my husband and she tries to drive a
wedge in between myself and my husband and me and the other kids. She
says horrible things about me to her younger sister. She purposely
doesn't follow rules says she forgets or didn't understand yet seems to
remember every rule at
school. When I asked her how she can do everything at school and
follow their rules she said she does it because she doesn't want
detention. Kaela blames me for her lack of friends.
Kaela
hasn't had a lot of tantrums, but she has had 3, and they have all been
on my watch. My husband hasn't seen them. The other kids have. I
really haven't had a lot of success with the counselors and
psychiatrists we have seen. Kaela gets in there and nobody has
addressed the underlying problem. Kaela wants to blame it all on me
but that's not it. She really needs to be around kids that are
similarly situated. She thinks she should do everything a normal 15
year old does but she does not have the common sense or processing
ability or maturity that a normal 15 year old has. The doctor said she
is more like a 5 year old in many respects.
Dear Mr. Hutten,
I found your article online regarding teens with AS. My son is 15 and is diagnosed with AS and ADHD. He is very defiant and hard to talk to. doesn't listen and won't do his homework at all. He is very bright and smart but does not want to do anything. I am very worried about him and don't know what to do. I take him to psychiatrist and therapist but issues are still on going. I am wondering if he even can get his HS diploma and can go to college one day. I am so helpless and tired. His father is another problem that I need to deal with becasue he expects him like a normal child and gets very mad at him. Please advise me what to do.
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Hello Mark,
Hello Mark,
My 12 year son is very upset due to
primary - middle school shift. He is in very good school with well
planned IEP. his session started in June 2014. He often at home,
refusing to go school. Even that has not helped him , he is either
anxious or giggly . His meltdown includes screaming, crying, spitting
and sometimes hitting anyone trying to talk to him. We have tried
professional counselling on regular basis, tried talking to him when he
is calmer. Nothing has worked so far. kindly advice.
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Dear Dr Hutton
I have an 18-year old son
with PDA (EDA, sometimes called Newsom's syndrome), and attended the
conference on EDA Cardiff earlier this month, but I am also a
clinical-academic. I have been in discussions with Phil Christie,
Elizabeth O'Nions, Janet Matthews and Hilary Dyer regarding a study I
would like to conduct on assessment of adult PDA, which some say is an
expression of autistic spectrum disorder, and am about to prepare an
ethics form regarding the potential study at my University (my academic
details are below). Before I go into a long explanation of the study
(which I'm very happy to submit to your own ethics/ research committee),
I am writing to find out if I would be allowed to have a link to the
study (with any relevant information) hosted by your website, and
perhaps as a "sticky" within the forum. I shall be approaching a number
of other P/EDA resources on the Internet to maximize the spread of my
sampling, but thought I should start with yourselves.
Sincerely,
Vincent Egan
Dr Vincent Egan
Associate professor in Forensic Psychology Practice
Chartered clinical psychologist, chartered forensic psychologist (BPS/HCPC)
Centre for Family and Forensic Psychology
University of Nottingham
YANG Fujia Building
Jubilee Campus
Wollaton Road
Nottingham
NG8 1BB, UK
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Dr. Hutten,
I found your information on you-tube and
wondered if you could help me. I am leaving my husband after only 3
years of marriage. I left in 12 months and we have been separated this
entire time. How do I know if he has just a narcissistic personality or
Asperger's disorder?
Adam has always been
edgy. I helped him after he was fired from his job because he has a very
bad attitude and takes it with him everywhere he goes. He moved to Ohio
form Utah as we met online. He became angry with anything I wanted. I
am farf rom the normal wife that wanted a diamond ring or a wedding. I
knew he had no money and did everything for him and paid for everything.
He became angrier. He blamed it on his job, mother and everything else
but after a few years
of my constant helping him..he has a great job. He became abusive along
the way and increasingly self centered and pompous. He would mock me
and out me down personally in fights we had. He would denigh pushing me
and finally the police came. He would punch his head, bang the walls and
grit his teeth. He told me he wish I was dead.
I
have become so depressed and finally filed. I tired to help but the
waking around on egg shells to avoid any confrontation or anything I may
want in a relationship has all but ruined my life.
When
all is right with Adams world he is a kind funny man. He acts
differently in public with a very robotic loud vice-as if he is acting
the part. He says he hates people and social situations and it makes him
nervous...he is I a lot of debt so he must keep his job at a bank beig
very social. At tie though-he will say he loves his job. Can you just
tell me if this sounds
like an aspie? Or is he just a man that used me and is infantile when
he does not get his way. I would like closure.
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