My ASD Child

Hello Mr. Hutten, I would like to share with you and you can feel free to share with others something wonderful that happened to our family yesterday.  After almost a year and half of being bullied, harassed and assaulted on the school bus, our 13 year old Aspie daughter had her day in court with the perpetrator (another 13 year old bully). My daughter was terrified to testify, but I assured her that her family was there to protect her. We also were blessed to have a witnessed to one of the horrific beatings that my daughter endured come forward. She was terrified as well.  The States Atty's office in Upper Marlboro, Maryland brought forth the case. It was a long process, without any assistance from the school system. Anyway, to make a long story short, the bully was found guilty on all three charges of second degree assault. The judge remanded her into custody on the spot. She was taken away in handcuffs. There was high drama in the courtroom. It had ...

My son has a very mild case of Aspergers , but I have always held him to a high standard of behavior especially in regards to other kids… you hit/bite you get a time out, privileges taken etc. My boyfriend has 2 children 7 and 8. The 8 yr old is mildly autistic. I have 3 family members who are autistic (all on the more severe side) so I have some experience in this, so dating him didn’t phase me at first. He does not discipline them at all. His son plays "chicken" when my 11 yr old is mowing… almost gets run over, my son swerves to miss him and runs over some flowers, and I think my boyfriend was more upset about the flowers than the fact that his son caused it by jumping in front of the tractor. We had a bonfire, and his son kept playing in the fire, waving smoldering sticks and waving them around, running at and near the fire.....if I hadn’t said anything I believe my boyfriend would have ignored all of this even when his son tripped and almost fell i...

Question I suspect my husband has Aspergers. What should I do? Answer Approaching your spouse with the idea that he may have Aspergers (high-functioning autism) can result in two completely different responses. Either he is concerned and interested in pursuing an answer to some obvious issues, or he is in complete denial. He may even decide that the problem stems from you. In all honesty, most individuals with Aspergers are well aware that they don’t process things like other individuals. Relationships of any variety have been difficult since childhood. Sensory issues have plagued them, like noises others don’t hear and lights that others can ignore. The way they carry themselves seems less than graceful to fairly clumsy. Their obsessions overtake any attempt at normal social conversation. Yes, they know they are quirky, but have no concept of the reasons behind these differences. Let’s assume that your spouse knows that something is different about the wa...

Question I'm in the middle of a separation that has many levels of drama and it's taking me a lot to manage. Meanwhile, I have 4 children - 3 boys and a girl. I have a teen that is on the Autism spectrum and one 2 yrs older. The 14 yr old has been having meltdowns and the 16 yr old is reacting to them which only escalates things in to fist fights and hole punches in my walls and asking for the male neighbors to come over and support me to bring order. The older one is suffering from the loss of his dad who at the same time resents for what he feels he suffered in abuse at his hands but, longs for him. It's just so much and I'm concerned that things will totally break before I can figure how to get past everyone’s hurt and now resentments and anger with each other. Help!!!! Answer Re: Siblings reacting to meltdowns... Having a youngster with any type of developmental disability can be very stressful for the parents and the siblings of that youngster...

Is there a cure for Aspergers? No. Aspergers (high-functioning autism) can currently not be cured and the condition is life-long. However, with correct treatment and therapy, many people with Aspergers can go on to lead normal lives and may even excel in certain areas of occupational functioning. Can Aspergers be treated? Yes, most definitely! However, because Aspergers is a relatively new diagnosis in the field of developmental psychology and psychiatry, many treatment approaches are still in the developmental stages and lots of work still needs to be done in this area. One thing has definitely been established - the sooner treatment begins - the better! This applies especially to remedial, educational and therapeutic intervention. While there is no specific treatment or 'cure' for Aspergers, there are many interventions which can significantly improve the functioning and quality of life of people and kids with Aspergers. Social Skills Training— This sh...

In February 2010, the American Psychiatric Association released a draft of the possible revisions to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders or DSM. The current version, the DSM-IV, contains somewhat complicated diagnostic criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorder, which includes Autism, Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified, Aspergers, and includes reference to Rett’s Disorder or Childhood Disintegrative Disorder. The AMERICAN PSYCHIATRIC ASSOCIATION plans to revise the category of Pervasive Developmental Disorder, simplifying the criteria and removing the distinctive divisions. With this revision, there will no longer be a diagnosis of Aspergers or PDD-NOS. All individuals who meet the criteria will be given a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorders. The reasoning for these changes is to create a more consistent diagnosis, and a spectrum-type diagnosis may solve the problems of inconsistency. This will eliminate the need to diagnose an ind...

We don't feel so alone anymore. I feel for all of you. We have a 12 yr. and he's very smart and sneaky. No putting holes in walls yet but I'm waiting. He's very small for age so it's not to violent yet. He likes to tell me (mom) how he's going to kill me. Every detail. Does anyone elses kids threaten in this way? All the doctors say lock your doors at night and lock up knives. REALLY!!! I could have figured that out on my own. But I don't want to be a prisoner in my home. ```````````````````````````````````````````````````` COMMENT When a child threatens to hurt someone, take it seriously. Children and adolescents who threaten violence are significantly more likely to behave violently than those who do not make threats, according to a study of more than 9,000 youngsters reported in the August issue of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, a journal of the American Medical Association. My Aspergers Child: Preventing Temper Tantr...