My ASD Child

"What can we do as parents to get our teenager with high functioning autism to broaden his areas of interest and not hibernate in his room playing video games ALL DAY. He has very little contact with us and has virtually no friends?!" Having little contact with family and peers is not uncommon among teenagers with Asperger’s (AS) or High Functioning Autism (HFA), but if your adolescent's isolation is becoming an issue and advancing into a troubling stage, you will want to quickly solve the problem in any way you can. The adolescent years come with a host of issues for teens on the autism spectrum – much more so than for “typical” teens. Moms and dads often feel at a loss for how to help their “special needs” adolescent when he or she seems lonely, anxious, depressed or out of sorts. Adolescents with AS and HFA may choose to isolate themselves, or it may happen as a result of bullying or exclusion by their peers. Other common reasons for isolation include the fol...

“I have a 17 year old daughter with aspergers. She is a good student (high functioning) now that she is doing her high school online through a public charter school. However, she has no concept of time so she is often cramming at the last minute to finish her assignments. How can I help her manage her time better so that she can do her work without stressing out about it?” While some teenagers are just natural procrastinators, others, like your daughter, have a genuine problem understanding the concept of time, which is a common trait of Asperger’s (AS) and High-Functioning Autism (HFA). Online schooling is a great option for AS and HFA adolescents. Removing the classroom distraction will do wonders for your daughter's thought processes. The lessening of sensory over-stimulation, the one-on-one instruction, and no bullies are definite advantages. However, as a side note, you may want to consider social skills group classes and other social outlets to prevent total isolation...

“I have a 6 year old boy who has yet to be diagnosed but, it is looking as if he has high functioning autism. He is having major behavior problems at school including hitting other classmates and staff. Although there are some behavior problems at home as well, the main problem is when he is in a group situation at school. I need assistance to resolve this as quickly as possible or they have threatened to expel my son.” First of all, you should have your son tested by a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists (ask for a comprehensive psychiatric evaluation) to determine if he, in fact, has high functioning autism, oppositional defiant disorder, ADHD, some combination thereof – or something else entirely. You're shooting in the dark for a resolution without a confirmed diagnosis. Since this issue is rather emergent, I strongly suggest requesting a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA). If the school is sending home complaints about your son's behavior -- and expecti...

Your child has recently been diagnosed with high functioning autism (also called Asperger’s). You are relieved to know that there is a name for the odd twists and turns your child’s life has taken, yet you are also very concerned about how he or she is going to cope with this life-long disorder. Since you are new to this whole thing, you’re not sure where to start or how to best assist you child. That’s why we have created this step-by-step intervention plan below, to give you a concrete place to begin in helping your son or daughter to have the best possible outcome. Parents’ Step-by-Step Intervention Plan for Recently Diagnosed Children: 1. Take Care of Yourself-- The first step in helping your child has to be about YOU taking care of YOU. Many moms and dads of kids with high functioning autism and Asperger’s feel exhausted, overwhelmed, and sometimes defeated. They talk about difficulties in their marriage and other relationships. While there is no quick fix for resolving ...

Reports that some of the recent school shootings may have been committed by young people with Asperger’s have led many to wonder whether the disorder plays a role in such acts of violence (e.g., the Adam Lanza case in which 20 children and six adults lost their lives at a Connecticut elementary school). While experts strongly believe that Asperger's does not make a young person more likely to commit a violent crime, some believe it may affect the way a crime is carried out. Also, while experts agree that individuals with Asperger’s are not more likely to commit violent crimes than members of the general population, they do say that, in very rare cases, it can happen. People who commit crimes usually do it for some kind of concrete reward (e.g., money, sex or drugs). That’s not the case in teens on the autism spectrum. In cases involving these teens, the motives are very different. The motive of the violent act is to communicate that the teen himself is very offended. Ot...

Reports that some of the recent school shootings may have been committed by young people with Asperger's (high functioning autism) have led many to wonder whether the disorder plays a role in such acts of violence (e.g., the Adam Lanza case in which 20 children and six adults lost their lives at a Connecticut elementary school).  Best Comments:   Anonymous said... Thanks for sharing this! Every time more info comes out about the Sandy Hook killer, (like the recent interview with his father), the ignorance about Asperger's, ASD and mental illness come out too. Anonymous said... I was once told that my son would become one of the "columbine-type" of people. this was two years ago when he was 7. I was stunned and angry that this person would make that assumption.

Why is this disorder referred to as “high functioning”? High Functioning Autism (HFA), previously referred to as Asperger’s, is a term applied to children on the autism spectrum who are deemed to be functioning at a higher cognitive level (IQ>70) than other children on the spectrum. Is there a difference between High Functioning Autism and Asperger’s? The amount of overlap between HFA and Asperger’s is disputed. While some researchers agree that the two are distinct diagnoses, others argue that they are identical. On the other hand, the term HFA may be used by some researchers to refer to all autism spectrum disorders deemed to be cognitively higher functioning, including Asperger’s, especially in light of the removal of Asperger’s as a separate diagnostic from the DSM-5. HFA is characterized by traits very similar to those of Asperger’s. The defining characteristic most widely recognized by professionals is a significant delay in the development of early speech and la...