There is a national dialogue occurring following the horrific tragedy in Newtown about violence, autism spectrum disorders (including Asperger’s Syndrome) and mental illness. I don’t know what the outcome will be of this discussion, but I do know one thing for sure. Children and teens with Asperger’s Syndrome or other autism spectrum disorders are teased, [...]
Chapter 2 of the novel I am working on for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). Henry called his mother from Dr. D’s office, to tell her that she needed to come and pick him up. He had just been suspended from school for throwing chairs in the counseling office. This has happened right after Dr. [...]
The first chapter of the novel I am writing for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). Let me know if you like it. It just my first draft and hasn’t been edited yet. Henry walked back and forth across the end of playground, alone. He held a long stick, which in his mind was a light [...]
Teasing and arguing among siblings is a common parent complaint – and most of us have either experienced it as parents or as a sibling when we were growing up. I just recently came across a paper written by my older sister when she was in 7th grade. She describes me: “”I have a little [...]
Arguing is one of the most common complaints I hear from parents. The strategies discussed here will work for any children – but they are particularly helpful for children with high functioning autism spectrum disorders who are prone to argue. This makes sense given the nature of ASDs. If we have a child who has [...]
There is a lot more to communication then just the words that are said. A helpful technique to teach high functioning ASD children and teens is that the 3 parts of their message all need to match. The 3 parts are: The WORDS that are said The TONE OF VOICE that is used The [...]
Back to school accommodations for autism spectrum kids, part 2 This time of year I am busy making suggestions for school accommodations for my clients on the autism spectrum. Getting the correct plan at school is one of the two most important interventions for autism spectrum children (the other being a good home behavior management [...]
I have set up a brand new discussion forum on this website. Do you have an autism spectrum related topic you’d like to discuss with others? Then come on over! Get registered, and start a new thread. I set up the following categories just to get started: Bullying, Behavior Management, Helpful Resources, Introductions (a good [...]
This time of year I am busy making suggestions for school accommodations for my clients on the autism spectrum. Getting the correct plan at school is one of the two most important interventions for autism spectrum children (the other being a good home behavior management plan, so stayed tuned for my soon to be [...]