HELP FOR PARENTS OF CHILDREN WITH ASPERGER'S & HIGH-FUNCTIONING AUTISM

Education and Counseling for Individuals Affected by Autism Spectrum Disorders

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Teaching the Visually-Oriented Aspergers Student

Despite difficulties with eye contact, most children with Aspergers and High-Functioning Autism (HFA) are visual learners. Visual learners need to see the information. The whiteboard, texts for reading, or information on the computer all help these children succeed in the classroom.

It's important to distinguish that some visual learners prefer the written form of the language (e.g., a book that explains grammar or vocabulary). This preference is similar to an “analytical approach.” Other visual learners prefer diagrams or charts that illustrate grammar or vocabulary. This preference is similar to a “global approach.” Both types of visual learners may need to write down information in order to remember it.

Although some teachers believe notes aid memory, visual learners see notes as a prerequisite to memory. In other words, if they don't write down the information and/or draw charts and diagrams, then they won't remember the information.

Information or ideas heard may not be retained as well as if the Aspergers child had been able to take notes. Visual learners should be allowed to write notes or draw charts and diagrams in the class, perhaps with the teacher providing a minute or two after an explanation or presentation to take down the information. Longer recall times to activate the language will prove necessary if visual imagery doesn't accompany explanations.

Research shows us that each learning style uses different parts of the brain. By involving more of the brain during learning, we remember more of what we learn. Researchers using brain-imaging technologies have been able to find out the key areas of the brain responsible for each learning style. For example:

Aural: The temporal lobes handle aural content. The right temporal lobe is especially important for music.

Physical: The cerebellum and the motor cortex (at the back of the frontal lobe) handle much of our physical movement.

Social: The frontal and temporal lobes handle much of our social activities. The limbic system also influences both the social and solitary styles. The limbic system has a lot to do with emotions, moods and aggression.

Solitary: The frontal and parietal lobes, and the limbic system, are also active with this style.

Verbal: The temporal and frontal lobes.

Visual: The occipital lobes at the back of the brain manage the visual sense. Both the occipital and parietal lobes manage spatial orientation.

Teachers should remember the following when working with Aspergers and HFA students:

1. Flashcards with pictures and/or words are an excellent tool for visual students. If flashcards aren't available, then the child can make his own. Alternatively, when encountering new words, the child can picture the object in his/her head.

2. Listening skills are a primary component of oral communication. Extra opportunities should be given to build listening ability, with many opportunities for visual learners to hear and process the information.

3. Visual students may struggle with pronunciation, intonation, tone, register, and other aural skills.

4. The child with Aspergers or HFA tends to have the following traits:

• Arrives at correct solutions intuitively
• Creates unique methods of organization
• Develops own methods of problem solving
• Develops quite asynchronously
• Enjoys geometry and physics
• Generates unusual solutions to problems
• Has good long-term visual memory
• Has visual strengths
• Is a good synthesizer
• Is a late bloomer
• Is a whole-part learner
• Is better at math reasoning than computation
• Is creatively, mechanically, emotionally, or technologically gifted
• Is turned off by drill and repetition
• Is very sensitive to teachers’ attitudes
• Learns best by seeing relationships
• Learns complex concepts easily, but struggles with easy skills
• Learns concepts all at once
• Learns concepts permanently
• Learns whole words easily
• Masters other languages through immersion
• May have very uneven grades
• Must visualize words to spell them
• Prefers keyboarding to writing
• Reads maps well
• Relates well to space
• Sees the big picture, but may miss details
• Thinks primarily in pictures

5. The child with Aspergers or HFA tends NOT to have the following traits:

• Attends well to details
• Can show steps of work easily
• Can sound out spelling words
• Can write quickly and neatly
• Develops fairly evenly
• Excels at rote memorization
• Follows oral directions well
• Has auditory strengths
• Has good auditory short-term memory
• Is a step-by-step learner
• Is an analytical thinker
• Is an early bloomer
• Is comfortable with one right answer
• Is well-organized
• Learns by trial and error
• Learns in spite of emotional reactions
• Learns languages in class
• Learns phonics easily
• Learns well from instruction
• May need some repetition to reinforce learning
• Progresses sequentially from easy to difficult material
• Relates well to time
• Thinks primarily in words

My child has been rejected by his peers, ridiculed and bullied !!!

Social rejection has devastating effects in many areas of functioning. Because the Aspergers child tends to internalize how others treat him, rejection damages self-esteem and often causes anxiety and depression. As the child feels worse about himself and becomes more anxious and depressed – he performs worse, socially and intellectually. Thus, the best treatment for Aspergers children and teens is, without a doubt, “social skills training.”

How to Prevent Meltdowns in Aspergers Children

Meltdowns are not a pretty sight. They are somewhat like overblown temper tantrums, but unlike tantrums, meltdowns can last anywhere from ten minutes to over an hour. When it starts, the Asperger's child is totally out-of-control. When it ends, both you and the Asperger’s child are totally exhausted. But... don’t breathe a sigh of relief yet. At the least provocation, for the remainder of that day -- and sometimes into the next - the meltdown can return in full force.

Parenting Defiant Aspergers Teens

Although Aspergers is at the milder end of the autism spectrum, the challenges parents face when disciplining a teenager with Aspergers are more difficult than they would be with an average teen. Complicated by defiant behavior, the Aspergers teen is at risk for even greater difficulties on multiple levels – unless the parents’ disciplinary techniques are tailored to their child's special needs.

Aspergers Children “Block-Out” Their Emotions

Parenting children with Aspergers and HFA can be a daunting task. In layman’s terms, Aspergers is a developmental disability that affects the way children develop and understand the world around them, and is directly linked to their senses and sensory processing. This means they often use certain behaviors to block out their emotions or response to pain.

Older Teens and Young Adult Children With Aspergers Still Living At Home

Your older teenager or young “adult child” isn’t sure what to do, and he is asking you for money every few days. How do you cut the purse strings and teach him to be independent? Parents of teens with Aspergers face many problems that other parents do not. Time is running out for teaching their adolescent how to become an independent adult. As one mother put it, "There's so little time, yet so much left to do."

Living with an Aspergers Spouse/Partner

Research reveals that the divorce rate for people with Aspergers is around 80%. Why so high!? The answer may be found in how the symptoms of Aspergers affect intimate relationships. People with Aspergers often find it difficult to understand others and express themselves. They may seem to lose interest in people over time, appear aloof, and are often mistaken as self-centered, vain individuals.