Aspergers Autism Help for Parents and Carers

If you’d like to understand more about your Aspergers child, discover why they behave the way they do and learn how to cope better as a family then this might just be the most important letter you read all year

In this brand new ebook, I’ve grilled an Independent Educational Psychologist with over ten years experience <strong>working with children</strong> for
answers to your most important questions about Aspergers Syndrome

• How do I prevent my child from being bullied?
• Why does my Aspergers child become fascinated with unusual topics?
• Is it necessary for an Aspergers child to go to a specialist school?
• Why does my daughter misinterpret things people say to her?
• and many more.

Susan Bull is a UK Chartered Educational Psychologist with first degrees in Education and
Psychology and a Masters Degree in Educational Psychology (gained with Distinction).
She has extensive experience working with children from birth to 18 years who have Special Educational Needs and has a particular interest in working with children on the Autistic Spectrum and their families and carers.

As an expert on behavioral and psychological issues for Aspergers children and their family, Susan provides proven and detailed advice you can trust.

“I’m the mother of a 11 year old boy with Aspergers, and I found the ebook a big help.
I’ve learnt a lot about why my son behaves the way he does and got some great new ideas
for helping him. Many thanks.”

Here’s just some of the information you’ll discover inside Aspergers Answers Revealed…

The 7 most common signs and symptoms of Aspergers syndrome.
A simple technique for helping your Aspergers child make friends and cope in social situations.

How to explain the syndrome to siblings of an aspergers child, so they don’t feel neglected.

The 3 major problem areas for a person with Aspergers.
How to help your child deal with his anger or depression.

5 simple things you can do to help your child pay attention to you.
Why people with Aspergers syndrome find it difficult to make eye contact.
2 Diet regimes that may help ease the symptoms of Aspergers syndrome.

Resources and Advice for helping your child through Adolescence.

Why Aspergers children behave in an obsessive manner.

How Aspergers differs from Autism and how to tell the two conditions apart.

How to cope with feelings of inadequacy when caring for an Aspergers child.

Further essential resources on Aspergers Syndrome.

Don’t pass up this opportunity to really understand your child’s behaviour, whilst helping to improve their school and social life.
Get Aspergers Answers Revealed Now and discover the essential skills and info you need to be an even better parent to your child.

This is your chance to gain a better understanding of your child’s Aspergers Syndrome from a top Educational Pyschologist.

Aspergers-Autism Spectrum

Aspergers autism or Asperger’s syndrome is a form of autism found in autism spectrum disorders. Autism spectrum disorder or pervasive developmental disorder is a group of varied kind of disorders which affect the developmental growth of the child. This group comprises of autism, aspergers syndrome, rett syndrome and childhood disintegrative disorder.

Aspergers autism is a term coined by Hans Asperger. It is one of the milder autism spectrum disorders. Aspergers autism is a complex neuro-developmental disorder which affects socialisation, communication, behavior and thought of an individual. Chidren affected with this condition exhibit social awkwardness, self absorbtion and aloofness. It affects mostly boys with boys is to girls ratio of 9:1. It is a life long disorder though symptoms improve with time. Adults affected with this disorder identify their strengths and weaknesses over a period of time.

CAUSES of Aspergers syndrome:   The exact cause behind this disorder is still not known but studies have indicated that genetic component plays an important role. The causes are broadly divided into genetic, developmental and environmental causes.

Genetic:  According to research, children affected with aspergers autism have one or both of the parents exhibiting some of the aspergers disorders traits. This disorder tends to run in families.

Developmental:  The abnormal changes in the embryonic cells which alter brain structure and thought processes is one of the cause behind the development of Aspergers autism.

Environmental:  It is believed that some vaccines, environmental pollution and toxins contribute to the development of the disorder.

SYMPTOMS:   Aspergers autism is usually noticed at the age of 3 or more. Symptoms are manifested into three levels-

Impairment in social interaction and communication: These children are unable to interact successfully with peers due to lack of understanding of emotional aspects of relationships. There is no delay in development of language skills but social withdrawal is due to emotionally inappropriate behaviour and peculiarities in speech and language. The use of body language, facial expressions, eye contact and gestures are affected.

Repetitive routine behaviour:   This is due to lack of imaginative thinking and inflexible behaviour. They are obsessed with same routine activities as they are resistant to any kind of change. Areas of interest are quite narrow and they are obsessed by a single subject.

Delayed motor activities: Children with aspergers autism may have delay in development of motor activities. They are clumsy while walking or doing other activities.

It has been found that children with aspergers autism have normal IQ and there is no significant delay in cognitive development. Some of the disease conditions associated with aspergers syndrome are tuberous sclerosis, tourette syndrome, OCD and hydrocephalous.

DIAGNOSIS:  Core group of behaviours is examined thoroughly to diagnose aspergers autism. Comprehensive assessment of child’s development, socialisation, communication, intellect, emotion and behaviour is done by a team of professionals.

TREATMENT:   There is no single treatment for all the children affected by the disorder. But early intervention by specialists can help. Emphasis is done on social skills training, improving communication skills, cognitive behaviour therapy to manage their repetitive behaviour and obsessions.

When it comes to Autistic children one very common misconception is that all autistic children cannot show affection and also that autistic children don’t like to get affection especially touching from others. This is completely wrong and some autistic children like a hug now and again. We understand that autistic children handle emotion and especially the sense of touch in a different way to non autistic children but one thing to remember, just like any other child every autistic child is individual and their needs are individual too, what one autistic child likes or dislike may be very different from another.

So it may be the case that one child with especially severe autism might become extremely anxious and even angry if you try to give them a hug while another child with the same degree of autism may be open to this and feel pleasure. It really is a case of try and see, so here are some tips to make it a little easier to show your child you love them.

• As many autistic children do like their personal space not to be invaded then rather than rushing in and embracing them with a hug, try to bend down so you are not towering over them and gently hold your arms out open and tell them that you love them, smile to them, smile and wait to see what the reaction is. They may or may not react positively to this, don’t worry but if they do react positively then you can give them a quick gentle hug.
• If you find that they don’t respond well to a physical hug, then you need to reinforce your love with smiles and positive body gestures. For example you can blow them a kiss or even a simple thumbs up when they do something you like can be good and you might find your child gives you a chance to hug them.
• Because autistic individuals like  things to be the same and consistency then if you find they don’t like to get hugged or kissed spontaneously then make sure other family members understand this and apply the same rules that we talked about in the above point to keep things  consistent, the last thing you want when you are making some progress with affection is Grandma steaming in with a big wet kiss!

For parents of an autistic child it is a life long learning curve regarding every aspect of their childs life and especially with emotion and social interaction. Not being able to show affection or receive affection can be extremely upsetting but remember not to take it personally if your child veers away from any affection just learn to find other ways to deal with it.

supplements are an important daily routine for many people, there are so many products available in the marketplace that can help with nutrition and dietary needs. It is very important for people with autism to try to maintain a nutritional balance as many people with autism already have nutrition difficulties.

One important thing for the autism diet is to try to maintain a gluten and casein free diet. In studies it has been shown that the gluten and casein proteins actually make the symptoms of autism worse in some cases so it is a good idea cut out these proteins for autistic individuals.  It has been suggested and even proven that they make the brain produce natural opiates in autistic people which can make them highly addictive.

A balanced nutrition program is important to everyone and as autistic people like routine if it is implemented daily from an early start it should be quit easy for them to stick to it without much help.

Ask your doctor for some simple blood tests to determine if your autistic child is absorbing the proper nutrients and make any necessary changes.

When starting a supplement plan for the first time they should be introduced gradually and note any changes in behaviour and ask your doctor for advice. Autistic children often have random levels of calcium, selenium, folic acids and vitamins to name just a few and getting these levels correct can have a positive impact on behaviour and health. An improvement in social interaction and amount of certain types of behavior including seemed aggression which maybe nothing more than a nutritional imbalance.

If you do choose to go down the route of trying different supplements as stated before introduce them gradually and note any changes. It is ver often a case of trial and error to determine the best nutritional supplements for you autistic loved one. To get it right as well as blood tests you might also ask your doctor for stool tests.

The correct nutritional balance for any autistic person will enhance their quality of life so do not overlook this option.

We know that individuals with Aspergers and Autism find it hard to understand the world around them and find it hard to effectiveley communicate with others, so it’s not difficakt to understand that this will undoubtedly cause anxiet at some point and even a state of panic. This is possiblt the reason autistic children and adults like to keep routines the same and like to do things repetitively. So even a simple change in the child routine can cause anxiety and may also increase sighns of aggresive behavior in some autistic individuals. For the child with Aspergers/ Autism, even a change from the norm which should be positive can prove problematic, for example a school outing which should be something to enjoy, actually disturbs their normal routine causing them anxiety.

For you as a care person or parent of an autistic child there are several things you can do to help reduce this anxiety. Using the example above of a school outing, lets say for example the school trip is to a farm, one very helpful method to help prepare the child for this would be, a few days before the trip, every day show the child some pictures of the farm and the animals and talk to him or her about what they can expect to see when they go on the outing. Do this everyday at the same time. By doing this each day for a few days before the trip you are preparing them for what is to come and when the go, they will be less prone to anxiety because they are not completely out of their element necause they have been seeing the pictures and building an image of what to expect and hopefuly more open to understand and even enjoy what is going on.

There are other changes which you may have less control over which can be very traumatic for them. For example moving house. Moving house is one of the most stressful things for anyone so imagine how this must seem to a child with Aspergers and Autism who is prone to anxiety attacks. In this situation it is hard to stop any anxiety but you can try to minimise it by not making too many changes at once. So if you are moving house try to do it in the school holidays so if your child has to start a new school it is not in the middle of term and they wont have that as an added anxiety problem.

You also try often to show your child that change is a positive thing. To do this you could change a small part of their routine one day and replace it with somemthing very enjoyable. So if they like to watch Television and have a regular routine for doing homework for example, one day just make the change and tell them today we will watch tv instead. Then also show them a change wich is neither poitive or negaytive it is just a simple change for example doing their school home work before food instead of after food. And lastly you should also introduce them to negative change while at the same time making them see it is a normal change. So for that you could change the time for playing games into the time to do homework. This is also impoertant because it prepares them or gets them accustomed and open to change at any time without becoming to anxious.

Some parents and especialy those with autistic children who are prone to more severe anxiety or panic attacks choose to get prescribed medication for their child to help reduce anxiety. Just as some parents get medication for their child to help stop aggressive behaviour  and also for OCD ( obsessive compulsive disorder ). While these drugs work you sjpuld also understand some of them will alter your childs awareness and cause sedation and muscle relaxation. If you decide to go with the option of medication for autistic and aspergic children then make sure you discuss the side-effects with you GP or doctor.

Some of the drugs prescribed for both OCD and anxiety include Prozax and Anafranil two name just two and these group of drugs are serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI).

For Aspegers and Autism medication should be considered as a last resort for these types of anxiety problems. One thing you can try first and monitor your child behaviour to see how it affects them is  alter their diet. Sometimes dietry planning and modifications can do alot towards changing their behaviour for the better. There are also a number of other natural remedies available to you.

Just the same as ANY child, children with Aspergers and Autism want to have fun and enjoy playful activities and such activities can also be both a learning experience for them and also serve as an outlet for some of the typical symptoms like shouting and yelling. Not all usual child activities will be suitable for a child with Autism but then on the other hand some activites can be more benificial to the Autistic child.

Children with Aspergers and Autism can get great benifit from music. Music is an excellent outlet for them, whether it be a simple song or playing a musical or percussion intrement. Even the individuals who are unable to communicate effectively with words and sentences can learn a simple nursery rhyme or song or learn to whistle a tune or bang on a drum. So you can see how Autistic children can get great enjoyement from playing a drum or tambourine for example. The best kinds of intrument for a child with Autism to play may be a drum or tabourine because of the repetative beat which they will be able to emulate and if you help them to play in a small group where they must try to use the instrument on the beat or when it is their turn it will also help improve their social skills and concentration. Don’t be afrais to let them shout in fact this should be encouraged during the playing time as a way to let of steam and give their senses the stimulation they need. However if you have a problem with an Autistick child yelling in-apprpriately another idea is to involve them in a game in which he or she must try to concentrate to stop yelling, for example a game of hide-and-seek where they must try to keep still and quet while hiding so as not to be found but they are free to shout while they are searching for the hider. This way they learn how to curb their yelling at appropriate times.

While involving the child in games with other Autistic children is what we have mentioned so far, for the Autistick child, playing games with their non autistic peers is important to. For a child who has dificalty in trusting or getting close to other members of the family this is a chance for them to be comfortable and get in very close proximity to others while having fun. One simple example of a game you can make up at home would be a ghame where the object is to get a team ( your team can be just 2 players each or more ) from one side of the room to the other without touching the floor or where only 1 person of the team can touch the floor. So that would mean your child gets to climb and jump on the furniture for some parts and then in some parts the only way to get to the other side will be to let the other team member carry them. ( this may only be more suitable for the smaller child, but you get the idea, stimulation and learning at the same time can be fun.)

As the child grows up and starts to get a little older he or she will most likely enjoy being involved in some kind of sport. You should encourage this as many sports are about the pysical and do not involve much personal one to one contact or personal stimulation ( for that reason you may want to avoid such sports as American football or other tackle sports, although you should keep an open mind, even some Autistic children do enjoy these sports ). Whichever sport the child chooses you should make sure the other players or the coach or person organizing such games understands the childs possible special needs or disability and is happy to accomodate this.

As well as having individual special needs, every child with Aspergers and Autism of any kind needs to just be a kid and play simple games the same as any other child. Being able to enjoy any games, music, sports or activities together with help you and your child become closer while giving them the tools they need to improve their social skills, concentration and enjoying the company of others. Just always try to remeber that children with Autism have trouble understanding the feelings of others or seeing things from some-one elses pointy of view.

People with Aspergers and Autism show repetitive and restricted behaviour and often stick to and inflexible routine and show intense narrow areas of interest where they will collect a lot of knowledge and data from one narrow section of a topic but not fully understand or have any interest in the overall topic. For example they might be able to remember and able to identify every make and model of motor car, but have no interest in cars or the mechanics of cars. Or another example they might remember camera models and serial numbers but have no interest in photography.

Repetitive behaviour and body movement is a common symptom both AD and ASD such as twisting or flapping, and these movements seem more apparent and deliberate than ticks for example.

Some repetitive behaviour patterns are:

• Stereotypy which is repetitive movements of hands, body or head  or making sounds
• Compulsive behavior which might include placing objects in rows or order compulsively
• Sameness being similar to the above where they may insist objects such as furniture remain in the same position and not be moved
• Ritualistic behavior where they will do the exact same routine the same way every day for example getting dressed.
• Restrictive behavior this can be showing limited focus generally or intense focus on one thing such as a TV program.
• Self injury seems to affect as many as 30% of people with ASD and include biting of the hand, banging of the head or other movements that can injure.

The in-ability to show understanding of others feelings is probably the biggest dysfunctional aspect of Asperger Syndrome so the individuals who have AS show difficulties in social interaction with others and may find it hard to develop friendship or enjoy shared activity with others. They may also show lack of emotion and not like to make eye contact with others or show facial expression you would expect from other people.

People with AS are not usually afraid to approach other people unlike general Autism, they will try to engage with others but seem to lack understanding of others feelings and may not understand when you want privacy for example or to leave.  Although we have said that those with AS will approach people without hesitation in some cases they will only interact with specific people, people they like for whatever reason.

In studies people with AS have shown to in theory understand some emotions of others but when they actually come to interact with others this understanding is not shown and seems they are unable to put the theory into practice in real life situations. unfortunately this behaviour can come across as aggressive to those who do not understand AS but more often than not those who have shown active aggressive and even criminal behaviour actually have other disorders along side AS including other psychiatric disorders and sometimes schizophrenia.

People with Autism (ASD) often lack in the same social understanding and this is usually noticed from an early sometimes about six months but becomes more noticeable when they are about 2-3 years old. Children with Autism may show less interaction such as smiling to others and respond less to their own name. Just as with AD people with high functioning Autism often feel lonely despite common belief that they like to be alone. Making friends proves difficult for them but it is not the number of friend but more the quality of friendships which determines how lonely they might feel.

Asperger syndrome or Asperger’s syndrome or Asperger disorder is disorder in the Autism spectrum that is characterized by such things as difficulties in social interaction, along with restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests. Carers and parents of children with Aspergers often notice a clumsiness and typical language pattern also in their child although this is not reported as one of the symptoms.

Asperger syndrome is named after the Austrian pediatrician Hans Asperger. In 1944, he studied and worked with children in his practice who seemed to lack in normal communictation and non verbal communication skills, they showed limited empathy with their peers, and were physically clumsy. There is still some difering thoughts as to whether it is diferent from high-functioning autism and some doctors say it the smae definition but on a diferent scale.

The cause of Asbergers is unknown,  research suggests the possibility of generics being the cause but there is no know proof and brain imaging scans have been unable to determine more.