Asperger/ autism?

Question

looking for all information on the above. I(his mom) am at the end of my rope with how to deal with him. Just started therapy for him but what do I do in the mean time?

Answer 1

The best site I have found that has helped me with my son is the Oasis website and forums.  

http://www.udel.edu/bkirby/asperger/

Answer 2

Theres a book called  "Daniel isnt talking" by Marti Leimbach

.. thats a good place to start!

Its a novel, but it really does help to explain some stuff & also talks about how Daniels Mother had to cope with it all.. including losing friends etc.

Answer 3

love him, love him love him.

Answer 4

Check out the link I have provided below. If you have speakers on your computer, you can listen to some pretty good podcasts about autism and Asperger Syndrome from Midnight in Chicago.

They are free and downloadable.

Subjects to date are:

-Autism, Asperger Syndrome and Autism Spectrum Disorders

-AS and ASD Web Resources and Forum Communities

-Special Feature Interview with Lewis Schofield

-Autism on the Homefront: Parenting Autistics

-Autism and the Media

Your next best bet is to go to Tony Attwood's website as others have suggested or, if you live in the US, to contact your local Autism Society of America.

Answer 5

Take heart! Look at the O.A.S.I.S. website. Also look on the web. Tony Atwood's latest book on asperger is excellent. Give your child lots of routines and a calm environment. Try to be understanding. I have a 15 yr old son with Asperger and although it is often a long hard road for all of us, he is a blessing from God. Take it slow, there is time. Even though it may not seem like it now, there are a lot of positives to AS. Also, there's a lot of information we didn't have when my child was diagnosed, 12 years ago. There are support groups. the most important thing I've learned is that my family is the most important thing on this planet for me, and I don't much care what others think when they witness my son's behaviors. We go right out with him, when we have the energy, and we all do our best, especially him. I'm so proud of him. Make sure your school and caregivers get educated, and your doctors. He'll be okay. So will you. Blessings, blessings, start with oasis, or the Centers for Autism and Related Disabilities websites (Florida)\

New Jersey and Indiana also have good programs/info

Answer 6

Look into a local Autism Society, it is ran by both parents and professionals. It can be a great place to get support and to learn about local resources in your community. If you go to the Autsim Society of America (ASA) they have some great information about autism, asperger's and the other PDD's. They also have search engine called Autism Source that you can use to do a local search for services in your area including local chapters.

Look into a local CARD center (center for autism and related diseases)..ours is with a local university. If you call them and put your son into their database and you attend an orientation, they have wonderful services to provide. They will come to your house and work with you and any other family members including your son on different techniques..if he is in school they will go there as well and work with anyone who is in contact with your son whether it be a teacher, assisitant, or a fellow classmate. They also offer classes from behavioral basics 1 & 2 (ABA techniques), feeding issues, potty training, adult transition, IEP's/IDEA; and other useful classes. They provide the services and classes for free...once in a while they may have a special class that may require a small fee.

I came across a site that has some helpful resources for autism, don't know how much use they will be to you, but it's worth a shot. There's other info at this site that may be of use to you as well.

Good Luck!

Answer 7

check out www.wrongplanet.net - specifically for Aspie's and folks with high functioning autism.

Answer 8

I'm an adult diagnosed with Asperger's, and have a sibling with the more classic autism (high functioning) as well as a nephew.  I was unexpectedly diagnosed Friday, December 13th, 2002 at the age of 31, and had made some connections between me and my older sister, but was unaware of what Asperger's really was (only negative things in the press and online at the time in casual reference) but once I was informed of the diagnosis and explained what the terms meant, and considering I was stimming and not looking at the psychologist and talking in a monotone voice while describing that I'd noticed in my life that I had the strange thing that could best be described as inertia to deal with where in my past I'd get in a pattern where I'd read the most books/pages of books when working the longest weeks, and now I was in a pattern of not seeming to be able to get going (I was also dealing with major kidney stone problems while dealing with an inner ear problem that made itself unavoidably known, while also having been dealing with long-term unemployment made worse by everything else) and that was the reason I unexpectedly got a diagnosis.

The first link I provided is a site with content by many autistics of many variations on the spectrum.  The second one is filled with a webforum by many on the spectrum, as well as many that are wishing to be associated with them (hey, we have fans of our differences!).  The third one is primarily full of parents with kids on the spectrum, but there are also several adults on the spectrum that participate in the discussions (myself included) and by a curious connection made by posts on there, actually got me a job working in my field (software development).

I'd strongly suggest you look at the top link first, and go down from there: a lot of parents/educators/people in the system have rather curious ideas about "therapy" that wouldn't ever be allowed to transpire with someone not on the spectrum, but somehow is considered acceptable for those that are, even though the methods are often a form of torture.  I assure you, he isn't likely to forget how he's treated, good, bad, and ugly, and in the past, the system that was (perhaps still is) forcefully subjected my older sister to conditions and treatment (do this or else type of stuff coming from the state) that left her in a worse mental state than when she went in: I consider it's likely fortunate Asperger's wasn't known of in the US until after I was an adult and out of school, because special education and the whole school experience already was enough of a PITA for me anyway.  Whatever you do, DON'T allow the system to put him in a state where he's stuck with all the emotionally-disturbed and trouble-maker kids of criminal/bully type behavior: he'll get treated the worst, he won't forget it, and likely he'll get whatever they say to him and around him stuck in a horrific endless loop in his head that often comes out under stress, and he'll find himself the perfect victim with advanced bullies to perfect their skills on him.

In particular, don't let school systems tell you, "Oh, this is the standard therapy and works very well!" without first verifying by observing it in action as to how it is actually done: ABA, when applied in certain ways, is outright torture.  Just forcing an autistic to appear and act "normal" doesn't mean there's progress except in teaching them how to live a lie on the outside, though in practice, it'll cause long-term psychological harm, and it isn't sustainable, because we don't work that way, anymore than neurotypical people can truly process and do things the way autistics can.  The best advice is to teach him how to survive in the real world, and not try to make value judgments on social rules be too strict, within reason.

Answer 9

sorryyy wish i caan help u but cant

Answer 10

My daughter was diagnosed shortly after starting school as autistic spectrum disorder and i would just trawl the internet looking for information, i tend to stay away from the doctors info sites cause they don't know what they are talking about, everyone is different.  It is not an illness it's just that they are different, her docter is really good at answering any questions.  The are groups you can go to with other parents.

Here is a great website by Kevin with aspergers and it gives you a real insite into how his mind works.

http://www.angelfire.com/amiga/aut/

Hope you like.