Best treatment for Aspergers Syndrome?

Question

It's questionable that my young son may have Aspergers Syndrome. I've looked up things on the internet about it, but it was quite overwhelming.

Also, we've thought about homeschooling him but not sure if that would make the conditions worse? We would insure he would have ample social interactions just more closely monitored?

Any thought, suggestions or information would be appreciated!

Answer 1

Asperger's is a social disorder. It is on the autism spectrum. The difference between the two is that children with Asperger's do not have the communication problems that autistic kids have. The outlook for them is much better.

Please don't rely on the Internet to supply you with information about Asperger's. Ask your school district to provide you with a rating scale such as the Gilliam Asperger's Disorder rating scale. Both you and your child's teacher will fill it out and it will be scored, giving you the probability of your son having Asperger's.

This won't give you a diagnosis, but it will give you valuable information to take to the doctor. In addition it may help you get help from the Austism Specialist's in your district. Often school districts have classes for children with Asperger's that teach social skills to kids.

If you decide to home school, you might buy Scott Bellini's "Building Social Relationships, A Systematic Approach to Teaching Social Interaction Skills to Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders." It is very thorough and systematic.

Eventually you are going to want your child to go to school because this is an aspect of life you cannot duplicate. My thought is the sooner the better. Be sure you look into the types of support the school district can give you.

Answer 2

I had a child with Aspergers in my class last year.  I'm by NO means an expert, but I don't think there's a cure.  You just cope & take medications to help.  My student was a bit different & didn't exactly fit in with the other kids, but had a friend or two & did well in school.

Answer 3

Assuming he does have aspergers, he would really love to be home schooled.  The problem is that this would be the worst thing for him.  He needs practice interacting with others.  An aspie doesn't really have learning disabilities except where social and empathy skills come in.  A regular school is fine.  He does need additional special training for that.

An aspie will never be normal and there is no cure or drug to treat it.  Some drugs are used  to treat common comorbidities like ADHD and depression, but nothing can be used to treat the actual disability.  

You might also consider some kind of acting classes.  The only way he can learn to function in society is to learn to ACT normal.  The better the actor, the less chance of him being found out.  Aspies get picked on a lot because other people perceive them as being weird.  If they aren't perceived as weird, then they will get along much better.

Answer 4

First of all, let me say that all people on the spectrum are different and it would depend on what your son is like. My 15 year old son has AS. We chose to put him in all regular ed classes and he is even taking AP classes in high school. He has a lot of social issues and sees a therapist which gives him someone to talk to. I do think that homeschooling would be wrong in our case because he does need to have legitimate social interaction. I would suggest taking it one step at a time. My son is doing so well right now, and we make sure that we acknowledge that.

Answer 5

Well, to remove the element of question, have him examined by a doctor qualified in such a field. Then he/she can tell you the best options if this is the case.

Answer 6

Home schooling is very hard ..

I have done it for my son and i had no support from the local education authority

My son has autism and does not understand about social interactions so he did miss out out peer group interactions

It is very hard as you have to be commited ...

I have just found out that the school they are sending my son to in december is the wrong school for his problems so i am now looking at home teaching again until i can have the problem sorted..

To help with interactions .. i found that taking the lessons out of the house worked as my boy can not sit still for longer than 20 min and gets bored easily ..

So we did maths in the supermarket . .english at the libary ..

we did history around buildings of intrest ...

I did not even have a cirriculuim to follow ..

I f you are in the uk contact the special educational needs via your local council ..

They have support workers who will visit you and advise

Also in order to recieve the correct eduaction he will need a statement of educational needs ..

This can be done after the diagnois ..

A diagnois can take a very long time as they have to assess him

Personally if you do nto have a statement keep him in school as his "problems" will be easier to notice in a mainstream environment and you will have the imput of the teachers .. plus you wil have the senco at the school and access to an ed pysh..

The school can start the process of a statement