Aspergers Syndrome - Decorah,IA

"Look Me In The Eye" by John Elder Robinson. The author himself has Asperger's. The book is phenominal. A great look in the mind of an asp. child.

HI! as a mother to a 23 yo female, who was not diagnosed until 18, I know she might be overwhelmed with this new diagnosis. first, off let me tell her that the diagnosis, is a means to get the services he needs to succeed, not a death sentence... It is great you are helping her, since familial support is the key to assisting these young people, since they strive so hard to "fit in our societal demands." I have found that the best person for the actual valid information has been Tony Atwood. I love this man, because he gives the straight scoop, even when you are afraid to look at the reality, he sets you on the correct path. The best book, was his "Complete guide to Aspergers Syndrome." It works you through with the ability to understand without being talked down to, or overtalked by the professional jargon. I hope she has great supportfrom her medical doctors, school, and psychological/psychiatrists, and family... She will need you more... Because one of the one things, I wish to dispel for your family that most tend to beleive, this is a neurological disorder where the internal parts of the brain have a message sending issue, most family members, especially the older ones, think that spanking, and the lack of parental effort is the "solution or clue," to the behavior issues with your nephew... It would be best, if everyone, rethinks their ideas, and start the first steps with this one man and his parents with a new set of ideas, because since he was diagnosed later, he and the FAMILY, need to learn new ways to assist him... Aspergers is the higher form of autism, and this can be a blessing, because there is somethings he might excel at with a flourish, like for my DD it is math, electronics, computers, and science... but, her social skills and reading of legal matters require my interpretation. before she signs, ANYTHING!! She was an adult already, so we had a different set of adulthood rules... I afforded her all the chances and challenges of adulthood, and guide her through, thinking from her point of view, and abilities already learned, for the things she had trouble with, I made the steps simplier, and repetitive... she is able to drive, date, reproduce, and marry... There are no options removed from her table, only that I know I will have to remain in her life until she is married, and the hubby assumes my role. Now, there are several books, and I have purchased many. I will recommend that you respond to the private email I sent, for additional information... Since he is in the career/college age group, I have included books to guide him to employment or college... yes, that is an option... I used the NJ State Dept of Labor, through Voc-Rehab to have them assist her with college tuition and books. JFK Hospital does her assessments for school, abilities, meds, and followup. I had the school changed their method of not helping and punishing for improper behaviors to prasing for maintaining current abilities. so, you can be so helpful in assisting the parents, even with doing some of the research to find the latest in teachings, including the parents. there are support grps, Autism organizations, websites, movies with autistic themes, and social groups for his age... There are no limits for the colors in our puzzle pieces! some might want to work for a cure, but, that option is so far off for our older children, so I work to improve the services for the teenager/adult autistics, such as research in the overall employment retention of autistic individuals... things that matter now... I will send a list of books ona separate thread, so look out there are too many to add here... but, I commend you for asking, since for some that is the toughest step... but, I think with an auntie like you, the sky is the limit... Good luck!

I would suggest the following books by Tony Attwood:

The Complete Guide to Aspergers Syndrome
Parenting a Child with Aspergers Syndrome

He actually has quite a few books on the subject but these two would probably be a good starting point for your sister. I had the pleasure of attending one of his lectures a couple of years ago and he seems to have a pretty good handle on the subject and is able to give information in a straightforward, easily understandable way.

Hope this helps.

Tony Attwood's books, definitely!!!

http://www.parentingaspergerscommunity.com/public/departm...
http://www.livestrong.com/article/5801-need-aspergers-syn...

My niece was just diagnosed as well. The only difference is, is that my niece is 4 years old. It is difficult to find well informed literature on autism. A lot of literature you find will be great information. I also have a friend whose brother was diagnosed in his teenage years and the parents did not treat him or help him cope with his diagnoses and struggled severely. He battled severe depression and tried to take his life on numerous occasions.
When looking for literature on teenage aspergers look for literature for parents dealing with teenagers with aspergers. It will help parents cope and help them understand what the child is going through. Good Luck!

I have a 7 year old son, who was diagnosed with Autism, but is now more like an Aspergers kid, and I was also a SpEd teacher for 11 years, working with kids with the diagnosis. Wow, it amazes me when kids can go so long without a diagnosis - hopefully that is a testament to him being a really mild case, and not to incompetance of professionals around him. Have the mom watch the Temple Grandin movie on HBO and read some of her books. Temple is an adult women with High Functioning Autism and can give some interesting perspectives on what it is like.

Tony Attwood is the guru.

www.wrightslaw.com is the place she needs to learn about school advocacy.

She should contact her county board of Developmental Disablities and get him on thier lists now, and get him a case worker. If her son may need group care later, this is essential. Many kids with Asperger do well, go to college, are very smart and some are capable, but some go to college, are very smart, and are not particularlly independent nor capable of being on thier own. Be on the safe side and get the back up of the county case worker now, instead of waiting until it is sure that he will need it, and has to wait. The waiting lists are long and getting longer; now, they are ten years or more.

social skills classes run by speech therapists or psychologists are great resources for Aspies. They meet kids who are just like them...it may be the first time in thier lives that they are totally at ease with the other kids in the room. It is a wonderful opportunity for them to relax, make friends, and learn skills together.

Boys are especially vulnerable to the issues related to behavior problems at school. Notice that I did not say that boys are vulnerable to behavior issues, but Aspie boys are noticed far more than Aspie girls for the very same behaviors. They get into far more trouble than girls do, and a good behavior plan (called a BIP) is essential to protect many aspie boys from the concequences of punishments for manefestations of his disablity that do nothing to teach him new skills to avoid being punished again. I see it all the time. If the child has ever been refered to the principal for anything and tends to be in trouble, have your SIL read about behavior plans and FBA's at www.wrightslaw.com.

Cognative behavioral therapy, speech therapy (if he has not had a speech evaluation, he should have one. I know that many aspies seem to have fully developed verbal skills, but there are basic langague issues that need attention) OT, fine motor is so often a difficult issue. Developmental Optomitry (an anylysis of how he uses his eyes and his visual processing skills) is also in order. Many Aspies require psychiatric care. The teen years can be very difficult for them. If your SIL and BIL do not own a full nueropsychological evaluation, private speech and lagnaguge, private OT, private Developmental Optomitry evaluations...then they should get them. They need both public and private evaluations. A nueropsychologcial evaluation will give them the tools that they need to understand almost all of his processing skills and difficulties, they should read the article "Understanding Tests and Measurments for Parents and Advocates" on wrightslaw. This will help them to understand the evaluation, and many of the questions that they have had for why their son does what he does will be clear.

M.

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