Autism-Articles

Autistic Spectrum Disorders are written about more readily in today's society. This may be due to better identification of Autistic Spectrum Disorders and at an earlier age. Teams of speech and language therapists will see many children who are diagnosed or at the early stages of diagnosis of an Autistic Spectrum Disorder also seeing young adults who are living with an Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Working with local multi-disciplinary teams, to help families consider a diagnosis at an earlier age. This has more recently involved, joint nursery visits with Pediatricians and Educational Psychologists to consider the child's presenting needs in a range of settings. Through such joint assessments the team of professionals have been able to more consistently support families considering a diagnosis. It is our experience that families report they would have preferred a much more unified approach from the differing disciplines supporting their child. It is also...

1. Autism is the parents' fault: Theories of what actually causes autism abound these days. Everything from mercury in vaccinations to food allergies to genetics are all theories of how autism came about. No one seems to really know why autism exists. One thing I can tell you is that it is NOT the parent's fault. There was a time, not so long ago that doctors blamed the mother for a child being autistic. The doctors believed that an autistic child had "withdrawn inside himself" due to a lack of affection given by the mother. The mothers used to be deemed "Refrigerator Mothers" because it was believed they were cold and un-affectionate. Now, we know that this is just not true! Many scientists think that autism is a genetic problem but even so, no one can seem to find a cure for it. 2. Autism is caused by a lack of discipline or spoiling: Lots of unknowing people, mostly passers by and looky-loo's are under the impression that kids w...

have Asperger's Syndrome. I have tremendous capacity for empathy for others. I have continued to increase my ability to express that empathy. Do Aspies really lack empathy or is it felt, experienced, and expressed differently? Perhaps in ways that neurotypicals (NT's) do not recognize as empathy or do not experience as being the way they expect to be given empathy. As I've written about in other contexts related to Asperger's Syndrome, it seems reasonable to say that there are many differences in those who have Asperger's Syndrome (AS). Men and women seem to have differing ability and context as well as understanding when it comes to something like empathy and compassion as well. (Attwood) There is still a difference not only in the way boys and girls are socialized, what those social norms contain, but also in what society expects from boys versus girls. Attwood, in his book, "The Complete Guide To Asperger's Syndrome" talks about this an...

Did you know that there are actually a lot of famous people...well known, successful people...who either have Asperger's syndrome or have been rumored to have Asperger's? It is helpful to take a look at some of these people to show us that having Asperger's syndrome does not have to get in your way of being successful. In fact, sometimes it is the very traits in Asperger's that can make you successful. 1. Bill Gates Bill Gates, one of the richest people in the world today, is the founder of Microsoft. Gates shows many traits of Asperger's, although he has never been formally diagnosed. Gates was always more interested in machines than people as a kid, and had a single minded focus on figuring out how the computer worked. The first computers were just being developed when Gates was growing up, and he spent hours at his school's computer trying to figure out how to build software for it and learn how it worked. His tenacity would serve him well la...