Autism-Articles

We love our kids no matter how annoying and irritating they can be. But we all know that at the end of the day, they still bring us immeasurable joy. But what if your child is somewhat different? What your child displays behavior that is out of the ordinary? As a parent, it is heartbreaking to know that your child might be special. You are worried for him because he might not survive the real world when he grows up. That is why as early as possible a parent should have the child diagnosed so as to be given a proper treatment early. The parents should be observant on the way their child behaves and if there is something that seems unusual or odd about the child's behavior, they should consult with their pediatrician. This is not to say that the parents should be paranoid about anything that the child does. Being observant is different from being paranoid. One of the disorders that parents should concern themselves about is the Asperger syndrome. Asperger syndr...

If you feel that your child might suffer from Asperger's syndrome, there are many different ways to diagnose it. Most doctors will recommend a full battery of tests that check many different aspects of the child's development. There is no one definitive test that can tell a parent if their child suffers from Asperger's, so an entire group of tests are usually performed for diagnosing Asperger's. The first step for most kids in getting a proper Asperger's diagnosis is undergoing screening at the doctor's that measures things like cognitive development. As any mother can tell you, these screenings are completely normal and every child goes through them. It is usually at these screenings that a doctor can tell if there is a problem or not and whether a referral should be made to a specialist. The second step is actually when your child would be assessed in order to make a diagnosis. This can be carried out by more than one health professional,...

As a therapist, I often refer to High Functioning Autism and Asperger Syndrome as "Hidden Disabilities". Many myths exist about people who have High Functioning Autism or Asperger Syndrome. People will often refer to them as "Rain Man", or make comments to them such as, "Wow, that is so cool, can he or she count cards." This can leave parents in a place of frustration...frustration over the hidden challenges associated with High Functioning Autism and Asperger Syndrome. Little do people know who are not around children with High Functioning Autism or Asperger Syndrome that there is a hidden disability associated with these two labels. Many challenges exist with High Functioning Autism and Asperger Syndrome, challenges that are "hidden" to most people on the street. Children who have High Functioning Autism or Asperger Syndrome look like typical kids. Looking back, we can probably all identify with somebody from our sch...

Though autistic disorder is often thought of as a single condition, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in fact refers to five different kinds of autism. When most people think about autism, they're only thinking about one type - the kind they saw in the movie Rainman - and don't realize that this is only a fifth of the disorders to which autism truly refers. The first type of autism is called Classic Autism . It's also known as Kanner's autism, or Kanner's disorder after a doctor who researched the condition in the 1930s through the 1940s. Classic autism is one of the lower functioning forms in the spectrum, and is identified by its high level of social and communication issues. Children with the classic autistic disorder rarely interact with the majority of people. They often suffer from poor motor skills and frequently repeat actions and motions. They are also generally reluctant to make eye contact and may display temper tantrums when they ex...

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) have been in the news a number of times lately. The spectrum describes a range of disorders varying from severe forms like autistic disorder and Rett Syndrome to Asperger's Syndrome (which some researchers argue is not significantly different from high functioning autism [HFA]). While recent research has broadened our knowledge about the autism spectrum it has also demonstrated how much we still need to understand. A recent study in Nature showed that autism actually has a number of related genomes. The findings of the study were something of a surprise to those involved who may have been hoping to isolate a gene for autism. While the findings explain why symptoms can vary so widely (even within the same family) it seems to negate the possibility of a simple DNA test. In another development, a 2009 paper published in Disability and Society argued that Asperger's Syndrome may in fact be a poorly understood mode of being, ...

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) which includes Autism and Asperger syndrome is a brain development disorder that first appears during infancy or childhood, it is characterized by; unresponsiveness to social interaction and communication, gross deficits in intelligence and language development, restricted and repetitive behavior, restricted capacity for developmentally appropriate activities and interests and often bizarre responses to the environment. People with autism have social impairments and often lack the intuition about others that others take for granted. Making and maintaining friendships often proves to be difficult for those with autism. About a third to a half of individuals with autism do not develop enough natural speech to meet their daily communication needs. Causes and Incidence Until recently Autism was thought to be entirely due to genetic problems or mutations, however according to a recent study by the prestigious MIND institute of California...

Perhaps one of the most important kinds of treatment for kids diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, a form of high functioning autism, is sensory integration therapy. What is sensory integration therapy? Well, kids with autism have a lot of sensory processing issues. This means that every kind of stimuli seems too extreme for them. While most people have some kind of filtering system, kids and adults with Asperger's syndrome have a very hard time filtering out extraneous sensory information. What does a sensory overload look like? Your child may not want to put on the clothes you laid out for him because they are too scratchy or there's a tag in the back. He may refuse to go into many public places because they are too noisy, or the lights are too bright. He may suddenly have a tantrum because the smell of someone's perfume is overwhelming him. A Child Who Is Under-Sensitivity To His Surroundings May Also Have Problems Conversely, there are also kids...

We have discussed the way nerves communicate and how they decide when they are going to send impulses to other nerve cells. We know that groups of nerves collect information and fire together in pathways that stimulate distant parts of the brain. We also know that it is essential for different areas of the brain to communicate well with each other for us to be able to do the amazing complicated things we do with our brains. The brain is divided into the left and right hemispheres. In these hemispheres the vast array of jobs that must be done are divided up and organized. Each hemisphere is also separated into special sections or lobes. These are the frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital lobes. The parietal lobe is mostly concerned with sensation of the body and locating where things happen. There is a map of the opposite side of the body inside each parietal lobe. So the left parietal lobe of the brain feels everything on the right side of the body and vice versa. ...

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...

Asperger's syndrome, sometimes referred to as Asperger's disorder or Asperger's disease has various symptoms but one of the more common can be having trouble with toilet training. For whatever reason, it takes a lot of kids with Asperger's syndrome a lot longer than normal to be able to toilet train. Some kids can be six or seven before they're fully toilet trained...or later. This is not to say that every kid with Asperger's will have this problem, or to such an extreme; but it does happen. Luckily, there are some strategies that can help. It can be very frustrating when you try and try to get your kid to go to the toilet, but he just sits there and doesn't go. Those diapers get bulky and tiresome to change after a while, and then of course there is the matter of school. Break it into small steps . The most important strategy to use while teaching toilet training is to break it into very small steps. This works best if you think your child ...