Success In Autistic Adults
Some adults with diagnosed autism are moderately to highly successful people. Some are happily married and partnered, and many are fully employed.
Some have even become role models for young adults on the spectrum who hope to live full, independent lives. Just a few such role models include:
- Temple Grandin, animal husbandry expert, author, and public speaker
- Stephen Shore, author, musician, professor, public speaker
- John Elder Robison, author, and public speaker
- Dan Ackroyd, actor, singer, radio personality
- Daryl Hannah, actor
These individuals, in addition to some others, are active autism advocates. Many speak publicly about their experiences and offer resources and insights to autistic adults and their family members.
Dont Be Afraid To Try Something New
Horse therapy, social skills groups, swim lessons, music, art there may not be a strong research base for all of these programs, but if your child is happy and successful in them, keep it up! Not every therapy has to be about data and progress recreation and leisure may be just as important to a well-rounded childs development.
When Your Child Gets Physical Talk To Them Truthfully About The Consequences
When rage leads to physical violence, its time to talk with your child about the possible consequences of their behavior. You should not ignore this type of behavior. Even a small child can inflict serious harm to others in the midst of rage, but this child will someday be much bigger, and this could become a serious safety issue.
Let your child know that this type of behavior wont be tolerated and that people who do such things may have to go to a juvenile detention center or a jail. Be honest with your child about what you expect of them and seek the guidance of a professional if you need help.
In an emergency, if you cant handle the situation and are in fear of someone being hurt, call 911.
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About Aggressive Behaviour And Self
Autistic children sometimes express their emotions through aggressive behaviour towards others. Sometimes their aggressive behaviour can be directed towards themselves. This is called self-injurious behaviour. They might hit, kick, throw objects or hurt themselves for example, by head-banging.
Autistic children might behave aggressively or hurt themselves because they:
- have trouble understanding whats happening around them for example, what other people are saying or communicating non-verbally
- have difficulty communicating their own wants and needs
- are very anxious and stressed
- have sensory sensitivities, like an oversensitivity to noise or a need for stimulation
- want to escape from stressful situations or activities.
How Is Autism Treated
Currently there is no cure for ASD. Therapies and behavioral interventions are designed to remedy specific symptoms and can substantially improve those symptoms. Some symptoms can be treated with medication. The ideal treatment plan coordinates therapies and interventions that meet the specific needs of the individual. Most health care professionals agree that the earlier the intervention, the better.
Educational/behavioral interventions: Early behavioral/educational interventions have been very successful in many children with ASD. In these interventions therapists use highly structured and intensive skill-oriented training sessions to help children develop social and language skills, such as applied behavioral analysis, which encourages positive behaviors and discourages negative ones. In addition, family counseling for the parents and siblings of children with ASD often helps families cope with the particular challenges of living with a child with ASD.
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Aba Therapy For Controlling Anger
Anger treatment is a crucial part of helping your child with high-functioning autism. Children who havent learned how to manage their anger can have a hard time processing their emotions and dealing with built-up stress. The earlier you start with the treatment, the quicker your child will learn and be able to put in use coping and anger management skills.
Applied Behavioral Analysis is considered being one of the most successful interventions for helping children with autism learn desired behaviors through positive reinforcement. By improving communication and social skills and regulating potentially harmful behaviors, ABA therapy can help to reduce aggressive actions and help children with high-functioning autism better regulate their emotions, including anger. This type of therapy has been proven to be effective in both reducing and eliminating aggressive behaviors.
When it comes to anger management skills, ABA can help high-functioning autistic children to:
- Learn how to avoid negative responses or behaviors.
- Reduce the frequency of unwanted behavior.
- Learn acceptable alternative behaviors.
A Syllogism: Some Autistic People Really Are Jerks
Faulty Syllogism
Note: I wrote this post in February of 2012. The individual I refer to in this post is a person I know in my day-to-day brick and mortar life and not in the autism blogosphere. I re-posted this piece recently in protest of the idea that autism excuses unkind behavior.
-Leigh Merryday, January 2013
I cant believe Im actually going to say this. I find myself thinking about syllogisms today. Those of you who endured Logic 101 should remember these.
Syllogisms go something like this: All cats have four legs. A table has four legs. Therefore, all cats are tables. This is a false syllogism, in case you havent already guessed. In Logic 101, cats can actually be tables. But only in a correct syllogism.
I loved this class, mainly because I got math credit for it. A math class that involved creative and persuasive writing. I loved being able to ignore the words while conclusively proving some silly arguments. The nice thing about logic is that you can whip out a Venn diagram and visually prove or disprove an argument-including some pretty sophisticated ones.
And logic did teach me something. Namely, that we have to be careful about black and white, part or whole kinds of declarations. Its quite easy to reach the wrong conclusions based upon nothing but personal observation and well-intentioned generalizations.
So, then I ask myself why are we guilty of doing this ourselves?
Here is a syllogism that works:
All persons with autism are human beings.
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Please Let My Child Play With Your Child
A study done in Australia found that 42% of teens and adults on the Autism Spectrum do not feel comfortable leaving their own home because they often feel others treat them negatively. Not only is this heartbreaking for the affected individuals, it also leads to further misunderstanding and stigma about autism by the general public. Children with autism like to play with their peers, and largely benefit from being included in things like play dates and sports teams.
When My Son With Autism Melts Down Heres What I Do
Health and wellness touch each of us differently. This is one persons story.
I sat in the child psychologists office telling her about my six-year-old son who has autism.
This was our first meeting to see if we would be a good fit to work together toward an evaluation and formal diagnosis, so my son wasnt present.
My partner and I told her about our choice of home-schooling and how weve never used punishment as a form of discipline.
As the meeting continued, her brows became hawklike.
I could see the judgment in her expression when she began a monologue about how I needed to force my son to go to school, force him into situations that make him extremely uncomfortable, and force him to socialize regardless of how he feels about it.
Force, force, force.
I felt like she wanted to stuff his behaviors into a box, then sit on top of it.
In reality, each and every child with autism is so unique and different from what society deems typical. You could never fit their beauty and quirkiness into a box.
We declined her services and found a better fit for our family for our son.
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Great Strengths And Abilities
In general, people with autism are honest and dependable most are focused on their work and are rarely distracted by social activities or outside interests.
Quite a few have exceptional talents in areas such as computer coding, mathematics, music, drafting, organizing, and visual arts. While it can be tough for autistic adults to set up and manage their own space and schedules, many are outstanding bosses and employees.
Some corporations have started to recognize the value of actively recruiting and hiring autistic individuals a few include:
- Freddie Mac
How Does Autism In Children Look Like
Many researches have been conducted to study the changes in behavioral, social and physical characters of an autistic child and how do they distinguish them from other normal children. The attributes of an autistic child vary based on the severity of the condition. But the attributes are clearly visible at certain ages and demand to be diagnosed.
Specific attributes of children that distinguish them from the unaffected children.
If your child suffers from autism, you will witness these noticeable attributes in your child.
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Signs And Symptoms In Children With Autism
Autism usually appears before a child is 3 years old. Some signs of autism may be evident as early as 10 to 12 months, and certainly by 18 months.
Varying widely, signs and symptoms in children with autism typically include:
- Impaired communication skills
- Difficulty making eye contact
- Repetitive behaviors and activities such as arm flapping, head banging, or twirling an object over and over
- Rigid behavior and difficulty with change and transitions
- Narrow range of interests and activities
Why Is My Autistic Child Disrespectful
I see tons of questions from autism parents on a wide range of topics.
Many of the questions I see however, can be summed up into one category, and that is respect or lack of respect as the case might be.
Here is why many of our autistic children are disrespectful.
Gratitude and respect are learned behaviors. The characteristics that encompass an autism diagnosis hinder the ability to be able to understand these behaviors. All people are ungrateful and disrespectful to some extent. The gap between neurotypical disrespectful and what you experience with your kids is autism.
That statement was written by my wife Bella.
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What Disorders Are Related To Asd
Certain known genetic disorders are associated with an increased risk for autism, including Fragile X syndrome and tuberous sclerosis each of which results from a mutation in a single, but different, gene. Recently, researchers have discovered other genetic mutations in children diagnosed with autism, including some that have not yet been designated as named syndromes. While each of these disorders is rare, in aggregate, they may account for 20 percent or more of all autism cases.
People with ASD also have a higher than average risk of having epilepsy. Children whose language skills regress early in life before age 3 appear to have a risk of developing epilepsy or seizure-like brain activity. About 20 to 30 percent of children with ASD develop epilepsy by the time they reach adulthood. Additionally, people with both ASD and intellectual disability have the greatest risk of developing seizure disorder.
You Cant Always See Autism
There is still a shocking amount of ignorance among the general population when it comes to the Autism Spectrum. Many people assume that children with autism have certain identifiable facial features or particular habits. But as it has already has been mentioned, every single person with autism is different and mild cases of autism are common. These stereotypes and lack of understanding often make things difficult for parents. Its especially hard in the case of schools, coaches, or other organizations who deny a diagnosis because it is not easily seen.
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A Parent Mariam Narrated:
“I thought Isaac had autism very young too. He never looked at my face, ever, even while breastfeeding. He was blank, never copied anything or really responded to me, he would just wave his hands in front of his eyes continually all day.He would eat, sleep and just sit there. I remember a friend coming to visit when the twins were around five months. She picked up one baby and chatted and played with her and she smiled, laughter and played. She picked up Isaac and he showed no interest and she said it was like holding a childs doll. I knew right away then something was not right.Both mine were delayed in meeting milestones but unlike Isaac I was convinced Naomi was fine right up until she started nursery. She was a very late walker at 2 and a half but talked, gave eye contact and played.I was shocked when a senior health visitor who was using my twins as a case study for her autism degree spoke to me and suggested Naomi was tested too. My biggest concern back then was her silence in nursery and I naively thought she was just missing her twin brother and her mum!I was heartbroken at Isaacs diagnosis. His report stated severe autism with significant global developmental delay and pica. I knew he would never recover and if truth be told, it felt like a death sentence to me as all my hopes for my son vanished in one appointment.”
Mariam
How To Stop My Autistic Child From Pinching
This weeks Got Questions? response is by psychologist Kenneth Shamlian, director of the behavioral treatment program at the University of Rochester Medical Center. The University of Rochester is among the 13 sites in the Autism Speaks Autism Treatment Network .
My son is 4 years old and has autism. Several months ago, he started pinching people. It could be anybody adult, child or baby. Hell just run over, pinch the person and run away. Well give him time outs for this, and hell say sorry the minute he does it. Can you recommend any solution? It’s getting quite embarrassing when we go to playgrounds or people’s houses.
Editors note: The following information is not meant to diagnose or treat and should not take the place of personal consultation, as appropriate, with a qualified healthcare professional and/or behavioral therapist.
This is a great question. Many times, the behaviors of children with autism dont make sense on the surface. Theres likely some detective work to be done before determining a good solution for this problem.
If possible, I encourage working with a trained behavioral therapist to determine why your son is pinching and finding a replacement behavior that doesnt hurt anyone.
I also recommend reading the Autism Speaks Challenging Behaviors Tool Kit for additional strategies and resources. You can download it free of charge from the Autism Speaks website.
Teach a new way to communicate
Prevention and reward
When he pinches
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Assume That Most Of Their Identity Is Down To Autism Rather Than Personality Choices
The phrase yeah, thats his autism is one I have heard far too many times. Even in professional circles.
Yes, our autism influences us. Yes, it often gives us particular habits or interests unique to us. But to say its just his/her autism is implying that we dont get any say in the matter.
I remember when I was running a chess tournament in a special school . One crucial match was scheduled for a day when the school was doing a special event. Throughout the day there was only one opportunity for this game to be played and ten minutes before the start, one of the students got a migraine and had to go home.
This stressed me out because I was relying on that matchs result so I could drive straight to the trophy centre after work and have the prizes engraved . And Im fairly transparent, so people could tell I was bothered by something.
When I told one of my colleagues I was feeling stressed, she immediately asked me oh dear- is it because todays been a break from routine?
No, it wasnt.
Some other examples:
That said, there is a balance. Like I said, autism does have an impact on us. I used to watch Independence Day on video over and over and over and over again when I was twelve, and you could validly say that this habit was influenced by my Aspergers. But the main reason it happened was because Independence Day was an awesome movie!
Adhd And Abusive Language
Q: What would you suggest for moving away from abusive language when my son is angry. He says a lot of mean, hurtful things wishing death or severe harm on me, his grandmother, and his sister. Then, two minutes later, he acts as if nothing has happened.
A: His abusive language is essentially like a valve that lets steam out of a tea kettle. Once its out, its gone. It has evaporated for him. He doesnt actually see the effect of his words or behavior on other people. Even if you tell him his words and behavior are hurtful to others, it doesnt seem to be sinking in. Instead, what I would do is move towards apologies of action. When you use that kind of language, in order for us to see that you are truly sorry you are going to help me fold the laundry or go to the grocery store or do something else to demonstrate that he acknowledges the harm done.
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How Common Is Autism Spectrum Disorder
Based on most recent CDC report, ASD is estimated to affect about 1 in 54 children, with boys being more likely to have ASD than girls. There were more than 5 million adults in the US, or 2.21% of the population, with ASD as of 2017. Government statistics suggest that the prevalence of ASD has risen 10% to 17% in recent years.