Aspergers Syndrome for Son, Any Positive Stories?

A dear friend of mine has twin girls who both have Aspergers. They are 6 or 7 now, and just deeply cool little people. If I didn't know about their challenges, I would think they are brilliant, funny, imaginative, talented children. Knowing their challenges, I have the exact same opinion with a deeper respect for my friend as a mother :) She is a physical therapist, so I know she has done a lot of different things with them to teach them social and coping skills. I am not familiar with specifics, just wanted to tell you that there is yet another very positive story out there!!

My daughter is 30 y.o. Back then Aspergers did not exist. She had severe
learning disabilities, some sensory issues etc. I was her biggest advocate
and fought hard for everything. I was lucky, she so wanted to succeed and
learn. Were the early years rough. Yep they were. Once she was in the
right program she just blossomed. When she got into high school she found her niche; the medical field. She took the test to be an LPN and passed. This was a program where she would do 1/2 time high schoo and
1/2 time nursing program. It was just too difficult, even for the kids without
issues. She then applied to a surgical tech school in her senior year and got in. Did a two year program in one year!! She has been employed in the OR of a hospital for almost 10 years now. She is an EMT and a volunteer firefighter. Stll a few social issues but nothing that stands out. She is a true success story. She wanted it, worked at it, and got it! I am
very proud of her. The other day she found out her 9 year old Trailblazer was
going to need a lot of work, costing a lot of money. She knew what she
wanted and what she had to do so off she went and bought herself a new
car! Good luck with your son.

Oh my goodness I am sure there are a lot of positive stories! And I work with children who have this type of situation and there are so many who are talented and wonderful, artistic and musical, it's just a label for a really cool person who might not fall into the right 'social skills'. There's been children who play instruments in the school band and some who are great singers and writers, do not be daunted by this label!!

Food allergies/sensitivities seem to play a huge role on this. If I were you, I'd do some reading on the GAPS diet, and The Weston A. Price Foundation. HTH

Read "The OASIS Guide to Asperger Syndrome." Lots of good advice and resources in that book. I've also read that B-6 supplements can help mitigate symptoms. This is also discussed in that book. Good luck.

My son has PDD which is somewhere around Aspergers but I don't exactly know where. He is almost 13 and doing fine. He had his moments and still has a few but all in all he is good.

I can't remember the list but if you google celebrities with Aspergers there are a lot of them. Without the list you wouldn't know. That I think speaks volumes. :)

If you are on FB, try the Asperger's Support Network. It was started and is based in England, but it's a great source of support. Any question or comment related to AS is welcome, and though I've been living with my son's Asperger's for 10 years, I go to the page with questions (or to answer the questions that I have an answer for) regularly.
The biggest thing to remember is that AS babies are very literal and don't understand idioms or sarcasm. For instance, if you tell him he let the cat out of the bag, he'll start looking for the cat and the bag and completely miss your point. I listen carefully to everything I say and ask if he understands, then explain it in the simlest terms I can. Over time, he's also gotten much better at asking when I miss it.

Donard Trump--Bill Gates and Dan Ackroyd all have Aspergers and Ackroyd also has Tourettes Syndrom.

My son(7) is on the Spectrum and leans more towards Asperegers and ADHD. Does he have his moments, Absolutely! He is only on Intuniv to calm him down for school, other than that I will not put him on anything else. He has come along way (I've known he has had it since about 4) He has friends in school and friends in the neighborhood he plays with. He is super smart, so school works isn't an issue for him. He goes to a social group at school once a week which seems to help. He has temper tantrums once in awhile and struggles with "selfishness" as alot of Aspergers kids do. I know it's hard, sometimes i would like to put him in bubble, but you can't. Sometimes i think it's harder on us parents than the kids! He will be fine, will he always be different, yes, but it's ok. Just remember that social things that comes natural to us, don't to them. You have to explain them. Sometimes I just tell him he has to do it, I don't care if he doesn't understand it. He will understand later. Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions!

It's great that you know now, before puberty. Our 8 yr old son has high functioning autism. He was diagnosed at an early age, but even after all these years I still hurt for my son and what's to come.

The great news is there are so many clinically proven techniques and therapies out that can help. But I think half the battle is understanding and learning to adapt with your son. There are a lot of good books out there. Temple Grandin is a great source.

Being a first time mother, over 40 and the last time I took care of a child was when I babysat as a kid 30ish years did not help. We were very lucky that I could leave my career and tackle this with our son. But, I learned as he did and used the therapists techniques in every day living. That I think has helped the most.

We've tried gluten and casein free diets and it didn't work. That's not to say that it won't for others, but didn't for us. Proper nutrition has helped. Exercise helps. Yoga has helped on not only relaxing the body, but learning to breathe and concentration. My son loves yoga.

Social skills are crucial. I honestly would recommend more than once a week, but I don't know your circumstances. Especially with the teen years around the corner.

My son struggled with engaging and staying on task. He now engages, but still struggles with staying on task. He does need the help of medication. We are keeping it at a low dose, so he can learn to adapt as he matures. That was a tough decision that I didn't take lightly. We exhausted all behavioral techniques before making the final decision. Task lists (to do) do help. Our son is a visual thinker, just telling him is not enough. He needs structure and a visual on what to do.

Our son has sensory issues with everything from loud noises, textures, eating. We've had to slowly work on each one so he can learn to adapt.

The eating challenges we were able to break through with having our son do the cooking. It took the focus off the anxiety of introducing new textures, but all "good cooks must sample their ingredients". It took time, but he became comfortable with doing that and then we transitioned into he had to sample the dishes he made. Now he's eating it and he's actually a very good cook. Sometimes it was baby steps and it was a long process that required a lot of patience on my part, but he did it.

I could go on and on, but hopefully that gives you a few ideas. Hang in there, I look at it as a new journey and it's just a matter of having the right tools for the journey.

Something very important, if your insurance company will be covering therapy for autism starting in the fall, make sure that your diagnosis is a clinical diagnosis from a medical doctor, licensed psychiatrist or psychologist. That is the requirement for the state of Michigan. A diagnosis from a school district is not enough.

Check this out, it is SO hopeful and positive:

http://www.shiftjournal.com/2011/11/30/the-obsessive-joy-...

I don't have a child with Asbergers, but my brightest and most challenging piano student did. Even though I don't teach her anymore I am still learning from her.

Being in private music lessons and learning music theory and piano was good for her. There are patterns to discover and new applications for the math and history she was learning in school. And her questions and observations were great for me! I smile just remembering her.