Aspie Mom

Austism Heroes

Last night, I was watching the New Year’s Rockin’ Eve special. At 11pm, there was a half hour of Entertainment Tonight. They happened to have a short clip about the book, Autism Heroes. The book contains the stories of 38 families dealing with autism spectrum disorders. I am going to have to buy this one. It sounds very interesting to me. It’s one thing to read a book about how someone suggests you deal with spectrum disorders. It is quite another to read about real families and how they cope. That’s what Autism Heroes is about. You can read more about the book at autismheroes.org.

Also mentioned in the clip was John Schneider from Dukes of Hazzard and Smallville, among many other things. His son was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome and therefore, John Schneider is an advocate for Asperger’s Awareness.

John Schneider, along with other celebrities including John Asner and Gary Cole (also parents of kids with spectrum disorders), are spokesmen for a non-profiit organization call The Help Group.

It is good to see more press about Asperger’s Syndrome. When talking to people, if you mention Autism, everyone has an idea of what you are talking about. If you mention Asperger’s, no one understands. There needs to be more awareness for the spectrum disorders. That’s something I would really like to work on in 2008. I don’t know how much I can do on my own, but I would sure like to try.

While I have been browsing online this morning, I also came across another website. I honestly don’t know how I have missed it before. Wrong Planet is an online community for those with Asperger’s and parents of those with Asperger’s. I need to read through this site further when I have more time. It looks to be a great site. They have a fantastic article on What is Asperger’s. Definitely a site to keep in the bookmarks.

With that, I’m off. Happy New Year everyone!!

Importance of early screenings

It is now being recommended that children be screened early on for autism and autism spectrum disorders. I completely agree with this because the earlier you can get a diagnosis, the more time you have to work with a child at the most impressionable of ages. It really can make a huge difference.

With some spectrum disorders however, it isn’t always so easy to diagnose early on. Aspergers can be tricky because the symptoms can cover a vast range of degrees. For example, Kiddo is extremely high functioning so it was impossible to really diagnose until she was older. It was impossible to tell if it was just something she would outgrow or not. Now we know.

The important thing though is to follow your gut instincts and push for evaluations as early as possible.

Coulter Video

There are many books on the shelves about Aspergers. Some are written primarily for the parents, others for teachers, and some are written for kids. While all of these are extremely helpful, sometimes the words on the pages just don’t get the message across… especially to the child with Aspergers. As I mentioned, it is common for their reading comprehension to be lower.

You can try and talk to the child about social situations and explain how to act appropriately but it doesn’t always help much. It is more helpful if the child can actually see an example of the behavior you are talking about.

Coulter Video is a production company owned and run by Dan and Julie Coulter who’s son was diagnosed with Aspergers. They have taken all of their knowledge and put together videos to help families dealing with Aspergers. One such video is the Manners video. This video covers various social behaviors including personal hygiene, table manners, talking on the phone, conversations, introductions, etc. What makes this different is that it shows examples of proper behavior and improper behavior.

They also have just come out with a new video called Understanding Brothers and Sisters with Aspergers Syndrome. This is a video I am thinking about getting. It is designed to help siblings understand and support the child who has AS.