Nurturing Your Asperger’s Child

You have found out that your child is on the autism spectrum–he or she has Asperger’s Syndrome, a mild form of autism. Autistic kids can be on the odd side of normal, or they can be pretty seriously impaired. Your child with Asperger’s is somewhere in the middle. Now, how can you help your child move toward being more normal? Work to aid his self-confidence, and shield him from those who would discourage him.

How do you increase his self-confidence? You can encourage his musical gifts. He may have exceptional musical talent–people on the autism spectrum often do. He may even have perfect pitch. If your child can enjoy music, or even excel at it, it will give him joy for the rest of his life. Now, how do you find the right teacher? The typical piano teacher may be intimidated by your child. But a music therapist wouldn’t be intimidated. Or perhaps you have a family member or family friend who knows the child and has the patience to teach him. You can build a requirement for daily practicing into your system of rewards for your child. You need to create such a system to encourage your child to do chores and homework.

Your child probably tends to isolate himself, and may love to talk and talk about one subject. Patience! During the middle school years, your child will probably begin to be more aware that he is being rejected socially. Finally, he may be motivated to try to change his ways! Look for this developmental stage, and when it arrives, do everything you can to teach your child social acceptability.

He may be ready for:

* Social skills groups with other Aspies taught by a professional. (Speech therapists are stepping into this need; so are social workers specializing in coaching kids with learning disabilities.)

* Working with him yourself. Set aside 15 minutes a day during Homework Time to play conversation games.

* Enrolling him in a school for kids with special needs. Such a school can teach him social skills in a supportive environment. Your child desperately needs coaching. If he is mainstreamed in a regular school, he may be exposed to bullying and may not get the coaching he needs.

Speaking of bullying, this is one of the most damaging situations for your child’s feelings of self worth.

An Asperger’s child in regular school may be the target of teasing and bullying. It is your job to try to make sure that isn’t happening. You may want to volunteer at your child’s school, to find out what is happening. If your child has an aide assigned to him, you can talk to the aide. You can ask the aide to help protect your child from teasing, as well. Negative teasing often goes unpunished in our culture. But you need to find a way to defend your child from these ill effects.

* Homeschooling may allow you to protect your child from teasing. You can find out all about it on the Internet.

* You may be able to find a school that controls most peer interactions. This might be a private special-needs school.

In short, there are steps you can take to protect your child’s self-esteem. Be sure to take them!

Related Articles

• High Functioning Autism Is Workable
• Meeting the Needs of Your Asperger’s Child
• A Parent’s Guide to Understanding Asperger’s Disorder
• Child Home Schooling - How To Cope With It And What Are The Pros and Cons
• Choosing The Right Furniture For Your Kid’s Room