AspergerSyndrome.org

What is the best treatment for Asperger Syndrome?  Here are a couple of approaches you may have heard about:  Some espouse Applied Behavior Analysis, a behavioral approach to teaching young children that involves breaking down tasks into their smallest pieces and using rewards to promote appropriate behavior.  Another treatment approach for Asperger’s is modifying the diet.  The gluten free casein free diet has been touted as a means of helping children with Asperger Syndrome.  It involves eliminating dairy and wheat from the diet, plus some other foods.  Corn may also need to be eliminated.  Here are a couple of websites that deal with both of these topics:

 ABA: http://rsaffran.tripod.com/aba.html

Diet: http://www.gfcfdiet.com/

A group in California helps connect young adults with Asperger Syndrome with one another.  The group of 20something met to play golf on an outing arranged a group started on the Meetup Web site by Escondido resident Lisa James and her daughter, Wendy Walker.  Here’s the link: http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/02/17/lifeandtimes/17_27_352_16_08.txt

This article confirms what I suspected about Asperger Syndrome and problems with sleep, particularly falling asleep.  Check out http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071101085018.htm

In a nutshell, a study showed that 50 percent of the children with Asperger’s were reluctant to go to bed, and notably 50 percent felt unrefreshed when they woke up in the morning.  The next step:  what to do about this.  If anyone needs a good night’s rest to decompress it is children with Asperger Syndrome, who often feel overstimulated during the day.

This is a nice list of famous people, real and fictional characters, with Asperger’s or Asperger’s features.  Check it out: http://www.geocities.com/westhollywood/stonewall/4502/famousac.html

Researchers in Texas believe that people with Asperger Syndrome may benefit from practicing skills in a virtual world known as “Second Life.”  The online therapy pairs the avatar (or icon that represents the person) of a clinician from the University of Texas at Dallas Center for Brain Health with that of a person with Asperger’s.  Then, they practice conversation skills and other interactions with one another in the virtual world.  The idea is that mastering the skills online will help the patient feel more comfortable with those skills in real life.  In an article on the ABC News website (http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/OnCall/Story?id=4133184&page=3), the technique is referred to as “virtual socialization.”  Do the skills generalize from the virtual to the real world?  Perhaps, and hopefully more studies will research the benefits of this type of therapy.  In any event, it seems that the connections made and confidence built would nonetheless be helpful to a person with Asperger Syndrome.

I have to admit it:  I love the honesty of children with Asperger Syndrome.  It’s asking with curiousity  of an elderly person ”how old are you?” when a child of a similar age would know to not ask.  It’s saying to the host of a dinner party “I don’t like what you cooked, I prefer chicken.”  Now in a young child, this may be typical across the board.  But in a typical child of 10, 11, or say 12, those instincts are stifled.  But I never have to wonder what my son is thinking.  He says it! 

Why do private schools often specifically exclude children with Asperger Syndrome when it comes to their admissions policies?  Children with Asperger Syndrome have normal to high IQs, and are often very academically inclined.  Yet so many schools for children with learning disabilities specifically exclude them and highlight that they are for children with language based learning disabilities such as dyslexia.  Is it so much easier to deal with those learning issues than some of the behavioral issues that come along with Asperger Syndrome?  I think it is unfortunate, both for the children and the schools.  For the children, it is a choice that is closed to them that may be a better option than public school.  And for the schools, who are losing out on the potentional and diversity that a child with Asperger’s can bring.

And would we want it to be cured?  Asperger Syndrome is considered a disorder, yet many including those diagnosed with Asperger’s, believe it is simply another variant of human personality.  They feel that it is cruel to try to get children through behavior modification to conform to so-called societal norms.

My feeling is that behavior modification works, and that the goal should be to allow a child to develop skills that will help him or her function more easily in life.  Until the day comes that society accepts and supports those who are different, those who are different will have to navigate in the world.  And having those extra skills and added training that comes with behavioral interventions is a step in that direction.

Boy with Asperger’s Takes Control of Car after Mother Passes Out (January 31, 2008)

Nine-year-old Jonathan Anderson who has Asperger’s Syndrome acted quickly when his mother passed out while driving him to school in England. They were in the middle of rush hour traffic and the car was going at 70 mph. Grabbing the steering wheel with one hand and the handbrake with the other, he guided the car through three lanes to the side of the road and waited for help to arrive. Doctors believe that the mother fainted because of an under-active thyroid. Jonathan said that the whole thing was “scary.” His mother, Marion, said that his son is very technically-minded and always wanted to learn how to drive a car. She referred to Jonathan as her “little superhero.”

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According to the According to the DSM-IV, Asperger’s is a distinct disorder.  One of the main differences features is that children with Asperger Syndrome, by definition, do not have a significant language delay.  The other defining area is in cognitive ability.  Those with Asperger Syndrome are considered “higher functioning” in terms of cognitive ability.  But there is a lot of gray area and overlap in diagnoses.  Ultimately the most important part of getting the diagnosis is its use in focusing the appropriate intervention.  So you may find some families willing to “push” for more severe diagnosis in order to qualify for hard-to-get early intervention services because a diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome may not get them those services.  Food for thought!  What do you think?