Educating Others About Your Challenging Child
Does My Child Really Have ADHD?
Your Little Professor
Resources and academic programs for children with Asperger's Syndrome<
Talisman Camps
Talisman summer programs offer camps for children ages 6 to 17 and young adults 18-21 with LD, ADD and ADHD, Asperger's Syndrome, and high functioning autism. Talisman has been offering such experiences since 1980 and is ACA accredited.
Camp Huntington
Locate within the Catskills in New York, Camp Huntington is a co-ed, residential, seven-week camp program for children and young adults with Learning and Developmental Disabilities, Attention Deficit and Attention Deficit with Hyperactivity Disorders (ADD / ADHD), Autism Spectrum Disorders, Asperger's Syndrome, Pervasive Developmental Disabilities (PDD), and other special needs.
The Silicon Valley in northern California, areas around Boston near the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the suburbs of Rochester, Minnesota are places full of people with what is affectionately called "the Geek Syndrome." Geek Syndrome seems to run in families, according to author Steve Silberman, writing in Wired Magazine.
Geek children are often "clumsy and overwhelmed in the physical world" but have "minds that soar in the virtual realms of mathematics, symbols and code" with "their own rule-based, image-driven thought process," Silberman writes. Geek adults make fabulous sums of money to create technology no one else understands.
Geek or Asperger's Syndrome is a form of high-functioning autism. However, the genes for it may actually be a gift from the gods to humanity. Silberman goes as far to say, "It may be that autistic people are essentially different, and it is precisely these differences that make them invaluable to the ongoing evolution of the human race." In some circles, Geek is chic, with members interacting on websites like "Wrong Planet" and using a disparaging term for normal people - "neurotypicals" or NTs.
The high-tech parents of Aspies often have symptoms of Asperger's Syndrome themselves. They may view traits like extreme logic and attention to detail as important means to achieve what they value: academic and financial success over social popularity. Why does it matter if your child is popular with the cretins who run junior high schools? Does it matter if he has bad handwriting and can't do sports if he is a genius in mathematics
Asperger's Syndrome is unusual as a disorder in that it presents both positive and negative aspects. Aspies, who have IQs in the normal to gifted range, respond through reason and logic, not intuition and emotion. Reason, logic, the capacity to understand rules and systems, and the ability to pay attention to detail are advantages. Dr. Lorna Wing, the British psychiatrist who first named the disorder in 1994, theorized that the syndrome might just be an extreme of the male brain, which is hard-wired for building and understanding systems.
Asperger's Syndrome is often diagnosed in adolescence or even adulthood. Usually the first real problems arise when the child attends school, but if symptoms are mild, a child can struggle along without services. The real problems begin in the tween and teenage years, when social interactions become more complex. Parents easily overlook mild symptoms in their teen because not only because they value the advantages but also because they have become used to their child's odd behaviors.
Teens with mild Asperger's Syndrome usually have odd behaviors as a result of social anxiety. Aspies cling to familiar routines and places; they like old comfortable clothes. They are unaware of teen norms and fashions, which means they are often excluded from peer groups. They often have no friends their age yet can relate well to adults. They may excel at certain subjects like mathematics and programming but fail at those that require emotional intelligence, such as literature and political science. However, if teens have ADHD along with Asperger's Syndrome, they will usually develop academic problems across the board. Teens with Asperger's Syndrome have a favorite topic that obsesses them - and they talk about it inappropriately and incessantly. They usually do not express empathy or affection, and do not understand other people's needs for that. Relationships exhaust them mentally because the rules of social interaction are intuitive and illogical.
Some parents realize that their child has Asperger's Syndrome, but refuse to allow their child to have that label at school or in the community. They don't want their bright child in public special education classes, which often operate below-grade level. They don't want their child placed with children who have severe problems like conduct disorder, violence, bipolar disorder, etc. They don't want their child to bear a lifelong label of mental disorder.
The problem with this way of thinking is that most Aspies benefit from social skills training; cognitive behavioral therapy to help them manage emotions; anti-anxiety or Attention Deficit Disorder medications; physical therapy for poor motor coordination; sensory integration therapy for hypersensitivity to light, sound and touch; and counseling. Some researchers even believe that Asperger's Syndrome can be reversed through early intervention. Asperger's Syndrome often appears with comorbidities such as anxiety, depression, obsessive/compulsive disorder, and attention deficit disorder. In these cases, professional help makes a tremendous difference in a child's life. A teen who does not receive social skills training and other therapies will often go through adolescence friendless, lonely and unhappy. She becomes a good candidate for bullying and sexual exploitation as well as social isolation.
Many Aspies report that receiving their diagnoses was absolutely helpful and beneficial. As one parent wrote, "the label of Asperger's Syndrome was better than my child's usual label of spoiled, self-centered and out of control." Troublesome odd behaviors are suddenly no one's fault. You gain access to support groups of parents and other Aspies who understand your needs, as well as helpful information and therapies to improve your child's functioning. Many families spend years accommodating themselves to the needs of one child. They do not take vacations because the Aspie is too anxious to leave home, they don't go to the mall because it overstimulates him, and so forth. Suddenly they have effective strategies for everyday problems that have disrupted their lives for years.
Tony Attwood, a British authority on Asperger's Syndrome, advises parents to embrace the diagnosis. In his words, "Take the label and get all the services you can."