Glyconutrients - Parenting an 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.
Aspies often are loners. Your child may love to talk on and on about one subject. Developing social skills doesn't come naturally. You will need to teach these skills. When your child is in grade school, he may not be very aware of his need to learn social skills. But in middle school, he may notice that others have friends while he does not. When he reaches this teachable point, it's time for you to step in and show him how to make friends.
This might include:
* Therapy groups that teach social skills, led by a social worker, speech therapist, or other professional.
* Teach him skills yourself, planning the session out beforehand. You can set aside time every day to work on conversation skills, for example.
* Putting him in a special-needs school that will give him social coaching. Your child needs special help. Placement in a regular mainstream school situation may expose him to bullying. Instead, he needs to be taught how to interact with others.
A child who is bullied can feel the damage to his self-worth for the rest of his life.
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.
* A private special-needs school may be able to protect your child by controlling most interactions between peers.
In short, there are steps you can take to protect your child's self-esteem. Be sure to take them!
About the Author, Phyllis Wheeler:
To learn many tools for bringing up your Aspergers youngster, be sure to check out Phyllis Wheeler's ebook, Nurturing Your Aspergers Child. In it Ms. Wheeler defines workable tools, such as a point system.
