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Expert: - 5/5/2008


Question
My 7 year old was diagnosed under autisim spectrum disorder. He has a lot of problems in school with frustration and anger. His teachers are great and he has a quiet room set up for some relaxation when he is feeling that he needs a break.He has been sent home a few times for anger outburst. What can I do to help my child have a positive, fulfilling time at home and at school?

Answer
Hi Kristyn,

Is it possible to find out what causes his frustration (noise, lights, tactile discomfort, bordedom...) ? Is there any way to know when another anger outburst is coming on ? Can he tell you how he feels and why he is frustrated, and if so, can you work on that ? It's difficult to say what will help. Be as supportive as you can be but not overprotective. Tell him he's okay the way it is, but probably also explain to him why he's different.
I'm likely telling you things you already do and know :-). Such open questions are quite difficult for me because I never know where to begin and what to say.
Here are a few things I would have appreciated when I was in school.

- some help with structuring things (I can never tell which things are important and which are not)

- use pictures and diagramms more, or at least short written lists
or teach things through doing them instead of through the spoken word (I usually learn best this way)

- avoid timed tests

- allow typing instead of handwriting

- not being forced to socialize during breaks and after school. Be allowed to stay in the classroom during breaks.


I feel I often get angry or frustrated more easily when I haven't slept well/enough. I often can't feel how tired I am but the effects are there nevertheless. Does your son have sleep issues that could be adressed ? My moods and behaviour also got better since going on a gf/cf diet.

Hope this helps.

C.  

Autism

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*DISCLAIMER*

Please note I am not a healthcare professional or a doctor.
I cannot provide a diagnosis or give any medical advice.
Therefore I cannot answer questions like "is my child autistic ?" other than by telling you to go and see a specialist
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Please be aware that if you are in the US it will usually take at least 24 hours until I can answer your question, as I'm in Europe and don't have access to my email during the day. I also cannot answer questions concerning the US educational or law system (other than by looking up things on google, but that's probably not the expertise you need), as I'm not in the US.
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Please also be aware that I'm a person with autism. My answers may sometimes be very blunt and direct and I may tell you things you won't like to hear. Diplomacy is certainly not among my talents. I'm never being rude on purpose, and I always try not to hurt or offend people, but it has happened before and may happen again. It's NEVER on purpose. I just want to help.
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What I *can* do for you is gather information on any aspect of autism and therapy of autism you're interested in and give you my personal oppinion about it (if you want to hear it) or, if it applies, tell you about my personal experience. I can answer all questions about what life is like for an autistic person.

I can also answer questions asked in German or French (but will have to answer in English to questions asked in French as my French is a bit rusty).

Ich beantworte gerne auch Fragen auf Deutsch.

Vous pouvez poser des questions en Francais, si cela ne vous dérange pas que je responds en anglais.

Experience


As I'm not doing well right now and am not in the shape of answering questions well - I recieved a few low ratings lately - I'll take a break from AllExperts for the next few weeks/until I'm doing better

I am an adult diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome/High Functioning Autism and ADD.

In the past years I have also read a lot about autism and its comorbid conditions and related subjects (as I am experiencing symptoms of most of these or know others who do) , so I have accumulated a lot of layman knowledge in this area (AD(H)D, Tourette's Syndrome, OCD, sleep disorders, allergies, sensory integration dysfunction, learning difficulties, left/right-brain, giftedness, Irlen Syndrome, prism glasses, executive dysfunction (aka. "inertia"), "special" diets).

Education/Credentials
None in the field of autism, apart from being autistic myself !

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