You are here:

Autism/My son 4 yrs borderline AS

Advertisement

Expert: - 9/21/2008


Question
I am looking for some solutions for discipline.  I have a 4 year old boy, being watched for poss. AS.  He is a really good boy now that his communication skills have improved and he can express his feelings.  My problems are I find myself doing empty threats for tantrums for him.  His one specific thing he cares alot about are animals and whenever he does not get his way, he throws a fit and it becomes so involved.  He throws things and he says things like"I give up".  I try talking to him, but he don't seem to understand what I am saying.  Do you have any suggestions?

Answer
Hi Amy,

I don't know much about educating a child, so I'm probably not the best person to ask. You should probably try asking another expert here who has a child himself/herself.
Probably trying to figure out what causes his tantrums might help. He's still very young so I don't think trying to talk things through with him will work (I mean trying to use logic).  If he says "I give up" it could mean he's frustrated which makes him even more prone to new tantrums.
For me, reducing stress helps reducing tantrums (which, in my case means leaving me alone for a while after coming home from work, and letting me have my routines and such things).
Sorry I cannot really help,

C.

Autism

All Answers

Answers by Expert:

Ask Experts

Volunteer

Celtica

Expertise


*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
================================================================

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.
================================================================

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.
=======================================================================

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 !

©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.