Expert: James Michael Roan - 4/12/2009

Question
I'm a mother of a young man with Asperger's. I'm also a special ed consultant with a school district and am currently working on a Ph.D. in autism. I'm one of the other autism experts @ AllExperts.com. I'd appreciate your thoughts on two areas, please.

1. My son attends university and lives on his own. Unfortunately I'm not sure this is the norm for young people with high functioning autism and Asperger's. What do you see as preventing them from having more independent outcomes?

2. I also need some help please for one of the classes I'm taking in my Ph.D program. Could you tell me what sorts of things in your experience families, teachers and/or counselors spend money on related to AS and autism? Which books and other forms of services do you feel are bought? Are there gaps in the information they can currently find?

Thanks for your thoughts and your time,

Sharon


Answer
Hi Sharon;

Very nice to meet you!

1. I have only worked with three or four of these young folks. Generally, as you would suspect, it is dealing with roommates. As soon as they begin to adjust to one person, they move out and another moves in. They have to learn all over again whether they can trust the new person. The anxiety often becomes overwhelming. Also, executive functions are very often delayed/impaired and the rigors of organizing their independent lives can be too much in addition to other challenges they face.

2. In my experience, they first look for books and therapies. After logging onto listserves they become aware of Dr. Tony Attwood and Michelle Garcia-Winner. Teachers tend to attend workshops indiscriminately to learn about coping with behaviors in the classroom. Often food therapies are sought out such as gluten- and casein-free diets, fish oils, and melatonin. What is really a problem for a parents and teachers is that there is no identifiable comprehensive source on the Internet for reliable information.

I hope this helps! Good luck.

Kind regards,
James











Disclaimer:

While James Michael Roan has attempted to make the information on this web site as accurate as possible, the information is provided in good faith without any express or implied warranty. The purpose of this web site is to provide information to families with children, teens, and adults with an autism spectrum disorder or other developmental delay. James Michael Roan does not prefer any one organization to another, and it is not responsible for the information listed on an organization's web site, or any disseminated information either verbal or written. Please be advised we are not giving medical advice and that circumstances can dictate different treatments. If these issues affect you or your loved ones you should seek professional advice. This site is operated for informational purposes only. At no time will James Michael Roan attempt to diagnose or dismiss a potential diagnosis over the Internet. We hope that you find our resources useful.


Bio

James Roan is a certified school psychologist who has been consulting in the areas of autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, and learning difficulties in the United States and in Ireland for over ten years (http://www.jamesroan.com). James earned his M.Ed. in School Psychology and M. Ed. in Adult Education and receives ongoing post graduate training in autism at the University of Washington’s Autism Center. James Roan has traveled to Galway, Limerick, Mayo, Clare, Dublin, Cork, Waterford, and other cities and counties across Ireland assessing children and adults, and consulting with solicitors (lawyers) in defense of children with disabilities. James Roan was the consulting assessment professional responsible for many of the autism and AD/HD screening tools and other content for Access Special Needs.Com. James Roan consulted with the graduate department of the Waterford Institute of Technology in Waterford Ireland in the development of their graduate program for the certification of private autism tutors. James has conducted formal assessments of students in the Autism Unit in the Claddagh National School in County Galway Ireland.