Autism Spectrum Disorders: Resources

In My Humble Opinion
1

Hi all. My 12-year-old son was recently diagnosed with ASD to go along with his SID (Sensory Integration Disorder) and ADHD.

I see some “meets criteria” symptoms, especially when it comes to clumsiness in social interactions, sudden inappropriate outbursts, and other issues. He falls into some of the categories but doesn’t meet enough to be Asperger’s or another neat label.

Anyway, we’re looking for books but especially books related to what we as parents can do to help him adjust and how we can understand what’s going on in his head and how we might cope with him.

My wife really needs a way to see a behavior and have good instructions on how she can respond to him in a way that’s helpful to both him *and *her.

Any suggestions?

2

I was a publisher’s rep for about 5 years and ran both conferences and bookstores dedicated to ASD. I’ve only been out of that business a little over a year so most of this should still be current.

I’d highly recommend looking for an ASD conference in your area, especially if Dr Temple Grandin is presenting. She’s a great presenter and a fascinating woman; HBO did a movie about her a few years ago. The conference will have a ton of resources and is a great place to connect with other families.

For a general overview, pick up any of her books, but I’d recommend The Way I See It as an introduction to ASD and SPD.

For social issues, Jed Baker’s Social Skills Picture Book or Carol Gray’s Social Stories. Jed’s books give step-by-step pictorials of how social interaction works, for example, how do you join a group playing a game. Carol’s book consists of stories, many written by students, that explain social conventions and how the world works (for example, what happens when going through airport security).

Dr Tony Attwood is an Asperger’s expert and does a great job explaining emotional interactions for those with ASD. He has a couple of great Asperger’s books, but he is such a dynamic presenter that I’d recommend finding his lecture online. He’s English, has a great sense of humor, and is wonderful onstage. Just look him up on YouTube (for that matter, I think everyone I am going to mention can be found on YouTube). He built a kit of visual organizers that helps explain to those on the spectrum how emotions affect themselves and those around them. It’s popular with school districts and therapists.

Kari Dunn Buron does a great series When My Worries Get Too Big! that deals with ways to lower anxiety. You’ll find this one in lots of schools, too.

For some direct behavior strategies try:
Maria Wheeler Treasure Chest of Behavior Strategies or Beth Aune Behavior Solutions. Behavior Solutions is generally more school oriented, but those strategies transfer into the home.

For SPD, don’t forget Carol Kranowitz and The Out of Sync Child, probably the person who first described SPD in a way that made sense for teachers and parents.

I think most have good previews on Amazon or at the publisher websites so you can narrow down to what best fits.

3

Twelve is kinda late for a new diagnosis of ASD. Did you get the diagnosis from the school district or a private practitioner? If from the school, you should start there for some social skills training or any other therapy they offer.

Also, I think the DSM changed the categories recently and Asperger’s is no longer available, but Autism Level I, II or III are.

My son was younger when he got his diagnosis. I used two books, both called “What Would You Do?” as templates for some home training. I also got great help from “Social Skills Activities for Special Children” (which I always like to say is good for not special children, too!’) by Mannix.

But, really, our best help came from the school district. He got PT, OT, SLP and social skills training there that really was top notch.

Often the therapies were blended. Speech blended with social skills (ex.: responding properly to verbal cues), OT blended with social skills (ex.: not being a space invader when in line). I have no doubt that my son would not be where he is now without the public school’s excellent help.
I live in a large city and was recently looking to update my son’s diagnosis and get his skill sets reevaluated. It’s been 5 years since his last full eval. I asked the school to do it. They did it the last time, and did a full and thorough battery. It took a couple of weeks for the school to respond, but they have agreed to do it again. They will begin in the fall.

In the meantime, while waiting for the school to respond, I looked around for a non-school related place to do the full eval. Sometimes it’s hard to get older kids evaluated and my son is 16 now. I didn’t want to go to any clinic that also sells services because I was afraid they would be more likely to diagnose problems in order to sell me services. So I looked at universities and found one that has a pediatric neurodevelopmental clinic that evaluated for autism, ADD, ADHD, learning disabilites, etc. I called for an appointment and their next available appointment is also in the fall.

I’m just gonna wait and see who comes through first. I may even do both, but have been advised to not let my son take any test two times as it skews the results.

4

Also, here is a link to Yale’s most recent autism seminar. It’s about 13 videos, but I found it helpful to get up-to-date on recent trends: An Introduction to Autism, Dr. Fred Volkmar - YouTube

5

Wow, guys. Thanks! Far more thorough answers than I expected.

6

Have you visited the sight wrong planet yet?

7

There are also message boards by and for Persons Formerly Called Aspies, which provide some kind of social outlet and peer support for persons with Whatever-They-Call-It-These-Days.

One of them is Aspie Hangout.