By Dr. Patricia Carrington
Emotional Freedom Techniques, EFT, can help anyone deal with the negative emotions and events of our everyday lives. It is highly effective in addressing stress, anxiety, phobias, fear, trauma, anger, and sadness – all emotions that kids and adults on the autism spectrum must deal with.
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By Toni Lapp
“There are three types of people who use special modifications,” my son informed me recently. Ryan has long resisted having modifications allowed for him, so understandably, his statement got my attention.
For the uninitiated, “modifications” are accommodations made for students, usually in special ed programs, to support them in completing their coursework. There are a variety of modifications: assignments are shortened, tests are taken in a secluded setting where test-taking time might be lengthened, a note-taker or paraprofessional might be assigned to a student who writes poorly, and so on.
My son has been wary of modifications being made for him, lest it draw attention to his status as a special ed student. I’ve often implored him to use them.
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By Jeanne Holverstott, M.S.
Question: It seems like summer can be full of pitfalls for my son with Asperger’s — the structure has gone away, and he’s no longer in contact with classmates. He is content to play on the computer all day, but seems to get moody more easily. Should we treat summer vacation as a long break from school-year stress, or what?
Answer: Summer vacation presents a contradiction: Children with autism spectrum disorders thrive on structure, routine, consistency. Summer vacation throws these principles of ASD parenting and behavior management in flux.
» READ MOREBy Kate Duffy
A while back, Toni, the SpectrumConnection editor, asked me to write about how far parents should go to help their teens on the spectrum land a job. Since then, several of our Hot Topics parents have shared their kids’ job search stories with me, and I realized there was no easy answer to her question. For the most part, though, their stories revolved around the kids’ inability to accurately read situations, to remember instructions and to multitask to make a deadline. Looking at that list, it sounds like business as usual on the job for most of us — which is why it is so very important that our kids start learning about the world of work as soon as they can.
That’s why the short answer to Toni’s question is this: do what you need to do.
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