By Jeanne Holverstott, M.S.
An initial clinical interview with a parent of a child with an ASD commonly follows this script:
Me: “Can you tell me about your child?”
Parent: “Yes. Well, he’s high-functioning. He…..”
Pause Script.
Question to Reader: Have you heard this before? Said this before? If so, complete the sentence with what you have said or heard.
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By Jeanne Holverstott, M.S.
Q. I read that when Temple Grandin was a young girl, her mother hired a nanny to play turn-taking games with her to improve social skills. What sort of games do you recommend? Are there any that you don’t recommend?
A. After every holiday meal, my family would gather around the dining room table with a game purposefully selected by my mother for this occasion. I remember Taboo, Scattergories, Trivial Pursuit, Outburst. No matter the age of the player, the expectations were the same: follow the rules, win with humility, lose with grace, do your best, and never, ever complain. Games make up the fabric of a childhood and, perhaps, a lifetime, and appropriate game play opens doors to respect, friendship, and fun.
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By Jeanne Holverstott, M.S.
Q: I frequently find myself explaining to new acquaintances what Asperger’s Syndrome is. Sometimes the reaction I get is, “I know an adult who is just like that,” or “that could be my sister.” Recently a woman told me that her adult daughter (a twenty-something) has struggled to bond with people all her life, and has narrow fields of interest. She said she’d only heard of Asperger’s Syndrome recently, and learning about it “explained so many things.”
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By Jeanne Holverstott, M.S.
Rumor has it that the new Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Fifth Edition (DSM-V) will eliminate the diagnostic category of Asperger’s Syndrome, 16 years after its inception in the DSM-IV. “Asperger” symptoms will be combined with those of another mild form of autism to create a new category to be named.
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By Jeanne Holverstott, M.S.
As I sat at my laptop tweeting (@JHolverstott), e-mailing, reading, instant messaging (or IM’ing if you prefer), monitoring Facebook and watching TV a thought struck me. The only one of these activities most of my clients do is watch TV. I have clients who “talk” on XBOXLiv (which costs $50 per year, not to mention the cost of the XBOX and all of its games). I have clients who I can coax into texting “hi” to mom while she is in the kitchen and they are at the dinner table. I even have a few clients who “duel” YuGiOh cards over the phone with friends from our social skills group. So, why don’t I have anyone IM’ing?
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By Jeanne Holverstott, M.S.
One of the most common co-morbid conditions within ASD is an anxiety disorder. Whether anxiety is part of the diagnostic make-up of the spectrum or whether anxiety warrants an “additional” diagnosis (hence becoming a co-morbid condition) is akin to the “chicken or the egg” dilemma. Because anxiety rears its ugly head in every way conceivable for individuals with ASD—often in ways beyond the neurotypical’s ability to comprehend—the ways in which schools target anxiety with special education services is critical to success. As most know, to qualify for any special education service that is documented on an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), a student must be medically diagnosed and it must be documented how this diagnosis interferes with his or her ability to learn and function within the school setting.
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By Jeanne Holverstott, M.S.
A parent of a client e-mailed me a copy of the school newsletter and asked me to look at the “Wall of Fame” students on page 6. Placement on the “Wall” was based on the Eight Keys of Excellence: Commitment, Flexibility, Balance, Speak with Good Purpose, Integrity, This is it!, Ownership, and Failure Leads to Success. Needless to say, she wagered that many kids on the autism spectrum (and with special needs writ large) would struggle to demonstrate these skills. Then, she asked, “By default, is my kid designated to a ‘Wall of Shame’?”
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By Jeanne Holverstott, M.S.
Out of concern for people with autism in their community, police in Scarborough, Maine, have started adding people with special needs to a database that already includes information about residents with Alzheimer’s disease. A member of the police force who has a child with autism says the information will be useful to have when handling missing persons cases.
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By Jeanne Holverstott, M.S.
Handheld devices such as iPods have the potential to help individuals on the spectrum in a variety of ways.
I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “I have that song on my iPod,” Jonah said. “Sean Kingston, you know.” He then showed me some choice dance moves he choreographed for the song.
I didn’t give it much thought until later that evening when Sam came into my office. “Jeanne, I have something to show you,” he said, proudly holding his new iPod. He quickly scrolled to a song, mounted it on my small iPod player, and pressed play. “Ra ra, ra ra ra. Roma…..” He exclaimed, “Lady Gaga!” After applauding his musical taste and enjoying a short and probably horrific karaoke session that would make Gaga herself blush, we talked about how I will be going to her concert and why he likes her music. “She helps me think at school, especially during math,” he said.
Finally, a light bulb turned on.
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By Jeanne Holverstott, M.S.
A recent IEP meeting made it apparent that ignorance is only bliss from the perspective of the ignorant.
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By Jeanne Holverstott, M.S.
Q. I read that when Temple Grandin was a young girl, her mother hired a nanny to play turn-taking games with her to improve social skills. What sort of games do you recommend? Are there any that you don’t recommend?
A. After every holiday meal, my family would gather around the dining room table with a game purposefully selected by my mother for this occasion. I remember Taboo, Scattergories, Trivial Pursuit, Outburst. No matter the age of the player, the expectations were the same: follow the rules, win with humility, lose with grace, do your best, and never, ever complain. Games make up the fabric of a childhood and, perhaps, a lifetime, and appropriate game play opens doors to respect, friendship, and fun.
» 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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