I have 11yr.old son with HF Autism diag. at age 3

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New here would like to interact with other parents of children with Autism, my son is experiencing some new challenges as he is coming up on the pre teen phase.

Hi! I have a 14yo adhd/aspie son. Puberty, so far, hasn't been too bad. Knock on wood! Good changes actually. What have you been dealing with?

Hi! New here too. I have a 10 year old son with PDD/ADD. Wondering too, what the teen years will bring. Actually over the last 2 years, he has blossomed!! Becoming more social!!

Our 10 yr old dxd with AS, ADHD. Things going pretty good this year but I know puberty is in the wings nd am waiting with mixed emotions. Is it going to be "Katy, bar the door!' or "What a relief"? The corallary is I know Middle School is lurking around the corner too and I wonder how he is going to handle that transition.

Thank you all for replying and sorry it too a bit to get back......It is great to hear that not everyone is having a difficult time with this stage, my son is facing problems in behavior like increased frustration, anger and confusion.....it is so heart breaking to see this happening to him I believe it is not just this stage in his life causing it but we recently moved so he started a new school and it's 6th grade so the changes and wanting acceptance have been difficult.....just yesturday though I got in contact with someone in our community who heads a meeting with about 10 other families and they all get together about once a month for the parents and children to socialize and get to know one another so we are very much looking forward to being involved.....I think it will help so much. My biggest challenge seems to be trying to help my son understand certain things even when I think I am saying it or presenting it to him the simplest way I know how to, sometimes he still just doesn't understand, but I am working on learning different ways and I think getting involved with the other families in the community who understand, will help tremendously......Does anyone here face this challenge and if so do you have any suggestions?

Now that I think about it, we saw an increase in frustration, anger and confusion in the preteen years too and that was without a big transition like moving. Keep reminding yourself that it's just a phase and it will get better. Of course, I just learned that the frontal lobe of the brain don't fully develop until the age of 25 so it's gonna be a long phase!

A good book to check out about teens is "Yes, Your Teen is Crazy! - Loving Your Kid Without Losing Your Mind" by Michael J. Bradley. He described the crazy moods and defiance of a typical teen perfectly with suggestions for ways to modify your parenting. I wish I had read it years ago. Some of my son's behaviors, it turns out, are typical teen stuff.

About the communication issues, do you mean understanding social rules or something else? I had a really hard time teaching social skills since it's something that I never had to formally learn myself so I enrolled him in a group. He seems to get something out of it and will go willingly, which for him is a big deal.

I'm glad you'll be getting some support in the community and hopefully everyone will make some new friends. Keep us posted.

Hi All,

I have an 11 y/o son who was dx'd with AS and ADHF during the first grade. We had moved several times during his younger years and there was a divorce, so everything hit rock bottom at 6 y/o. That was our worst year ever. Now at 11, J is doing very good, but still has problems with social rules even though we had him in scouts and other social type stuff. Lately, we've had a problem with making and keeping friends. He can't seem to find that "one" friend who will like him for who he is. J is immature for his age and doesn't really have a "cool" bone in his body. However, he is very handsome and is a really good soccer play.

I really worry about him and his future. Growing up is so tough these days. I was a lot like J when I was growing up, so I don't have a real good knowledge base on how to help him socially. My hubby was very popular, so maybe he can help educate him on all the rules. I have some friends, but no one real close and no one other than my husband that I would tell my secrets or dreams to. Well, maybe my sister...I hope J finds someone in life that he can be that comfortable around.