advice for working w/ young aspie

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hello, i work at an elem school & recently been assign personal asst to a student recently diagonsed w/ aspergers. i've read a lot of stuff (which mostly talks above my head) & am scheduled to attend a seminar, but i would LOVE some advice on different ways to help this child. i look past the disability & love this child, but it seems what works one day might not the next. any advice would be GREAT. the student's interest is weather & they have a knack for music


THANX

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAcNk6APs98[/youtube]

This video is to illustrate how the silence may be felt. I make
emotivids based on my life and experiences. I can assume
other aspies may share a similiar view, so this is my opinion only.

The video is on isolataion and lonliness Neurotypicals don't understand.
most Don't know how to hear aspies.

Ghosty

Advice from the parent of an Aspi kid who kind of made it through school. First, work with the kid, not the diagnosis. I'm not trying to be cruel. Some people don't see the child behind the diagnosis. Second, your observation that what works one day doesn't work the next is a very good one. That's asperger's. That's kids too. Remember too that you're dealing with a child who may be very smart. Very smart, and thus a lot more frustrated, because a lot of people don't get how smart he or she is....and if he or she can't take tests, even in elementary school, well, they're in trouble.
Interested in the weather. Well, my father was a meterologist and an upper atmospheric scientist, and just from walking around with my father, my kid can now look up at the sky and tell me, "I don't care what the raido says, it's not going to rain tomorrow." And I've stopped asking him how he knows, because I know how he knows, and he reminds me of the way my father used to say the very same thing. My kid could also fly an airplane when he was 14, (a real one) and he's more than just great on the piano, claranet, drums, harpsichord, and a few other instruments. What can you do.....if you're not a parent, not much. Suggest his/her folks take her to the airport. The FAA in most small airports with towers will let kids up there if you call ahead. Weather is a science. It involves math. So is flying. don't force it, but your charge might have a knack for it. Mine does.
Advice. The other kids tease Asperger's kids. It's usually horrible. Everyone on this board has a story about it. You can't protect the kid from it, but you can lend an ear and let them vent. When you're up against the world, visions of things to come don't help much. Success helps. Managed success in this case, but success helps. If your charge tells you he/she doesn't like loud noises, believe it. If they get furious at seemingly nothing, well, I'm assuming you've never seen a real meltdown....and if you're lucky, you won't. But you probably will. Remember, when this happens, you must never ask "and what did you do to bring on the teasing." The unspoken answer is usually "I was just being me." This, I suppose, is more advice for a parent, but put in your young charge's reach, a good cloud atlas. Learn what music they like. Learn what their non-verbal cues are...you don't have to be a mind reader, just a very careful face reader. And don't make the mistake of saying "now look at me." They hear you. They hear you perfectly. They might not be able to look at you. It's a part of the disorder, and forcing a response is about the worst thing you can do. Remember, unless they are low functioning, and I don't have that much experience with low functioning Autism, there is a thinking, feeling quite possibly brilliant (maybe just average, about 1 in 150 people have this disorder) individual who is dealing with the uncertainties and insecurities of childhood as well as the problems with Asperger's. Best I can do in a short space.
Good luck.
Beentheredonethat

I think that most schools systems actually like to advocate aspergers as some kind of flaw in their functioning. If you can look past that, I suggest that you help him get to know himself: you may try to find how to tell him that there are many people out there who are different in ways that contribute to their personality, interests, and their desires.

Read a book written by John J. ratey - find out what "the shadow syndromes" book is about or read the one that has to do with ADHD... Do a google search on him.. (He is very popular.. is not a pharmacaust etc)

I know this may be distracting but you may want to learn about ADHD just to get an idea of how the brain gets wired up in certain ways: Not asperger and adhd but just adhd...

People who are very impulsive - that have ADHD - most have a very difficult time controlling their thinking + this dominates their life: Their emotions, beleifs, and opinions form prematurely.. Gifted aspie people are the opposite(ADHD aspies or severe traits of asperger, however, still have trouble slowing down to process data in their mind).

Perhaps also: I am not sure what to do about certain things depending on age but probably be a good idea to make sure this person knows how to deal with critism(spell?) from others (the "bad" kind) + how to interpret other forms of critisism which different "kinds" may be just because of guessing or from ignorance anyway...

Find art projects to do - just for the sake of creating a sense of pleasure in the world. Going for walks somwhere like the park or where it is a good place and not noisy is also good to help cooridinate the gears of the mind / to excercise the body etc. This may help a little with "symptoms" - release energy etc..

If you want to know about natural approaches to stuff that has to do with to help overstimulation or stimmming etc, there are short lived supplements such as magnesiam(spell?) and calcium which may help for going outside in front of all the stimulation. But thats just a hint on the subject because aspergers might not come with very difficult "symptoms".

Most importantly, the "symptoms" and the over-all quality of life for someone with aspie can improve and change as they get older. The brain takes time to get adjusted to sensory information + organize its habits and impulses.

If you want to read something a little more down to earth about Asperger's look for an autobiographical book (Pretending to be Normal is good here) or I liked Freaks, Geeks, and Asperger's though as a group I think we are split on that book, very easy read though.

_________________
"we never get respect ... never a fair trial
[swearing removed by lau] ... as long as we smile"
Im tired of smiling.

Vote for me in 2020

thanks so much for the advice so far. (for confidentiality sp? i cant really tell a whole lot) but i am trying to get to know my student, i am their aide possibly for the next 10 years. i like to step back and watch the student, i know its not usually their fault when it comes to teasing and such. i am begining to learn the student's habits. one thing i really need advice on is disipline. where do you draw the line between acceptable behavior and whats not. i know the student applies a sarcastic tone, but doesn't understand sacrasam. they also have trouble with just looking but not touching (many things have been broken or ripped).

these are just a few specific things i want to learn. Thanks again for ideas and advice

just to let you know about me, i consider my self a creative person, name the color my hair has been it. i am outgoing and very understanding about being different. i was plagued with panic attacks when i was younger. i have small children myself, so i know about having patience (sp) and love. i have deaf family members and know varous was of communicating. different doesn't bother me. there is a person under it all.

As for confidentality if he is old enough tell him about this site, if hes not tell his parents (you can do that right. That way they can tell us more about the little goofball .

_________________
"we never get respect ... never a fair trial
[swearing removed by lau] ... as long as we smile"
Im tired of smiling.

Vote for me in 2020

Discipline? Well, discipline is similar to introducing something new into his routine, and in many ways, it is. Expect that he will break the rule MANY times before he gets it. It'd be helpful if we knew how far up the Spectrum he is, that'll give us an idea of how erratic he can be.

Any hypersentivites?

Anyways, thanks for asking people that've been there, done that, got the T-shirt and various other sovuenir-type meiorbialla stuff, rather than going somewhere full of Nts that are apparently 'experts' on the spectrum.