Coping With Autism Beyond Childhood

healthland.time.com:

By Maia Szalavitz

What happens when children with Asperger's grow up?

Valerie Gaus, a clinical psychologist in private practice on Long Island, has worked with adolescents and adults with autism for more than 15 years. Her new book, Living Well on the Spectrum, offers practical advice on coping with the high-functioning form of autism known as Asperger syndrome; affected people typically show passionate intellectual obsessions, oversensitivity to sensory experiences like bright lights and loud noises, and poor social skills.

Read the whole story: healthland.time.com

Comments

[Jake Thomas]

11:53 AM on 05/10/2011

Neuro-diversity is a wonderful thing. Aspergers is not a tragedy it is part of the human spectrum and adds to the colour of the world.

[David Cavaliere]

11:43 AM on 05/03/2011

This may be a bit off topic however it affects many families. We have a 5 year old with autism we are trying to potty train and a 3 year old with ADHD who isn’t trained yet. They both disrobe and play in their diapers. We actually invented some special needs autism clothing that helps the situation. It is an escape proof pajama called The Wonder Jumper and it is a romper sleeper that zips in the back. Our company is called iKids Fashion www.ikidsfashion.com thanks a lot!

[cinemaven]

10:07 PM on 05/02/2011

Interesting article. I have a close family friend with Aspbergers and when I managed a store, I offered to hire him because he had such difficulty with jobs. At the time, I thought I was being very magnanimous... he turned out to be my best employee. I allowed him to choose his tasks and hours after he explained that it was difficult for him to be moved from task to task. He immediately gravitated to our loading dock and his organizational skills were incredible. I allowed him to unload our shipments and he could tell you what stock we had, how many and where exactly they were. He found it easier to work mornings, take a 4 hour break and then work in the evening when the shop was less frantic. He's worked for me for 3 years but the store is seasonal and when it's closed, despite my glowing (and honest) reference, he can't find a job at all.

He's 26, married with a new baby and if he could find an employer willing to work around his few difficulties, they'd have the best worker possible and his life would be much better. He does use marijuana but his doctor prescribed it and he uses it sparingly in times of great stress and when he needs to eat. He's on a gluten free diet and has many stomach issues and food peculiarities.

[Jake Thomas]

11:55 AM on 05/10/2011

There is no greater service you can do for anyone with any sort of disability then focus on ability. More people should be like you, maybe I would have a job too. You sound like a fantastic person. Kudos to you.

[Dee Dee Russell]

09:46 PM on 05/02/2011

This is something I know about as I am the big sister of a high-functioning autistic man.

[MJinCanada]

03:12 PM on 05/02/2011

Very interesting, especially the difference between cognitive and emotional empathy. This is why my son, who is a very polite and gentle person, has a heck of a time with certain aspects of social studies and literature. Stories about human or animal suffering make him very uncomfortable, and yet he cannot express it. Sometimes I have to write a list of responses to a question and get him to pick the one that seems most appropriate to him.