It’s that time of year! Colleges and universities across the U.S. are already preparing for the Summer/Fall term. At Marshall University, (and many colleges across the country), incoming freshmen arrive on campus several days before classes start to adapt to the campus community.Lonely male student posing while his classmates are talking

Acclimation to campus can be especially difficult for students diagnosed with Asperger’s Disorder. Taylor and Colvin, in their article “Universal Design: A Tool to Help College Students with Asperger’s Syndrome Engage on Campus” (2013) provide helpful suggestions to institutions of higher learning that could make the orientation for students with ASD more effective.

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Autism is real and like many others with the diagnosis, my son, Alex Hale, is succeeding in life on the Spectrum. His two songs “Into the Light” and “Walk a Mile” share his thoughts and emotions on the journey of an Autistic Individual, and assert that there is light at the end of the tunnel. It has been a long journey since his official diagnosis at the age of 6 years old.

There were signs of awkward behaviors, however his pediatrician initially suggested that we didn’t look for “trouble”. Once diagnosed we were in a state of awe rather than shock. We had assumed he would be diagnosed with ADHD or something of that nature. Immediately Alex’s dad and I started asking questions, reading up on Autism/Aspergers and looking for answers and methods to keep Alex mainstream.

Alex is high – functioning and as he says in his advocacy speaking engagements, you may not guess by looking at him, or meeting him initially, but spend a little bit of time with him and you will see that his social skills are a little different.

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I want to address the difference between “in spite of” and “because of”. One of the greatest equalizers that spans across all barriers of humanity is that we individually cannot choose when we are born and when we die. I was born a sensitive and socially honest soul into a superficial and insincere social environment.

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If I was born in a world where people constantly strive for self-improvement, valued relationships rather than objects, and looked for acceptance over status, I think I would have been just fine. The kind who prefers the former bullied me to think I’m crazy but I don’t think I am. So if I take this perspective, I did succeed in spite of these kinds of environments.

I knew from a young age that I wanted to help people.Continue Reading

We are re-posting a portion of a Disability Scoop interview with  ‘Covert Affairs’ Star Christopher Gorham whose son has Aspergers Syndrome. This Hollywood actor has been in such TV programs as  Ugly Betty, Popular, Odyssey 5, Jake 2.0, Medical Investigation, Out of Practice, Harper’s Island and Covert Affairs. Gorham is currently working on his next project “Justice League: Throne of Atlantis,” where he provides the voice of the Flash.

Disability Scoop: Personally speaking, your son was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome not too long ago. What was that like?

Christopher Gorham: We got a diagnosis fairly late. He was 9-years-old, which is kind of the blessing and the curse of that diagnosis. Because he’s very high functioning we didn’t really know that something was off until later. It’s upsetting to hear that something is wrong with your child. At the same time, it’s a relief to know what’s wrong with your child because if you know what’s wrong then you can start to take steps to help them.

Disability Scoop: When did you first notice that something might not be right?

(Photo: Courtesy of Robert Ascroft/USA Network)
(Photo: Courtesy of Robert Ascroft/USA Network)

Christopher Gorham: Second grade was when we really knew we needed to start investigating and finding help. What we were doing didn’t seem to be working and things were getting worse and he was just getting further and further away from his peers. (He was) not understanding the subtleties of socializing, not getting sarcasm, not understanding the difference between someone who’s really being nice to you and someone who’s actually making fun of you, not understanding that all attention isn’t positive. It’s really hard for a parent when your son comes home and tells you that his best friends are the two or three kids who are actually the meanest to him.

Disability Scoop: How has this new diagnosis changed your family’s day-to-day life?

Christopher Gorham: You get the diagnosis and then instead of just taking the kids to Taekwondo after school, now suddenly you’ve got occupational therapy and you’ve got speech therapy and you’ve got the psychologist and you’ve got the behavioral specialist. Your week is filled with therapies to help support him and it becomes so hard to find the balance.

Disability Scoop: How do you manage it all while shooting the show?

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Communication with Teachers is Key

Guests: Becky Tarwater, Sharon Neill

This week’sTop of the Spectrum News discusses developing and keeping an open communication with your child’s school employees as being key towards their success. 

Stimming is one of the “stereotypical” autistic behaviors. Many people think of people with autism as folks who constantly flap their hand or rock back and forth. Those behaviors are called “stimming”, which is a motion that interacts with the senses to help calm an autistic person down (self calming) if they feel overwhelmed by the environment.

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Stimming is harmless, and isn’t just hand flapping or rocking. It can manifest in many different ways, but again, is all harmless.

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Chill Pass

After looking at student data, it was determined for a particular student that 4 chill passes would be sufficient for the morning and 4 more for the afternoon. If she did not use her morning chill passes, then she could add them to the afternoon allotment, especially since afternoons were her most difficult time. Her 4 chill passes included one for 2 minutes, one for 3 minutes, one for 5 minutes and another for 10 minutes.

Chill Pass

She learned the concept of how to use the chill passes quickly and would evaluate the situation carefully before deciding which amount of time she would need in the chill zone. For this student, the teacher also added the feature of combining her chill passes so that she could choose a maximum amount of time of 20 minutes in the chill zone at one time if the situation called for such measures.Continue Reading

Nikki J. is a comic artist that uses comedy to depict her personal experiences living with Autism. You can read more of Nikki’s posts on Aspergers101 here and find the rest of Nikki’s comics on her webpage here.

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Besides, this, there was another time I made friends with someone 10 years younger than me. It was fun to just forget about the adult world and have fun wrestling on their trampoline or skating the local streets.

While kids can be very judgmental, I often found that the younger crowd didn’t care or question the fact that I was older than them, or see a problem with it. I never saw a problem with it, either. Friends were friends no matter what age they were.

It was also less social pressure hanging out with my younger friends.

by Nikki J

Chill Pass

In a previous blog, we discussed the benefit of a “Chill Zone” for students that experience anxiety or frustration in school and/or home settings, and how to set that area up for success. Some students might benefit from a companion strategy called a Chill Pass.

Chill Pass

The Chill Pass can help the student to have a visual reminder that it is O.K. to go to the chill zone when they are escalating in their anxiety or frustration.

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We have been exploring the development and implementation of a feelings chart to help students apply coping skills when problems arise. A related strategy that accomplishes the same goal is called “Antiseptic Bouncing”.

Kindergarten teacher helping student with reading skills

The difference is that the adult recognizes that the individual with Asperger’s is beginning to have a problem, and rather than draw any attention to those brewing feelings, the adult decides to intervene more discretely.

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Guest(s): Dr. Janessa Manning, Dr. Chris Plauche

The Asperger brain is different in both its function and anatomy as shown in MRI brain scans. This medical study explains why people diagnosed with High-Functioning Autism or Aspergers Syndrome cannot read social cues, thus ‘acting’ differently. It is not bad behavior, it comes from a brain that is different!

sensory

Some of the greatest struggles I had before I went to treatment at 11 are sensory integration problems. My sensitivities to food, certain fabrics in clothes, and the feel of water on my skin created a huge struggle to be a fully functional human being. Growing up, I would throw tantrums whenever I would shower (gross right?), and I think at one point I went 3 months without a shower because whenever I did, it heightened my sensitivity to stimuli, and all inferno would break loose. I would scream for hours.

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I would barely eat anything and what I did eat, I would eat over and over and over again. I loved mashed potatoes and yogurt for a time, and I think my mom let me eat it for breakfast when I was little. She was just grateful I would eat something so I didn’t starve to death.Continue Reading