Individuals diagnosed with Aspergers or another autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may be presented with many challenges throughout their lives—especially during the transitional periods. As the individuals age and learn to use different skills in various environments, families, educators, medical professionals and the individuals themselves begin to anticipate the transition to adolescence and, eventually, to adulthood. Given the differences in abilities andContinue Reading

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When it comes to setting the stage for learning, individuals on the Autism Spectrum need to continue their learning experiences even after school. This requires responsibility from therapists, caregivers, and parents. Each must work together to help create a learning environment in the home that continues to provide opportunity to expand the vital skills a child is working on. This includes setting up a homeContinue Reading

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So, what exactly is ABA, or Applied Behavioral Analysis? ABA is an intervention therapy that specifically addresses behavior. ABA is one of the proven best practice therapies for children on the autism spectrum, including Aspergers. Thousands of research articles have documented the effectiveness of ABA in individuals with autism across behaviors, settings, and specialists. The behaviors that ABA seeks toContinue Reading

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Sensory processing disorder (SPD) can make participation in life activities—what occupational therapists refer to as occupations—very difficult. Luckily, there are options and strategies to help improve sensory processing and make life much smoother and more enjoyable. Sensory-based occupational therapy (OT), may look like play to adults, but to the child it is their work and necessary for improving overall abilitiesContinue Reading

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Since feeding involves all sensory systems (sight, smell, sound, touch, and taste), eating is the most difficult sensory task that children face. Feeding issues are especially common in children with autism, including those with Aspergers, because of difficulties with sensory processing. In many cases, this leads to eating challenges at mealtimes. “Food chaining,” from the book by the same name,Continue Reading

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When a child with Aspergers or High-Functioning Autism demonstrates challenging behaviors, we tend to blame the child’s autism. However, these challenging behaviors are not a byproduct of autism, rather learned due to ineffective means to get needs met—especially when there are barriers to communication. Bottom line: if an individual does not have a way to communicate appropriately, he or sheContinue Reading

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Social Communication Disorder is marked by difficulties with pragmatics—aka practical everyday use—or the social use of language and communication. Therefore, SCD is concerned with an individual’s use of verbal and nonverbal social communication in everyday life. The condition is of particular interest to individuals with Aspergers or HFA. In the DSM-V, it specifically states that individuals who have marked deficits in socialContinue Reading

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While the word “punish” often conjures up bad thoughts for parents and professionals, punishment and reinforcement are key when looking at behavior change through ABA. Punishment in ABA decreases the chances that a particular behavior will occur again, as opposed to reinforcement which increases the likelihood of behavior. Let’s look at the behavior analytic definitions of punishment specifically: Positive PunisherContinue Reading

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Sensory processing disorder is a condition in which the brain has trouble receiving and responding to information that comes in through the senses. Some people with sensory processing disorder are over sensitive to things in their environment. Common sounds may be painful or overwhelming. For young children entering school, they may find the fluorescent lighting, ticking of the clock, polyester inContinue Reading

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Interdisciplinary Autism Assessments at ACN

For individuals on the autism spectrum, a diagnosis from a medical professional is necessary in order to qualify for medical services. One main difference in the assessment is in how the child is evaluated and whether the evaluation is done by an individual or a team. At ACN, we conduct interdisciplinary autism assessments where a number of specialists participate in theContinue Reading

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Aspergers101  continues the Medical Vlog series on Sensory Processing. In this clip Adrienne Gaither, OTR, C-SIPT with the Autism Community Network, answers the question: What are the Symptoms of Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD)? The Autism Community Network is located in San Antonio, Texas USA with an emphasis on collaboration with autism service providers, early diagnosis, and providing services to underserved youngContinue Reading

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There is a new trend in Autism intervention called: Parent Mediated Approaches. Carrie Alvarado, Occupational Therapist with the Autism Community Network, explains how this practice may benefit siblings, parent-child connections, and possibly decrease levels of parental stress or depression. We divided this up into 3 Vlogs: 1) What are Parent Mediated Approaches? 2) Reasoning Behind the Surge of Parent MediatedContinue Reading

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