Social Skills and Friendships
“My child doesn’t have any friends,” is something we hear a lot at AANE. This is not surprising as having an Asperger profile is characterized by difficulties in social-emotional reciprocity, nonverbal communication, and maintenance of relationships. While many of these behaviors are instinctual to people who are neurotypical these are skills that must be explicitly taught to children with Asperger profiles. We have a number of resources to help parents understand these needs and meet them.
Essential Resources:
Parent Coaching
Support Options for Family Members of Children and Teens
Behavior
Education
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Dorms, parties, cute girls, hot guys, roommates, new friends—let’s face it, college life is, in large part, about the social scene.
Finally, you’ll be able to come and go as you please. Your parents won’t be there reminding you to study, brush your teeth, eat your vegetables, etc. And you won’t have a curfew. Moreover, college is... more
Children who experience social success are those who are able to accurately assess a situation, recognize what is expected and appropriate, and act in a way that “goes with the flow” of what is going on. Some children seem to be able to do this almost magically. As social dynamics shift subtly from one situation to the next, these children... more
Kai Long, a speech language pathologist, discusses communication challenges and strategies that... more
Playdate Basics
Webinar
Practical tips to help you manage playdates with your... more
Robin Lurie-Meyerkopf shares effective strategies for helping middle and high school students with Asperger profiles build their social thinking... more
Brenda Dater, author of Parenting without Panic, shares practical guidance for parents of children and teens on the autism spectrum; helping all parents feel less... more
Welcome to the Teen Years
Webinar
In this webinar, Erika Drezner helps parents distinguish between behaviors that are related to an Asperger profile, and typical teen behaviors. She gives information on how Asperger’s impacts the adolescent mind, and how to handle the demands of parenting this kind of... more
The Hidden Curriculum: Practical Solutions for Understanding Unstated Rules in Social Situations
Recommended Reading
A few years ago, I was speaking with a friend who is on the spectrum when he noted that life would be much easier if someone would just show me the rules. With the publication of The Hidden Curriculum, Myles, Trautman, and Schelvan have done just that. Utilizing concrete examples of hidden... more
Preparing For Life: The Complete Guide for Transitioning to Adulthood for Those with Autism and…
Recommended Reading
Far too often, students with Asperger profiles graduate from high school graduates unprepared for the transition to an independent adult life. Early, ongoing training in the social skills crucial to establishing successful adult relationships—in college, vocational school, residential living, or... more
The Incredible 5-Point Scale: Assessing Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders In Understanding Social Interactions and…
Recommended Reading
Kari Dunn Buron and Mitzi Curtis have created a tool that helps students with Asperger profiles become aware of their feelings and emotional reactions, and communicate about them with others. This must-have resource shows how the use of a simple 5-point visual scale can help students understand and... more
Middle School – The Stuff Nobody Tells You About: A Teenage Girl with ASD Shares…
Recommended Reading
The transition to middle school is daunting to most, but for students with autism spectrum disorders, it can be a veritable mine field of hidden curriculum rules, social misunderstanding, cliques, etc. And that's even before cracking open a book! Based on her own experiences, Haley Moss, a teenager... more
Life, Animated
Recommended Reading
This is the real-life story of Owen Suskind, the son of the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ron Suskind and his wife, Cornelia. An autistic boy who couldn't speak for years, Owen memorized dozens of Disney movies, turned them into a language to express love and loss, kinship, brotherhood.The... more
The Best Kind of Different: Our Family’s Journey with Asperger’s Syndrome
Recommended Reading
This personal memoir has touched many hearts, and helped many couples come together to co-parent their children with Asperger profiles.
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