Disciplining a child with a psychological disability

[Yukon Cornelius]

Ive worked with many asperger/autism kids , they are all different and all have different buttons to push. Dont give up! i have witnessed many parents that do and those kids need everyone they can get. I have a son that has CP and very limited speech. It can be maddening some days trying to figure out why he is freaking out. I have to stop and think about how bad it would suck not to be able to tell people what you want or need. You will figure out how and what to do , your son is counting on it.

[cdrudge]

One thing that I can tell you about Aspergers Syndrome is that it is very different from child to child.

We are realizing that. But at the same token, it's also eerie how similar cases can be. Bpwallace49 and I have sent several messages back and forth about our kids and while a few specific details are different, it was as if they came from the same mold...or at least the same batch.

 

Thank you everyone for the advice and encouragement. It really does help to know that we aren't the only ones out there in the situation. We still haven't heard from the principal, but after my wife read this thread she did say that the principal had told her that he couldn't give you the name of the girl or the parents due to privacy reasons. We could probably track it down other ways, but I don't think we're going to pursue that any further. We also finally were contacted by a therapist that is with our insurance that does one on one and group therapy, and our friend that also has an autistic boy said that they have a group that is starting up soon that she would pass on information to us about so we are making progress there. All of it's frustrating and stressful at times, but we're not giving up by any means.

[Czarina]

A very good friend of mine has a son with Aspberger's, and it really is true that it varies HUGELY from person to person. What has been extremely helpful for him was getting him into and adventure-based counseling program. On the whole, these kids are less likely to make a lot of use out of traditional talk therapy, IMO. Adventure based programming puts the child in controlled but challenging situations, both personally and socially. It's done wonders for him, really.

 

If he's having increased issues on the bus, etc., he's telling you he's not ready to handle it. In my experience, kids like that who lash out aren't doing it out of a sense of meanness, but of frustration. He doesn't have the skills currently to negotiate this social situation. Whether that means he needs an aid on the bus or to avoid riding the bus in the short term, I'm not sure.

 

My son used to have bus issues when he was around that age. We took him to a behavior therapist for a time, and one of the things we did was give him a "job" to do while riding on the bus. I think he was supposed to keep a notebook and track the stops each day, or something to that effect. What it did was keep his minds and his hands busy and distract him from the goings on around him. I think it would be appropriate to request permission for him to read a book, listen to music, or even play Nintendo or something (this may not be allowed on the bus right now). Crowded, noisy situations like this are going to be uncomfortable for him.