Hearing a Practitioner announce that your child has Asperger's Syndrome can often leave parents feeling like they've been winded, and usually this feeling gets somewhat worse before it gets better. We can take a while to adjust our picture of our child's future to take into account his/her diagnosis.

Parents and teachers of children with Aspergers Syndrome know that if you've met one child with Aspergers Syndrome, you've met one child with Aspergers Syndrome! No two children present exactly the same - rather they all present with different blends and mixes of characteristics and traits. Add to this the often co-morbid conditions of anxiety disorders, depression, Tourette’s, OCD, bi-polar and more and the picture becomes even more skewed.

Autism Awareness / Acceptance - the autism community needs to join together to create change.

An article discussing the obligations of Professionals working in the Autism Asperger's field.

A look at how sensory issues over-ride all other conditions in those on the Autism Spectrum.

An article discussing the benefits of modelling and guiding self advocacy skills in autistic children

The Christmas season is a time of joy and peace; celebrating with loved ones; when a feeling of hope renews the spirit..... At least that’s what it’s meant to be like…however the reality for those of us blessed with a child with Asperger’s Syndrome is often very different!

An article discussing the processes parents and children go through after being diagnosed with ASD

Children with Asperger's often have difficulty using the phone. They're usually OK with their mobiles and family members, but are reluctant to answer a call from someone they don't know. This is due to various reasons e.g. anxiety of unknown, change in voice over the line may mean they don't understand the speaker properly. To encourage your child to be able to answer the phone and take a message you could write out a short script of possible questions and responses and keep it near the phone.

We all like to think we live in an inclusive society/community and most of us believe that to segregate is to discriminate. But when it comes to Education is the "one size fits all" approach working for children on the Autism Spectrum?

ASD is for life: just like having grey eyes, or short fingers. We can choose to change these things of course, if we want to; mask them with coloured contacts or long fingernails.

An article explaining the role of the vagus nerve.

Why is sensory so important? Often individuals refer to the impact of sensory issues as “the straw that broke the camels back” and something that requires a lot of energy to manage, causing a pain response in the body. Environmental factors are regularly not in the control of individuals, making it difficult to manage or mitigate sensory issues.

His Story, A son’s trial through a mother’s eyes

In looking at the early language history of children with Aspergers Syndrome, there is no clear pattern: some have normal or even early achievement of milestones while others have delays in speech. Frequently children with Aspergers Syndrome display language characteristics such as ...

An inspiring article written by a young man who's faced a lot of adversity in his life, and still manages to smile.

NAPLAN accommodations and special provisions

Many kids with Asperger's Syndrome experience sensory overload from embarrassment or being picked out of a crowd in some way. This is why they often don't enjoy receiving an award at Assembly or Parade, or being praised for their work in class.

Sensory processing issues fall into 2 categories - overreactive and underreactive – and children with Aspergers Syndrome can experience both at different times. So there are times when your Asperger child may seem to be “super-charged” and requires calming down, or alternately he’s “sluggish” and needs more stimulation.

Sometimes our Asperger child soars so high and achieves so much it's easy to pretend that Aspergers Syndrome doesn't affect him that much any more.... we tell ourselves that maybe the worst is over... and we are lulled into a false sense of security. So we pull back support a little, we let nagging fears and worries subside and we coast along feeling content.

If your Aspergers Syndrome child tends to run away when he's melting down, it can cause their parents, teachers and carers stress and concern for safety. Please try and remember that it’s the child’s brain that is telling them to run – the flight response – triggered by a feeling of fear.

Autism is as ASD. It's a lifelong, neurobiological condition primarily affecting social and communication abilities.