What would you do if your son was on the autistic spectrum?

Question

Knowing that he'd most likely not have many friends or relationships with women. How would you help him?

Answer 1

My son is on the Autistic Spectrum. He is diagnosed with Asperger's Disorder and General Anxiety Disorder (this is common).

He currently sees a Child Pychologist who specializes in helping children with Austic Disorders. He also attends a Social Skills Group with other children in his age range who have the same disorders. Both have done wonders for him. We are currently working on updating his IEP (Individual Education Plan) with his school to include his Autism. This helps with having services provided to him at school and protects him legally should the need ever arise in the school.

There are many websites that offer a wealth of information on the subject. Oasis is a great place to start.

Graphic Organizers can do wonders, Kidspiration is recommended.

Social Stories are a wonderful asset and can be personalized. You can even learn to write your own to be tailored to his current needs.

I've been very lucky as my sister is an expert with working with Autistic children. I would highly recommended working with someone who has expertise in this area, specifically with which ever disorder your son has been diagnosed with.

There are many parental/family support groups out there you may wish to find a local one to work with. Parents of children with Autistic Disorders tend to offer some wonderful advise and can help you with ideas for what may work for you.

What you do will really depend upon your son's medical diagnosis. Austism, Rhetts, Aspergers, PDDNOS, etc.

Try not be negative, it's not the end of the world, these are wonderful special children.

It's sometimes said that an Autistic child lives in their own world and we are granted a moment.

Children with Aspergers live in our world but see it in a different way.

It really does hold true for any child with Autism, they simply see the world differently than others. They don't see it wrongly, just uniquely.

Answer 2

Well, my son is on the spectrum, and I'm pretty sure my husband has a mild case of Asperger's, but was never diagnosed. He has a lot of the social issues that Aspie's do, he doesn't make friends too easily, doesn't ever trust anyone enough to become friends. He has a hard time reading social cues, thinks people are mad at him when they're not, gets offended when people are just joking with him. But, I'm his second wife, he was married to his first for 16 years before she passed away, and we've been married for 14 years in May. So, a lot of people on the spectrum will grow up to form relationships, just not as many as the rest of us. But you know what? It's not important how many friends you have, having one or two best friends and a spouse that loves you is more than enough! It's the quality of those friendships, not the quantity. With my son, I'm doing my best to teach him to read social cues now, he's only 4. We use tv shows, movies, real life friendships that he has, and our family unit to constantly talk to him about things, and he's starting to get better with it. He doesn't have a problem with affection, he's not affected that way, just has a hard time with knowing when someone is angry, sad, happy, etc., and knowing HOW to play with other kids. He tends to act like he's only 2 when around other kids, he just gets so excited and usually gets over-stimulated really easy, and then starts crying, and his friends want to go home because they don't understand why he's acting like that. So, I teach him, every step of the way. If he doesn't get it, then there's nothing I can really do, but at least I'll know I tried.

Answer 3

What I did was to get educated on the strengths of autism, as well as the specific learning styles. Once I did that, I lived my life the way I planned and used my knowledge to get him into that life. To educate you, my son has aspergers and has several very good friends, as well as a female friend who is not (quote) a GIRLFRIEND, but just someone he happens to like hanging around with ;-)

I also have a daughter with autism who is much more severe, and she also has several friends even though she can't talk well and stims alot. She has two very loyal friends, and her brothers and sisters love her alot.

I think you may not have a firm grasp on how completely varied people with autism are...and there are many many lower functioning autistic people who are in relationships, both platonic and romantic.

Answer 4

I would get my son help as soon as I realized their was a problem. Early treatment is key. Many autistic children show huge improvements when they get intesive therapy from early on.

I teach preschool and I have two autistic boys in my class. They are completely different but they have both shown so much improvement even in the last few months. Both of them have friends. With the speech therapy they have come along way and now can communicate with their classmates. At first it was almost impossible to get them to go and join their friends during centers - prefering to play alone but now they both will ask friends to play wtih them and join in with others too.

I know that both of these boys will lead happy fulfilling lives.

SD

Answer 5

Where is he at on the autism spectrum? My step-son is supposedly asperger syndrome and I don't think he will have a problem making friends. He loves sports and gets shy around girls (he is 7) and he is very funny. But he is too young to say how his future is going to be. I think if people don't treat him like he is different and he is socialized, he won't have any problems with women and friends. I don't know how true that is for other forms of autism, though. His is mainly a defiancy problem.

Answer 6

My two brothers-in-law are both autistic , in their early 30's, and live at home with their mom; each of them have a girlfriend. Don't convince yourself that he'll have limitations in certain situations before he's even faced them. They actually both have more friends than I do, haha. :)

Answer 7

the first thing i would do is educated myself to all the dimensions of his illness and see what resources are available to me. there are several different types and levels of autism. i wouldn't automatically think that he is not going to have normal relationships.

Answer 8

Love him and trust that things will work out in the end.

Answer 9

Love him unconditionally and give him the best life that you possibly can.