Post here if you have a family member with Aspergers/Autism

[AlbusEarwax]

I have autism

 

[Eagle Of Oz]

I have an 18 year old son with Aspergers syndrome, and 17 year old son with Autism.

 

[singpeace]

My nephew has Asperger's Syndrome - he just turned 17 - struggled all his life with being bullied because he is different - is one of the most amazing young men I know.

The child I worked one-on-one with for 3 years as a Special Ed Para is so incredibly intelligent that he explained nuclear fusion to his 6th grade class in a way we could all understand.

I love Asperger people.

 

[blanning]

I have asperger's syndrome. I have 9 kids. 2 of my 4 biological kids have it also, a son and a daughter. The other two bio kids managed to dodge it.

I have 5 adopted kids. One of them has what looks like HFA, but they're having a hard time nailing the diagnosis. But it's classic autism type behavior. He flaps, has meltdowns, odd speaking patterns, etc. He's obsessed with video games and spiders. He's highly intelligent, but a little weird.

By the way, if you're a normal woman and married an aspie man at some point, then ran into a lot of problems, there's a yahoo group that you need to get on. It's called (iirc) "Aspies and the other half" or something like that. I can get the exact name if you need it. It's heavily moderated and kept very private. It's mainly a support group for non-aspie wives of aspies. The aspie husbands aren't allowed on the group. If you're looking for support and validation, that's the place.

brian

 

[gloryseven]

I love him sooo much. We have had lot of support through the years. He was diagnosed with autism about age 2, he didnt make eye contact or speak.

He seemed to have adhd. Well, we got Youth Advocate program to provide in home therapy and then age 3 to attend a special preschool to address his learning. He entered kindergarden and was put in autistic support and gradually moved to the regular classroom by end of year. We had therapists and speech therapist and lots of support for four years.

He attended therapeutic art classes for a year more recently, and then I called Providence community services which has help in the home, so we have begun work with the counselor and TSS services again to give Paul support and help him socialize and not spend 24/7 with his computer games.

I adore my son, I love him so much. I am proud of the progress he is making. He is in advanced classes and working hard. He is a fine young man who has alot of trouble communicating and socializing. He would be happier if people wouldnt take him as trying to be a smarty and thinks he is being irritable on purpose...which takes its toll on his interest in continuing trying to relate to peers. God be with us. Amen.

 

[honeyny22]

My son is an 8 year old autistic, I don't know much about talking, he didn't used too but when I saw him last, he said Grace, the entire thing. That is the most I have ever heard him speak.

 

[Sabertooth]

My son is an 8 year old autistic, I don't know much about talking, he didn't used too but when I saw him last,...

Saw him last...?

 

[Sherma]

I am certainly looking for a support system. Brian, I will look into the yahoo group, thanks. I have a grandson almost 16 but IQ 69, not gifted at all. It is so heart breaking. I see some of Aspie in his mother, my dau, and easily recognized it in my husband. Without finances for special help, what can we do for my grandson? He is like a 10 year old 6th grader. I have 2 other grandsons the same age, and they have about reached the end of their ability to "play" when they visit when they want to be "their real age".

I also have a very important question: does it worsen with age? I know they say it doesn't, but in living with them, has anyone discovered that it does? It has obviously worsened in my hubby but could it be instead, a lack of oxygen during a serious illness, and is not AS though the outcome is identical to a worse case of AS than it was.

Thank you for your time, I pray someone has some real answers for me.
Sherma

 

[Sabertooth]

People with Aspergers are, by definition, not cognitively disabled. Over time, we tend to develop coping/adaptive strategies. We still lack the "normal" social intuition, so we come off as socially clumsy, but we get (some of) it after a few crashes and burns. Our internal dialogue may go something like, "I don't know why this is such an issue, but since it seems to hurt people's feelings, let's not do this..."

I have two lower-functioning children on the spectrum. My son, AJ, is 23 with a mental age of 6-10 years old. My daughter, SJ, is 16 with a mental age of 18 months old. Neither has gotten "worse" except for the fact that they are now in command of adult bodies. AJ is verbal and wanted to fight for his right for adult/18yo freedom. He lives in a nearby group home. SJ is nonverbal and quite cooperative. We intend to keep her home unless/until we are unable to keep her safe. They acquire new skills from time to time, but neither of them have shown much improvement.

 

[Sherma]

Thanks. As far as my grandson, I figure his maturing body and not maturing personality and abilities has a lot to do with our lessening of knowing what to do.

With my husband, I read somewhere that it can really seem to be AS when it absolutely isn't! The online tests show it is. But of course so much of the answers can be for another cause. I would guess as a child he would have rated higher in some areas but in 43 years of marriage I have watched him learn how to get around, under, over and through things and no one was the wiser of his difficult journey. At the same time since a serious virus attacked his heart in 2007-he is far more aspie than he was.

My story seems so mild when I hear yours. What would we ever do without God every minute!
Sherma

 

[TalusJumper]

Post here if you have a family member with Aspergers or Autism!

I suspect I do- fall right in to most of the criteria.
My son is 19 and has PDD-NOS.
My brother has just been diagnosed with AS.
His son was just diagnosed with AS.
My father probably had it (he was socially inept and had no real friends).

It is genetic- just a hunch...

 

[Eagle Of Oz]

I suspect I do- fall right in to most of the criteria.
My son is 19 and has PDD-NOS.
My brother has just been diagnosed with AS.
His son was just diagnosed with AS.
My father probably had it (he was socially inept and had no real friends).

It is genetic- just a hunch...

My eldest has Aspergers, youngest has Autism, and their dad was diagnosed Aspergers in his 30's. My boys also have cousins, on their dads side who have been diagnosed with Aspergers, plus a couple of others that have classic traits, but havnt been diagnosed.

 

[joris]

I have AS
I suspect my father might has AS
I suspect the partner of my sister may have AS

 

[super mom]

my 5 yro is autistic. life is rough with him and my 6 yro who has adhd. but i wouldnt change it for anything in the world

 

[setfreebygod]

My 10 year old was just diagnosed with PDD, she has traits of autism and traits of asperger's.
I am in the process of being diagnosed. I think I have asperger's.
I suspect my mother may have asperger's.
I am not sure on anyone else as I am very disconnected to my family.

 

[katautumn]

My son just turned nine and has Asperger Syndrome. Unfortunately, many family members are not willing to understand his condition and cooperate. Oftentimes he's just seen as "a bad kid" and I the "bad mother who refuses to control her bad kid." It makes it all the more difficult. The other night my son told me he never has dreams and that when he falls asleep he simply "stops existing". My heart aches for the life he has lead due to other people's ignorance, and my inability to shelter him from it completely. My biggest prayer is the older he gets, the easier it gets for him to process these feelings and things that happen.

 

[setfreebygod]

In my family, I have restricted contact with them because of the nature of our toxic relationships. My family has not been very kind in the past and there has also been an unwillingness to understand the differences we face. I have also realized that I can't shelter my daughter or son from the world. I use to be so afraid of her being bullied that I took her out of school in the 2nd grade and tried to homeschool her. God showed me that I had to trust him with her. She also stated that she needed to be around other kids and she wanted to return to pubic school. From the 1st day I decided to make bridges with the teachers, principal, and other staff at the school. I have found that they are a very caring bunch of people. She started at that school without knowledge that she has Asperger's. They walked with me to discover why she is different and since they have been very supportive. The goal has been to empower her to advocate for herself what she needs. Through the adversity, she has gained a voice to say what she has needed. God rarely shelters us from a storm. However, he does walk us through. I was told about how a tree needs the wind to gain strength. There has been experiments to find out how a tree gets strong. Some trees were sheltered inside and everything was controlled to protect the tree. The problem was that it was so protected that there was never any adversity to make it strong. Thus, the tree became weak and eventually died. We too need adversity to grow. If you look in the book of Acts, the gospel was sent further after the church was persecuted. When the followers of Christ were comfortable, they were content to stay in Jerusalem. Yet this was never God's plan. He needed them to carry his message to the world. This was done through adversity. So, trust God with your son. He will get his heart and grow him to be strong. My daughter is stronger with the problems than if she had been sheltered. One final thing, pray for your son and follow his leading on what he wants you to do to fulfill His plan for your life and your son's. God Bless and never loose hope.

 

[momto3]

Our youngest son, age 9, has an autism diagnosis. The diagnosis was given at age 3, I suspect if he was reevaluated now, it would most likely be an Aspergers diagnosis. He has made tremendous progress and we are so very, very proud of him!

I suspect my husband also has Aspergers.

 

[natesse]

Hello all:

My 12 year old son has Asperger's and ADD, and my 21 year old daughter is bipolar and schizophrenic, as was my mother and my nephew.

My son is a handful for sure. This is his first year of middle school, and he is trying so hard to fit in.

Pleased to meet all of you.....

 

[natesse]

I am so familiar with this. My kid is bad and I don't control him, etc. It's very difficult at times especially since my two youngest children are quite normal, and they don't understand why the 12 year old seems to "get away with" being bad, whereas they don't. I spend a lot of time trying to teach the 12 year old how other people feel things just as he does, because he can be quite cruel to his siblings, and I can't allow that. Between his melt downs and my oldest daughter's psychotic breakdowns, the stress level is overwhelming sometimes. I was quite encouraged though at a recent teacher conference. His teacher actually has quite a bit of experience with Aspie kids, and we talked for a long time. I told him that I am often accused of being too soft with Jesse, and he said no, not soft, understanding. An understanding only a mother can have.....