Autism Today, latest news and resources for autism and autism related issues

FAQ's with Author and Speaker, Karen Leigh Simmons

Subject:

Question - I have a boy (age 7) who is on the high functioning end of autism.He is the youngest of our 4 children.Our oldest son is 16 1/2 ,second son age 14,sister age 11.They understand that our youngest has HFA but it has been extreamly difficult for them not to get extreamly miserable towards him.They do not want to have him around.They have started to take on such a miserable attitude around him that I don't know what to do.They yell,shove and are so inpatient,all he sees is the mean miserable side of them.My husband works 60 hours a week and drives 2 hours a day so he isnt available alot.When he is here he helps tremendously but time to enjoy & relax without the constant difficulties really has taken its toll.How do you address this? Also ,our school district has never had a HFA student & we are trying to get some educational measures in place for him(they dont have ANY knowledge of what he needs & are basically ignoring his difficulties.He is labeled Autistic & recieves special resource,speech,Ot & guildence councilor but the issue over what to teach social & communication & how they will teach this to him,we disagree about.We have tried everything & were heading for due process.We cant find an advocate who will help with that.No money for Attorney....Legal services never replies too many cases!!! I know this sounds terrible.How have you handled stress???
Thanks,
Sheila

Answer - Hi Sheila, Oh that sounds sooooooo familiar! My son, Jonny is the 4th down the totem pole too and theres lots of resentment from his older sibs. Why is HE being treated so special, they say! So much competition and anger from them. What I do is try to explain HFA as best as possible, get them with other sibs of similar families while building a network of support to bring all to the same page of understanding. No, life isn't fair but our HFA kids won't have a fair shake at life either in many ways. A great tool for getting everyone on the same page is "What Does It Mean To Me" an interactive workbook for the HFA person. Helps us all to understand better.

Subject: autistic children and sports

Question - I am a student at Howard University and i am currently doing a paper on Autism. I am having a bit a trouble finding information on the types of sports and games that autistis children and adults can take part in. I would apprciate it if you could offer some sites i can go to or any information you have on this particular topic.
thanks a whole lot,
Nicola

Answer - It depends on their level of involvement. You might want to check out Kids Enjoy Exercise Now you can search thru a search engine for their site (KEEN) We are about to launch an online magazine "AutismToday.com" in a week or so. There are also resources available such as Developing Leisure Time Activities for those with Autism. Call Exceptional Resources Inc 877-482-1555 for more info. Good luck....Karen

Subject: "Servant's (sp) Syndrome

Question - I saw an interesting program on 20/20 the other night (Saturday) very late and they were discussing the higher functioning autistic adults having a syndrome called Servant's. I am unsure this is the spelling. But, I am very interested in following up on this as I provide respite for an autistic 10-year-old who is high functioning and he seemed to fit the syndrome profile moreso than Pdd of full blown autism. I am also the mother of a special needs 15-year-old girl. Can you tell me if you have heard of this and what the proper spelling is? I searched and searched with no luck.
Thank you.
Karen

Answer - Thank you for your question. I was trying to track down the show as I have had numerous inquiries about it. I would like to get a copy. Anyway, a savant has extraordinary talents sometimes in the area of art, music, remembering etc like Dustin Hoffmans incredible memory in Rain Man. You could also inquire further by contacting the Autism Society of America 1-800-3autism. good luck. Also, if you get a chance, email me at karen@autismtoday.com with the info on the program.

Subject: Autism

Question - I am about to start a working with two young men both in the early thirties who both have autistic tendancies. They are coming from residential care to live in a 2 bedroom flat together with 24 hour care. I have only met the guys once and hope to work with them some more before they move into there flat but I was hoping that you could give me some advice or information as to how to communicate with these two guys because they have no form of communiciation and when I have approached past carers for advice they seem to be very unwilling to give me any help or advice as to how to communicate with these guys. I want to be able to give them the best I can offer but whenever I try to find out information as to what I can do I seem to keep coming up against a brick wall. Although these guys will be living in their own flat they will be sharing a house with 5 other residents who also have learning difficulties of varying degrees.
I am a trained nurse with 10 years experience working with adults who have special needs and challenging behaviour but not sadly I have never worked with anyone with autism. This is a field where I would like to know more about and hope that someone can offer me some advice.
Thank you very much for reading my question and I look forward to hearing from you.
Mandy

Answer - Hi - I'll try to be as helpful as possible. I am having a difficult time understanding your exact question. I am very familiar with many resources and contacts, so if you want, you can email me at my personal email so I can help you out. My email is karen@autismtoday.com
karen

Subject: Genetics

Question - What are the possible genetic causes of autism, and is it possible for more than one child of the same parents to be autistic?
Rachelle

Answer - Genetics are a complicated issue to say the least and it hasn't been until just a couple of years ago that the gene was isolated. Truly we are embarking upon a new frontier! I would advise checking with http:www.autism.org for more information in this area. Absolutely it is possible for more than one child of the same parents to be autistic. In fact Dr. Peter Tsatsmari i conducting a study of multiple siblings in one family having autism. Feel free to contact me directly at karen@autismtoday.com if you want more information and links to information and resources.