Treating Individuals With Asperger's Syndrome
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Treating Asperger's Syndrome
There is no cure, no magic pill that will take the symptoms of Asperger's Syndrome away. There is however interventions and treatments that can improve functioning and reduce the occurrence of undesirable behaviors in a person with Asperger's Syndrome. The treatment may be a combination of education, behavior modification, speech or physical or occupational therapy, and different medications to treat associated conditions such as anxiety, depression, hyperactivity, and obsessive-compulsive behavior.
Because the symptoms vary as the individual grows the treatment too will change over the years. A young child may have difficulty picking up on social cues, may not know how to recognize personal space when in group situations and therefore preschool teachers can help by establishing routines that teach how to interact with others and make a game about personal body space. The elementary school aged child may have a large vocabulary but has difficulty with tone (monotone) and the speech pattern may seem rigid. The child may fixate on a topic and talk for a long time without being aware that others are bored. The school-aged child needs to have routines that are stable. The child with AS will learn better if a subject is broken into steps instead of having the "big picture" presented at once. The teen has a difficult time dealing with relationships, with communicating with others and with social situations where body language is used to express ideas. School counseling or private counseling may help the teen to express how he or she is feeling about body changes and peer pressure. Speech therapy, physical therapy and occupational therapy can assist any age child including teens to be able to communicate better and to deal with social situations with better understanding. Teens can be helped to have a better chance at getting jobs when they are helped with interviewing skills and are taught how to behave in the work environment.
It is common for those with Asperger's Syndrome to have other associated conditions or disorders such as depression, anxiety disorders, and bipolar disorder, even attention deficit disorder. Medications for these conditions can be beneficial in helping children and adults to cope with a life in which being able to communicate means being able to belong or not, being able to participate in sports or not, being able to function well in a work environment or not, being able to form friendships, date, or get married and have a normal family life.
The treatment plan for Asperger's Disorder is individualized as symptoms can range from mild to severe. Medications may reduce anxiety, may help to reduce agitation, and idiosyncratic thinking and may help to improve someone who is depressed. Common medications are Paxil, Prozac, Zoloft, and Risperidone.
Social skills training are typically part of the treatment plan. The individual with Asperger's Syndrome needs to learn how to make eye contact, learn proper personal space perimeters, be able to function in a group, and learn how to relate to another individual and hold a conversation without monopolizing it.
Education interventions are common for school age and teens with Asperger's Syndrome. Teachers, and other staff should be educated in how to handle someone with this syndrome; this may include extra training for the teacher, or giving the child an instructional assistant.
Psychotherapy can help sort out the intense emotional feelings, and can help the individual to learn concrete, behavioral techniques, including role-playing. Group therapy or support groups may be utilized to add to the network of support for the individual. A teen needs someone such as an older teen to teach them how to dress, and use the current slang or the rules of cliques at school.
Because the symptoms vary as the individual grows the treatment too will change over the years. A young child may have difficulty picking up on social cues, may not know how to recognize personal space when in group situations and therefore preschool teachers can help by establishing routines that teach how to interact with others and make a game about personal body space. The elementary school aged child may have a large vocabulary but has difficulty with tone (monotone) and the speech pattern may seem rigid. The child may fixate on a topic and talk for a long time without being aware that others are bored. The school-aged child needs to have routines that are stable. The child with AS will learn better if a subject is broken into steps instead of having the "big picture" presented at once. The teen has a difficult time dealing with relationships, with communicating with others and with social situations where body language is used to express ideas. School counseling or private counseling may help the teen to express how he or she is feeling about body changes and peer pressure. Speech therapy, physical therapy and occupational therapy can assist any age child including teens to be able to communicate better and to deal with social situations with better understanding. Teens can be helped to have a better chance at getting jobs when they are helped with interviewing skills and are taught how to behave in the work environment.
It is common for those with Asperger's Syndrome to have other associated conditions or disorders such as depression, anxiety disorders, and bipolar disorder, even attention deficit disorder. Medications for these conditions can be beneficial in helping children and adults to cope with a life in which being able to communicate means being able to belong or not, being able to participate in sports or not, being able to function well in a work environment or not, being able to form friendships, date, or get married and have a normal family life.
The treatment plan for Asperger's Disorder is individualized as symptoms can range from mild to severe. Medications may reduce anxiety, may help to reduce agitation, and idiosyncratic thinking and may help to improve someone who is depressed. Common medications are Paxil, Prozac, Zoloft, and Risperidone.
Social skills training are typically part of the treatment plan. The individual with Asperger's Syndrome needs to learn how to make eye contact, learn proper personal space perimeters, be able to function in a group, and learn how to relate to another individual and hold a conversation without monopolizing it.
Education interventions are common for school age and teens with Asperger's Syndrome. Teachers, and other staff should be educated in how to handle someone with this syndrome; this may include extra training for the teacher, or giving the child an instructional assistant.
Psychotherapy can help sort out the intense emotional feelings, and can help the individual to learn concrete, behavioral techniques, including role-playing. Group therapy or support groups may be utilized to add to the network of support for the individual. A teen needs someone such as an older teen to teach them how to dress, and use the current slang or the rules of cliques at school.
What You Should Know About Autism Spectrum Disorders
Asperger's Syndrome in Laymen's Terms
Staff difficulties when dealing with an Asperger's Syndrome in-patient
Much has been written about the difficulties patients with Asperger's Syndrome may experience in social settings and even in the more regulated school or work environment. However, there is limited data on the experiences medical staff members dealing with children and adults diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome.
There are difficult situations that may arise for medical workers dealing with people with AS in an in-patient setting. These include:
The insistence of people with AS on routines which are counterproductive in the institutional setting. Some examples of this may be the absolute need to wash hands after touching every third surface or doing something as simple as eating lunch ahead of the rest of the patients, even if there is no medical reason to do so. Insistence on such routines is sometimes so marked that it borders on manic. Many medical staff have coped with this situation by either complying or going along with the patient's demads or deliberately ignoring them.
The inability to have proper facial expression and body language together with their language makes it hard to interact with a patient suffering from a more severe form of Asperger's Syndrome. Caregivers have noted the kind of disconnection between words and body language someone makes, renders the exchange questionable. Even if the caregiver asks more questions to make sure she or he has properly understood the patient's needs, there is still a good chance that meeting all the needs is not possible.
The onset of apathy which results to patient's seeming disregard of treatment directions or institutional rules.
Perhaps the most commonly cited difficulty a nurse, aide or other caregiver may report is the patient's inability to correctly and completely report any discomfort or pain. Even when asked repeatedly, the patient lacks the voice inflection and the facial responses that help a caregiver recognize pain or discomfort and then adjust the current treatment. At times the individual may not even be able to describe the pain felt. This makes it even more difficult to deal with a person with Asperger's Syndrome in an in-patient setting.
There are no hard-and-fast answers for dealing with these problems. However it may be helpful to enlist the help of a patient's advocate or caregiver to spend as much time with the patient and the staff to foster proper communication.
There are difficult situations that may arise for medical workers dealing with people with AS in an in-patient setting. These include:
The insistence of people with AS on routines which are counterproductive in the institutional setting. Some examples of this may be the absolute need to wash hands after touching every third surface or doing something as simple as eating lunch ahead of the rest of the patients, even if there is no medical reason to do so. Insistence on such routines is sometimes so marked that it borders on manic. Many medical staff have coped with this situation by either complying or going along with the patient's demads or deliberately ignoring them.
The inability to have proper facial expression and body language together with their language makes it hard to interact with a patient suffering from a more severe form of Asperger's Syndrome. Caregivers have noted the kind of disconnection between words and body language someone makes, renders the exchange questionable. Even if the caregiver asks more questions to make sure she or he has properly understood the patient's needs, there is still a good chance that meeting all the needs is not possible.
The onset of apathy which results to patient's seeming disregard of treatment directions or institutional rules.
Perhaps the most commonly cited difficulty a nurse, aide or other caregiver may report is the patient's inability to correctly and completely report any discomfort or pain. Even when asked repeatedly, the patient lacks the voice inflection and the facial responses that help a caregiver recognize pain or discomfort and then adjust the current treatment. At times the individual may not even be able to describe the pain felt. This makes it even more difficult to deal with a person with Asperger's Syndrome in an in-patient setting.
There are no hard-and-fast answers for dealing with these problems. However it may be helpful to enlist the help of a patient's advocate or caregiver to spend as much time with the patient and the staff to foster proper communication.
Dealing with the deceptive genius of Asperger's Syndrome
Children diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome were called little professors by Dr. Asperger. This refers back to their ability to focus in on one subject and then learn all there is to know about it. They may read, study, hypothesize on their own or simply take ownership of the topic in a variety of different ways. This unfortunately also points to the deceptive genius of Asperger's Syndrome: learning by rote.
Those diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome have the singular ability to learn long lists of facts and even complex items simply from memory. Unfortunately, they may not understand what they have learned and therefore no real learning took place. This can be illustrated in the case of people trying to learn a foreign language. Instead, the process could be compared unfavorably to someone learning a complex issue by rote in a foreign language. Although she or he may sound very knowledgeable and come across as very convincing, the individual most likely does not understand what was being said.
Dealing with the deceptive genius of Asperger's Syndrome requires knowledge and sensitivity to the condition of student with AS. Teachers should be trained learn to look past the unusually large vocabulary so many students with the condition possess and which many people regard as a sign of superior intelligence. Teachers need to know to ask for information in a number of different ways. For example, a teacher may laud your student's ability to recite the exact phrasing in the textbooks but follow it up by asking the text means. Conversely, when explaining a subject matter, use two or three different ways of looking at it and then explain it in as many different ways. This emphasizes the message that there are different ways of looking at a problem. If one way does not reward the student with success, another way might make a problem a lot easier to understand.
On the other hand, a mistake often made by teachers unfamiliar with AS is to assume that, for example, a genius in mathematics automatically transfers to other subjects. Such teachers are often quite surprised to find out that instead of also dealing with a genius at literature, they are face-to-face with someone who is not able to draw even the simplest conclusions from a fictional passage. This goes back to the inability of a child with Asperger's Syndrome to read between the lines and establish social clues. At the same time it also points to the fact that children with this condition have one or two topics they master exceptionally well while lagging behind other fields of study.
The skilled teacher will seek to help the child with Asperger's Syndrome by connecting areas of interest with those in which the child shows a weakness. This of course offers a whole new possibility for class work.
Those diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome have the singular ability to learn long lists of facts and even complex items simply from memory. Unfortunately, they may not understand what they have learned and therefore no real learning took place. This can be illustrated in the case of people trying to learn a foreign language. Instead, the process could be compared unfavorably to someone learning a complex issue by rote in a foreign language. Although she or he may sound very knowledgeable and come across as very convincing, the individual most likely does not understand what was being said.
Dealing with the deceptive genius of Asperger's Syndrome requires knowledge and sensitivity to the condition of student with AS. Teachers should be trained learn to look past the unusually large vocabulary so many students with the condition possess and which many people regard as a sign of superior intelligence. Teachers need to know to ask for information in a number of different ways. For example, a teacher may laud your student's ability to recite the exact phrasing in the textbooks but follow it up by asking the text means. Conversely, when explaining a subject matter, use two or three different ways of looking at it and then explain it in as many different ways. This emphasizes the message that there are different ways of looking at a problem. If one way does not reward the student with success, another way might make a problem a lot easier to understand.
On the other hand, a mistake often made by teachers unfamiliar with AS is to assume that, for example, a genius in mathematics automatically transfers to other subjects. Such teachers are often quite surprised to find out that instead of also dealing with a genius at literature, they are face-to-face with someone who is not able to draw even the simplest conclusions from a fictional passage. This goes back to the inability of a child with Asperger's Syndrome to read between the lines and establish social clues. At the same time it also points to the fact that children with this condition have one or two topics they master exceptionally well while lagging behind other fields of study.
The skilled teacher will seek to help the child with Asperger's Syndrome by connecting areas of interest with those in which the child shows a weakness. This of course offers a whole new possibility for class work.
Great Stuff on Amazon On Asperger's Syndrome
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Eye contact a chancy game for those with Asperger's Syndrome
Reading body language is difficult for people with AS. Even more diffcult is knowing the social conventions regarding eye contact. People with AS often hold eye contact too long that it makes the other person uncomfortable. In other times, they will make brief eye contact, if at all, making others think they are hiding something from them.
Providing people with AS subtle clues to follow is helpful in this regard. For example, caregivers often suggest to children that if an adult is not talking to them and if they are not addressing the adult, there is no reason to look at them. However, this sometimes causes teachers to believe that children are inattentive in class, when honestly they are simply trying to avoid the appearance of staring.
Children with Asperger's Syndrome are also taught to look at those to whom they are speaking or who are addressing them, but even in doing so there are some subtle rules to be observed. The right amount of eye contact depends on the length of the interaction. A child is made to understand that looking up and then onto the ground is considered a sign of shyness. Conversely, if they are looking at the person and then to the side, they give the appearance of being suspicious.
On the other hand, if the child were to keep eye contact the entire time a person is talking to them, there is a good chance that they might be considered aggressive or even challenging to the speaker. It might result in an unpleasant interaction. In older individuals with Asperger's Syndrome, prolonged intense eye contact may also be misinterpreted as a sign of sexual interest. This may result in unwanted attention, simply because of a misunderstanding.
Caregivers work long and hard with those who have Asperger's Syndrome and unfortunately, there is no way to get everything completely right, all the time. Even the role playing games the very young enjoy have some serious limitations and sometimes serve to confuse matters more than they actually solve. Nonetheless, there is a good chance that individuals with Asperger's Syndrome who practice and role-play have a better way at mastering eye contact than those who do not.
The key advantage is the training opportunities provided by those individuals who know about the manifestations of Asperger's Syndrome and do not feel uncomfortable helping the youngsters in their practice. They provide a most valuable and important service that simply cannot be replaced with even the most well-intentioned, theoretical training. Although many books seek to mimic the right responses, there is nothing that takes the place of real life interaction and those who would try to learn only in theory make serious mistakes later on.
Providing people with AS subtle clues to follow is helpful in this regard. For example, caregivers often suggest to children that if an adult is not talking to them and if they are not addressing the adult, there is no reason to look at them. However, this sometimes causes teachers to believe that children are inattentive in class, when honestly they are simply trying to avoid the appearance of staring.
Children with Asperger's Syndrome are also taught to look at those to whom they are speaking or who are addressing them, but even in doing so there are some subtle rules to be observed. The right amount of eye contact depends on the length of the interaction. A child is made to understand that looking up and then onto the ground is considered a sign of shyness. Conversely, if they are looking at the person and then to the side, they give the appearance of being suspicious.
On the other hand, if the child were to keep eye contact the entire time a person is talking to them, there is a good chance that they might be considered aggressive or even challenging to the speaker. It might result in an unpleasant interaction. In older individuals with Asperger's Syndrome, prolonged intense eye contact may also be misinterpreted as a sign of sexual interest. This may result in unwanted attention, simply because of a misunderstanding.
Caregivers work long and hard with those who have Asperger's Syndrome and unfortunately, there is no way to get everything completely right, all the time. Even the role playing games the very young enjoy have some serious limitations and sometimes serve to confuse matters more than they actually solve. Nonetheless, there is a good chance that individuals with Asperger's Syndrome who practice and role-play have a better way at mastering eye contact than those who do not.
The key advantage is the training opportunities provided by those individuals who know about the manifestations of Asperger's Syndrome and do not feel uncomfortable helping the youngsters in their practice. They provide a most valuable and important service that simply cannot be replaced with even the most well-intentioned, theoretical training. Although many books seek to mimic the right responses, there is nothing that takes the place of real life interaction and those who would try to learn only in theory make serious mistakes later on.
Autism & Aspergers Links
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Helping your child overcome Asperger's Syndrome-related apathy
Parents who have children with Asperger's Syndrome become quite familiar with the apathy that threatens to overtake their child's day-to-day activities. This apathy does not occur often, but when it does, it may have great effects on the children with AS or the people around them. The child with Asperger's Syndrome who suddenly falls into apathy may be unable to comply with even the simplest requests. Initially parents think their child is being disobedient or defiant. But before long it becomes obvious that instead of disobedience, it is the condition that is to blame for the sudden lack of compliance.
There are steps parents can take to helping your child overcome Asperger's Syndrome-related apathy.
Show appreciation for your child's efforts. It may seem odd to applaud your child's effort at making it from the bathroom to the kitchen table. However, this simple task was accomplished with considerable effort by children with Asperger Syndrome-related apathy. This will encourage your child to achieve more, as opposed to their shutting people off.
Understand that stress causes their apathy. Identifying what may have caused the stress will help you and your child manage understand why apathy occured. Sometimes the child may know why she or he does not wish to engage in a certain activity. Instead of sharing the feelings, the youngster may simply resolve to solve them alone by refusing to take action. To this end, dealing with the apathy on a verbal level may lead you to a number of underlying issues that also require your attention.
Non-verbal cues, touching may also help in addressing apathy. Combine a predetermined touch with a simple set of instructions. For instance, squeeze your child's hand while suggesting that she close the closet door, if you notice her spacing out in front of the closet for a length of time.
Help your child to relax. By and large the deceptive calm of the child with Asperger's Syndrome is actually a mask for a nervous and anxious mind. Suggest breathing exercises or simply giving a back massage while speaking in a calm voice. Although this is not an absolute cure for the situation, it is better than simply ignoring the child's behavior, or worse, taking out your frustration on the child.
There are steps parents can take to helping your child overcome Asperger's Syndrome-related apathy.
Show appreciation for your child's efforts. It may seem odd to applaud your child's effort at making it from the bathroom to the kitchen table. However, this simple task was accomplished with considerable effort by children with Asperger Syndrome-related apathy. This will encourage your child to achieve more, as opposed to their shutting people off.
Understand that stress causes their apathy. Identifying what may have caused the stress will help you and your child manage understand why apathy occured. Sometimes the child may know why she or he does not wish to engage in a certain activity. Instead of sharing the feelings, the youngster may simply resolve to solve them alone by refusing to take action. To this end, dealing with the apathy on a verbal level may lead you to a number of underlying issues that also require your attention.
Non-verbal cues, touching may also help in addressing apathy. Combine a predetermined touch with a simple set of instructions. For instance, squeeze your child's hand while suggesting that she close the closet door, if you notice her spacing out in front of the closet for a length of time.
Help your child to relax. By and large the deceptive calm of the child with Asperger's Syndrome is actually a mask for a nervous and anxious mind. Suggest breathing exercises or simply giving a back massage while speaking in a calm voice. Although this is not an absolute cure for the situation, it is better than simply ignoring the child's behavior, or worse, taking out your frustration on the child.
Should you join a support group for parents of children with Asperger's Syndrome
Having a family member diagnosed with AS can be a trying experience. In this instance, a diagnosis that points to an incurable condition quite often demands the same grieving process as a death would. You may become angry, bitter, and even take out some of your frustrations on your spouse or child. At the same time, there are countless new doors that can open for you and your child but you might need some help recognizing these opportunities. This is where support groups come in.
There are many reasons to join a support group for parents of children with Asperger's Syndrome:
To network with parents whose children also have received the Asperger's Syndrome diagnosis. They may know good doctors, hospitals, clinics and other agencies where your child may receive better treatment than the clinics you initially thought of.
To find a place to air your feelings. These groups can provide the emotional support needed to cope with the adjustments in living with a person who has AS.
To learn techniques to help your child. Although generally, what works for one family does not necessarily mean it will work in others, experiences of parents similarly situated may help you understand better what your child is going through. As a matter of fact, this might actually open doors to some wonderful learning experiences!
Advocacy is a skill and as a parent you are your child's primary advocate in the school system and in other venues as well. Support groups can be venues for this learning. Advocacy while appearing to be a huge task, when broken down into smaller parts and learned from the beginning, advocating for your child really does not have to be a complicated undertaking.
To Connect with parents who know how you feel. There is strength in numbers and when you see that you are not alone, you are certain to take heart for the task ahead. Socializing with others who are in a similar position can actually help you look on the positive sides of the condition and help you pass on this experience and knowledge to your child.
Remember that a support group made up of parents who also have children with Asperger's Syndrome will not suddenly and magically make it all better. It is, however, a tool to learn how to deal with the condition and that you can use to your and your child's advantage.
There are many reasons to join a support group for parents of children with Asperger's Syndrome:
To network with parents whose children also have received the Asperger's Syndrome diagnosis. They may know good doctors, hospitals, clinics and other agencies where your child may receive better treatment than the clinics you initially thought of.
To find a place to air your feelings. These groups can provide the emotional support needed to cope with the adjustments in living with a person who has AS.
To learn techniques to help your child. Although generally, what works for one family does not necessarily mean it will work in others, experiences of parents similarly situated may help you understand better what your child is going through. As a matter of fact, this might actually open doors to some wonderful learning experiences!
Advocacy is a skill and as a parent you are your child's primary advocate in the school system and in other venues as well. Support groups can be venues for this learning. Advocacy while appearing to be a huge task, when broken down into smaller parts and learned from the beginning, advocating for your child really does not have to be a complicated undertaking.
To Connect with parents who know how you feel. There is strength in numbers and when you see that you are not alone, you are certain to take heart for the task ahead. Socializing with others who are in a similar position can actually help you look on the positive sides of the condition and help you pass on this experience and knowledge to your child.
Remember that a support group made up of parents who also have children with Asperger's Syndrome will not suddenly and magically make it all better. It is, however, a tool to learn how to deal with the condition and that you can use to your and your child's advantage.
Autism Related Lenses
Asperger's Syndrome
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calchao
Sep 2, 2011 @ 1:46 pm | delete
- I've read about Asperger's in Dear John, the novel by Nicholas Sparks. I was surprised that seemingly normal people may have this disease. It's not that they're abnormal but we must accept the fact that they're different. In some ways, it is similar to OCD but not the same. OCD can be managed by Zoloft but it's discouraged in pregnant women because of the Zoloft birth defects that have been brought up. I don't how Asperger is treated exactly. I'm just hoping that a definite plan will be laid out.>>> interesting comment
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WendyMarsh
Jun 29, 2011 @ 1:23 am | delete
- I like your lens. On the poll, I noticed that we could only choose one answer, although some of us have multiple family members on the spectrum. Also, it would be great to include "spouse" as a choice. Lots of great information here!
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TIRMassageStone
Jun 28, 2011 @ 10:04 am | delete
- Never head of this syndrome until now, thank you.
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ShamanicShift
Jan 11, 2011 @ 5:46 pm | delete
- This is a fascinating lens and helpful resource on the topic!
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LifeSculptor Nov 21, 2010 @ 10:02 pm | delete
- Some great information there Raymond.
Thank you for taking the time to write this.
I feel that as a spectrum disorder there are many, many shades of colour, not just the black and white that you have laid out here but really you could go on forever if you went into all the idiosyncrasies, couldn't you?!
Thanks again.
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Christene
Nov 4, 2010 @ 5:41 pm | delete
- Blessed by a SquidAngel :)
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glockr
Oct 18, 2010 @ 3:04 pm | delete
- Nicely done lens. I have a loved one who was originally diagnosed with Asperger's but later the diagnosis was changed to schizophrenia. I wish I could find a lens on schizo that was as informative as this one is. I wish that science could make as much progress curing mental illnesses as they have with other diseases. It has been pretty devastating to our family.
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WeddingZazzle
Apr 12, 2010 @ 11:58 pm | delete
- Nicely done. Blessed by a Squid Angel :)
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Kylyssa
Nov 7, 2009 @ 11:14 am | delete
- I was diagnosed with Asperger's as an adult, about three years ago.
I have had a hard time dealing with medical professionals, apparently because my voice doesn't make the expected changes when I'm in pain and I don't always make noises when I get hurt. This has led to me getting sent home untreated and accused of drug seeking behavior - once with a broken ankle (which required surgery to repair) and once with a broken wrist and thumb. I didn't even ask for drugs, I just asked for them to fix what was broken because I could feel the grating and I'm not an idiot - I know broken bones need treatment to heal properly. I made the mistake of thinking that doctors would just believe me when I told them the truth. I made it worse when I was told, "You don't seem like you are in pain" and I suggested the nurse take my blood pressure and heart rate to confirm it.
Medical professionals tend to treat Aspies like liars.
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RaymondLeBlanc
Mar 31, 2009 @ 9:25 am | delete
- thank you so much guys for the comment and for taking time to read my lens... :)
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Christian Cain
Feb 10, 2009 @ 2:06 pm | delete
- Dear Julie, this is Christian, we were in contact for some time, and have been out of contact for some time now. I have a new e-mail address now, which I have sent to the e-mail address which you were using when we last were in contact. Incase you did not receive it, it is cain_christian@hotmail.com. How have you been? Christian Cain.
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Sandra Gregston
Nov 2, 2008 @ 12:21 pm | in reply to nightstar | delete
- No Kidding! I'm a female in my 30's and I can't get the help I need since no one see AS as anything. It's very sad. There are programs for CHILDREN that are full blown Autisic, but for those of us that are High Functioning, we are ALL left out. Especially here in the United States. If I lived in Canada or in some other country, I'd probably get the help I need. I just wish our government was more aware of AS and how REAL it is. No one (NT's) understands. If our government could live one month with AS, I think they'd make more programs available for ADULTS.. I was born in 1975, so in 1980, who knew about AS? Teachers? Doctors? Only if they specialized in AS or had a family member with AS and knew how to recongize it! Who else knew about AS in 1985? I was 10 in '85. All these therapits that I am seeing (in my 30's) ask me "Have you been diagnosed with AS?" I say, "I diagnosed myself. I read up on it and I fit it to a T." I wish I could find a good therapist in Temecula CA.
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nightstar
Oct 6, 2008 @ 9:57 am | delete
- Hi, I am an adult who has recently been diagnosed with asperger's syndrome just last year. I have had a hard time getting services because asperger's syndrome isn't seen as a "severe" disability. I have been trying to get the word out and possibly make asperger's syndrome more publicised so that more people can obtain services that are needed.
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Julie-Stevenson
Aug 25, 2008 @ 8:13 am | delete
- Thanks for this very interesting lens!
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Link List
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- Depressie oorzaken, depressie diagnose & depressie therapie.
by RaymondLeBlanc
Aspergers Syndrome often is a difficult disorder to treat and to live with. Common characteristics of individuals with this syndrome are deficiencies... more »
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