Update Resources - Autism and Asperger's Now Called ASD

Every few years the terminology changes for putting people into categories. Now Autism and it's milder form, Asperger's Syndrome (later called Asperger's Disorder) are labeled as ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder). I am not changing the labels in the articles I wrote, but it is still the same topic. Here are some current 2016 articles on the subject.

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/autism-spectrum-disorders-asd/index.shtml

https://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism

https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/index.html

http://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/autism-spectrum-disorders

http://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/tc/aspergers-syndrome-home-treatment#1

Autistic Babies and Children

Here are some comments by different parents of mildly Autistic children. These children are said to have Asenberger Syndrome.  By "syndrome", they mean a characteristic group of behavior. An example is that most Asenberger children have difficulty dealing with change. It does not mean that they have an illness or anything is "wrong" with them. They are who they are. We each have different strengths and weaknesses. These people often are exceptional on left brain skills such as structure, linear logic, memory for details, math, and spelling. Recognizing behavioral patterns and predicting behavior often is very difficult for these logical, literal people. Their particular personality results in some common behaviors.

I am grouping the comments. Since there are five times more boys than girls that are autistic, most quotes will refer to "he".

Dealing With School Discouragement

When my oldest was young, we dreaded school beginning.  Soon it would start again.  She would come home sobbing, “They called me dumb!”.  By the end of second grade, she knew she was “dumb”.

My heart ached to see someone so young already without hope.  I prayed and studied all I could about those who have difficulty learning.  I found myself remembering my own struggles in elementary school, and wondering why the Lord had not blessed me as others.  I was startled out of my self-pitying mood, as these words filled my mind, “You have not understood.  These are not your weaknesses, but the strengths I have given you.”

People Learn Differently

Being a person who struggled in elementary school myself, I really believe that people learn differently. Based on my own experiences and what I have learned in over thirty-six years of tutoring children, I  agree that most children are not disabled learners, but simply people who learn in a different way.

Some of us can not learn merely by hearing something. We need to see and experience to learn. Visual aids such as pictures, time lines, graphs, demonstrations, and DVD’s really help me follow a lesson, but they don’t always have to be things you can touch. Stories, parables, examples, and analogies also enable me to “see” the ideas. I have found  Teaching No Greater Call to be a invaluable resource of teaching ideas.