Hi, I am a new member, and this is my first post. First of all, I have to say that I’m really happy to have found this forum, since in my country there exist no such initiatives where people who face Asperger’s Syndrome can communicate to each other.
I am a father of a 13-year-old boy with an official Asperger diagnosis since he was 9 yo. He is a very smart kid, very pleasant, and always trying to find friends, but often facing rejection from his peers. His “special interest” is primarily video games and writing his own stories – he can work with them all day long. He really likes staying at home, alone in his room, and playing with video games. He enjoys very much the visit from other kids of his age, but they usually are bored with his “special interests” and leave pretty soon, which makes him really unhappy. I have talked to psychologists, arranged many sessions with him, but honestly, there was no progress at all.
Since the diagnosis, I have tried to gather any information regarding the needs of a teenager with Asperger, read a lot of books, and visiting any site I could find referring to AS. I understand that I must discover new activities outside the house, that would help him socialize and communicate with other people. I have tried many such alternatives, but soon he seems bored, not enjoying them and quits. Lately, I tried to get him to play tennis, which (for now) he seems to enjoy very much, likes his coach and looks like I’ve found one way to get him out of the house and enrich his interests.
My questions for any friends who could assist, are:
1. Should I talk to him about the diagnosis? if yes, are there any tips that could be useful to me in such a discussion (e.g. words and terms to use or not to use, what reactions to expect and how to handle them etc). In Attwood’s book I have found some helpful tips, but they come from a professional – I was wondering about the experiences of a parent who has actually made such a discussion…
2. Are there any tips on how to attract his interest on activities outside the house or any ideas for such activities that are suitable for AS kids with similar profile like my boy?
3. Are there any ideas on how to make school more interesting to him? He has many problems with his lessons and his grades. I have arranged an assisting teacher to be dedicated to him during all school hours, and a teacher helping him with his homework in the afternoons, I myself help him as much as I can, but he “hates school”, so the results are really poor…
My ex-wife cannot understand much about the needs of a teenager boy with AS, and actually, there is no one to discuss these issues, so any help would be extremely useful to me. Thank you in advance.
I am a father of a 13-year-old boy with an official Asperger diagnosis since he was 9 yo. He is a very smart kid, very pleasant, and always trying to find friends, but often facing rejection from his peers. His “special interest” is primarily video games and writing his own stories – he can work with them all day long. He really likes staying at home, alone in his room, and playing with video games. He enjoys very much the visit from other kids of his age, but they usually are bored with his “special interests” and leave pretty soon, which makes him really unhappy. I have talked to psychologists, arranged many sessions with him, but honestly, there was no progress at all.
Since the diagnosis, I have tried to gather any information regarding the needs of a teenager with Asperger, read a lot of books, and visiting any site I could find referring to AS. I understand that I must discover new activities outside the house, that would help him socialize and communicate with other people. I have tried many such alternatives, but soon he seems bored, not enjoying them and quits. Lately, I tried to get him to play tennis, which (for now) he seems to enjoy very much, likes his coach and looks like I’ve found one way to get him out of the house and enrich his interests.
My questions for any friends who could assist, are:
1. Should I talk to him about the diagnosis? if yes, are there any tips that could be useful to me in such a discussion (e.g. words and terms to use or not to use, what reactions to expect and how to handle them etc). In Attwood’s book I have found some helpful tips, but they come from a professional – I was wondering about the experiences of a parent who has actually made such a discussion…
2. Are there any tips on how to attract his interest on activities outside the house or any ideas for such activities that are suitable for AS kids with similar profile like my boy?
3. Are there any ideas on how to make school more interesting to him? He has many problems with his lessons and his grades. I have arranged an assisting teacher to be dedicated to him during all school hours, and a teacher helping him with his homework in the afternoons, I myself help him as much as I can, but he “hates school”, so the results are really poor…
My ex-wife cannot understand much about the needs of a teenager boy with AS, and actually, there is no one to discuss these issues, so any help would be extremely useful to me. Thank you in advance.