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Does anyone have children with Asperger's or know anyone with Asperger's. I was wondering how serious is Asperger's? Do children with it grow up to be loving, normal, happy adults? What are some of the things they have to go through? Will the child be able to live a happy life? I'm asking because I know someone that has a 14 year old son that has it.
Hi, this should probably be in the Special Needs section, but all three of my sons have Asperger's. As you know it is a higher functional level autism spectrum disorder. There are many levels within that. My oldest son is the most severe of the three and my second son is affected the least of the three. All of my sons are gentle and not physically mean or aggressive at all. All three have been in regular classes in school with IEP's and accomodations. Some of these kids can grow up and appear to everyone as not even having a problem and some may have to live in a group home and have services their whole lives, and everything in between. My oldest son is 22 and has lived alone with services 5 days a week for 3 years. It has been a struggle though and a daily fight for him to make the right choices and care for himself and his apartment properly. Some can go on to college and some can not. Some can work and some cannot. There is just too much variation between individuals to predict. I would say you should have an IEP for your child now, he should probably be getting DD services, have a service coordinator, and probably have weekly counseling, especially being a teen. It is hard enough being a teen nevertheless being a teen with issues. Good luck to you!
Read someDr Temple Grandin( herself with autism) book about it.Get the facts. If you try to understand you will not be scared.They ( from our point of view of a neurotypical) are different. Simon Cohen- Baron is great too.
Also for a inside of a life with asperger read Look me in the eye by John Elder Robinson.
theres several great threads regarding kids w/Aspergers up in the special needs section.
My son too, has aspergers, and yeah, it does require a bit of above and beyond to raise a Aspie child. There should be no pity about it, simply a different way of raising a wonderful yet challenging child. Id highly encourage the OP to check out some of the threads on Aspergers up in the Special Needs section.
I am an adult Aspergers, and I'm 70 years old. I can't imagine NOT being Aspergers. I have no idea what "neurotypical" must be like, but it must be dreadful. None of my acquaintances are as contented as I am. There weren't very many of us back in the 40's, but I was just turned loose in the world to make what I could of it. The education system and other social institutions didn't know how to adapt to me very well, so I just gradually acquired the mindset of getting through life by my wits alone. So far, it has worked.
If they tell you there are things they don't want to do, they really don't want to do them. Respect that.
I am an adult Aspergers, and I'm 70 years old. I can't imagine NOT being Aspergers. I have no idea what "neurotypical" must be like, but it must be dreadful. None of my acquaintances are as contented as I am. There weren't very many of us back in the 40's, but I was just turned loose in the world to make what I could of it. The education system and other social institutions didn't know how to adapt to me very well, so I just gradually acquired the mindset of getting through life by my wits alone. So far, it has worked.
If they tell you there are things they don't want to do, they really don't want to do them. Respect that.
Awesome to know you 'survived' and thrived. A lot of parents see AS as a death sentence and think their kid is going sit in a rubber room and never function properly in society.
My son has mild AS. We found out at his last evaluation his physical problems are much worse but with therapy and so forth, we hope he can conquer them.
By the way, many famous people have AS or had it...
Location: New Albany, Indiana (Greater Louisville)
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I am a 26 year old guy that has A.S. I think I'll address each question separately
1. How serious is Asperger's?
It varies by individual, but generally I think A.S. tends to describe people who aren't visibly disabled and can function well in society in the right setting and with adequate support
If you met a person with A.S. you would find them to be a fairly normal person other than there "pedantic" speech (talks AT you rather than TO you), problems with eye contact, and maybe having a few odd ticks.
2. Do children with it grow up to be loving, normal, happy adults?
Most A.S. people are best described as normal but eccentric. Most don't like to socialize to much and prefer to focus on "special interests" - many "Aspies" spend a majority of their free time exploring or learning about their special interests while a normal person would prefer spending time socializing.
If a person w/ A.S. can find employment within there special interests they can be very financially successful. Other people with it will generally have employment troubles and end up living up family for most of their life
3. What are some of the things they have to go through?
Middle and High School can be an absolute hell for most Aspies, since most have troubles conforming to the tight standards of "fitting in" that most teenagers expect. I found the 9 hours of zero privacy to be major problem as well, since Aspies like time to "recharge" after socializing. College can be much better, given the more excepting culture and the chance to study areas within a special interest, although staying on task can become an issue.
Work life as an adult is challenging since Aspies have troubling understand body langauge and instructions and need extra help staying on task.
4. Will the child be able to live a happy life?
I think that despite the challanges of life with A.S. most of us tend to be happier than normal people because he tend to worry only about absolute physical needs and our special interest, while a 'normal' person will spend hours worrying about problems with friends or what what people think about them, etc.
For myself if I have food, a dog/ cat, and internet access where I can look at Google Street View I'm as happy as anyone w/ a $100,000 a year job and a Lexus
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