Gluten Free Diet

The Gluten free diet consists of removing any foods from your Autistic child's diet that contain Gluten. This can seem hard at first because so many foods do have Gluten in them. Gluten is found in most prepared foods. Foods containing wheat, barley ,oats, or rye need to be eliminated from the diet. Gluten can also be found in some vinegars and sauces. Artificial flavorings often contain Gluten.

When using the Gluten free diet you have to be careful and read all labels on foods. Gluten can be in foods you would not think of, like spices. The theory behind removing Gluten from an Autistic child's diet is that when the child eats a food with Gluten it causes their body to react differently than a child without Autism.

The Gluten free diet can be expensive to follow. Most Gluten free products are sold in specialty, or health stores. These stores usually charge a much higher price. Some major grocery stores are now carrying Gluten free products. You can find Gluten free flour, pancake mix, waffles, cookies, snacks, and many other foods. Most parents find out it is cheaper to make their own Gluten free food. Recipes can be found on the internet, or in Gluten free cookbooks. Some parents go together with another family following the Gluten free diet and buy in bulk. Then they share the foods. This can help lower the costs of the Gluten free items.

Autistic children following a Gluten free diet can eat meat, fish, fruits, vegetables, nut, eggs, and products made with gluten free ingredients. It can be hard to keep a child from eating their favorite snacks, and treats. Some of these can be made by using Gluten free products. Muffins and cookies can be made from Gluten free flour. It just takes some getting used to the new way of eating.

Often people following a Gluten free diet will remove all dairy (Casein) products from their diet as well. You can find out if your Autistic child has an allergy to a certain food by having allergy testing done. The doctor can arrange for this testing.

If you are going to try the Gluten free diet with your child you have to be prepared to follow it for several months to tell if it is going to make any difference. Gluten remains in the body for a long time. Most people do not give the diet a long enough chance to work. Trying it for a week or two will not give the body enough time to remove any remaining Gluten from its system. Some people do however see improvements right away in their Autistic child.

If you want to find more information about Gluten free dieting there are several books available. Visit your local library, or book store to find one. To find Gluten free recipes try searching online using your favorite search engine. The Gluten free diet will not work with every autistic child. The majority of the children that show improvement had a sensitivity to the gluten to begin with.

The Gluten free diet is not a cure for Autism. It is used to help lesson the symptoms of Autism.

Smooth Transitions: School to Work

One of the most major transitions in any person's life is that from school to work. In high school or college, many people lead a protected life and are still helped financially and otherwise by their parents. After school, these ties are often cut, leaving the recent graduate to fend for his- or herself. This transition is scary for anyone, but even more so for an individual with autism. Because school is a time to learn to live with peers in a controlled environment, the work force is a difficult concept for autistic people because one must often deal with new situations daily rather than have the comfort of a set living situation.

One of the main things autistic graduates need to learn is how to deal with people in a business world. This includes proper grooming, something that may not have been such a big deal in high school or college. Proper grooming, such as brushing your teeth, wearing appropriate clothing, using deodorant, and combing your hair probably comes natural for most people, but an autistic person needs help with these tasks-he or she may not realize that they are being inappropriate. By this stage in life, many autistic individuals who have gone through schooling are at a maturity level where they can do the task assigned with no problem and avoid outbursts in most situations. In fact, it has been shown that some autistic individuals are highly skilled at tasks involving things such as math or music. Learning a new job in the work force is not the problem-relating to others in a social situation is.

These relationship problems also, unfortunately, help people take advantage of autistic individuals. Most people who suffer from autism believe that all people are like themselves, and inherently good. In business, it is sadly very common to come across companies and business people who do not practice ethically. This often shocks autistic individuals, who may have no idea how to handle this sort of situation. Others in the work force may also not be skilled to deal with autism, leading to bad relationships among employees. By hiring an autistic individual, employers must not only teach them their new job, but also provide direction for others who have to work with him or her. Intolerance in the work force is common, and autistic individuals need to be prepared for this.

Overall, it is important for people with autism to realize that there will be a major change between life in high school or college and life in the work force. It is probably very beneficial for these individuals to seek help in the transition from therapists, family members, or mentors. Going from school to work is difficult, but with a little motivation and hard work anyone, autistic or not, can succeed.

Understanding Asperger's Syndrome

An autism spectrum disorder, Asperger's Syndrome (AS) is milder than autism but is very similar in some of the symptoms. Asperger's Syndrome is more common in boys. Children who have AS are seen as "little professors" in their ability to command a large vocabulary. They often have an obsessive interest in a single subject that occupies a lot of their time. They often have trouble reading social cues and to "read" other's non-verbal communications. They also have difficulty being able to have empathy for others. Children with AS usually have poor communication skills, express inappropriate behavior, and have obsessive or repetitive routines such as having to dress in the same order or eat in food in the same order. They often have physical repetitive movements such as wringing of hands or flapping hands. Their walking gait is often awkward and they can be accused of being clumsy.

So You Want To Know About Asperger's Syndrome

Asperger's Syndrome (AS) has autism-like behaviors, extreme difficulties with social situations and with communicating with others. There are more boys diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome than girls. In the past those who exhibited the symptoms of AS were diagnosed as high-functioning autism. In 1994, Asperger's Syndrome was added to the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-Iv). Despite this, there are still doctors who view, AS is a less severe form of autism.

Children with AS do not have any language delays as children with autism do. Children with AS desire to make friends and to fit into social situations but lack the understanding or ability to do so. Children with AS are socially inapt, and unable to understand the social rules of society. Children with AS typically have good rote memory but a good deal of difficulty with abstract concepts. Children who are diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome have no speech delays; in fact they typically have a large vocabulary that is advanced for their age. Their speech patterns though may be unusual, lack inflection so as to be more monotone, and also lack rhythm. The speech of a child with AS may be too loud, be high pitched or interruptive. Kids who have AS are not able to distinguish when someone is kidding, joking or teasing. They cannot distinguish humor from seriousness.

Children who have AS are usually of normal or high IQ, and have distinctive cognitive ability.

The DSM-IV criteria for diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome is that children with AS have normal language development and normal or high intelligence and "severe and sustained impairment in social interaction, and the development of restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, and activities that must cause clinically significant impairment in social, occupational or other important areas of functioning."

Symptoms That Those With Asperger's Syndrome Exhibit

There are quite a few symptoms that are possible for a person with Asperger's Syndrome to have; the one that stands out is that the person has extreme difficulty in social situations. The range of symptoms can be mild to severe; they can have few symptoms or lots of symptoms. The range of severity and amount of symptoms means that no two children or no two adults with Asperger's Syndrome will be the same.

During childhood there can be different symptoms because as the child grows into childhood the Asperger's Syndrome will change. Preschool is when the first symptoms of Asperger's Syndrome are noticed. A child may show signs of not being able to "read others' body language", or they are not able to take turns talking. They may have a great deal of difficulty accepting changes in routine. They may also appear to be empathetic towards the feelings of others. Preschool teachers may pick-up on the fact that the child may not have any differences in speech tone (monotone), may not vary in pitch. The child may not be able to understand the meaning of a joke because they take everything literally. The child with Asperger's Syndrome may have a vocabulary that seems advanced for his or her age. The child may also be observed avoiding eye contact, may use unusual facial expressions or body postures and hand gestures such as flapping. The child may become obsessed with a certain topic or subject starting in preschool or kindergarten such as a preoccupation with jigsaw puzzles, or drawing detailed pictures. A child with Asperger's Syndrome will often times verbalize internal thoughts or have one-sided conversations. A child with Asperger's Syndrome usually has a high sensitivity to loud noises, bright lights, strong tastes and different textures. The child is usually normal to highly intelligent and has an advanced command of vocabulary.

During the teen years when social skills are more noticeable the teen with Asperger's Syndrome may suffer an inability to read the non-verbal communication of peers, which will make participating in social events such as dances difficult. The teen with Asperger's Syndrome will feel different from others in a keener fashion.

People with Asperger's syndrome are often accused of being eccentric or odd. They have repetitive behaviors such as hand wringing, hand flapping or finger twisting. They are often preoccupied with certain behaviors or rituals such as getting dressed in a particular order or eating food in a particular order. People with Asperger's syndrome often have difficulty meeting the gaze of others especially during introductions, or making eye contact when speaking with others. They have trouble being able to "read" the body language of others such as facial expressions or hand gestures. When observing someone with Asperger's Syndrome you may notice that they appear to be awkward or clumsy. They may also be very talented or skilled in a particular field such as math or music.

Causes and Diagnosing Asperger's Syndrome

Despite research, a cause has not been found yet for Asperger's Syndrome (AS). There does seem to be a genetic link for the syndrome as many family members have behavioral symptoms similar to AS for example individuals in the family tree who have been know to be eccentric or odd. Research points to the probability that all autism spectrum disorders have shared genetic mechanisms, with those suffering from AS having stronger genetic components than those who have been diagnosed with autism. There have been a few studied cases where there has been an exposure to teratogens (agents that cause birth defects) during the first few weeks following conception. There is also some theory regarding environmental factors but these have not been confirmed by scientific studies.

Individuals with AS appear to have some affected areas of functional brain systems. Certain Neuroanatomical studies and the evidence of certain cases of teratogen exposure during fetal development suggest that there may be a connection with some kind of alteration of brain function in the neural circuits that control and individual's thought pattern and behavior.

There has been one study showing that there is an activation delayed in the core circuit for imitation in those who suffer from AS. This study, "Abnormal imitation-related cortical activation sequences in Asperger's Syndrome was conducted and reported on by Nishitani N, Avikainen S, Hari R in 2004.

Others theories are ascertaining whether or not there is possible serotonin dysfunction or cerebellar dysfuntion.

Developmental screening is important during routine check-ups by pediatricians to identify early signs of developmental differences, which can be seen as early as 30 months. Screening instruments that have been utilized to diagnose Asperger's Syndrome are the Asperger Syndrome Diagnostic Scale (ASDS), the Autism Spectrum Screening Questionnaire (ASSQ), the Childhood Asperger Syndrome Test (CAST), the Gilliam Asperger's Disorder Scale (GADS), the Krug Asperger's Disorder Index (KADI), and also the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ). Although these are screening tests none of them has been shown to reliably tell the difference between Asperger's Syndrome and other similar ASDs.

There is a standardized criterion that must be met when diagnosing Asperger's Syndrome and U.S. criteria also requires that there be a significant impairment in the day-to-day ability to function.

The International Standard Criteria for diagnosing Asperger's Syndrome include:

Impairment in social interactions

Repetitive and Stereotyped patterns of behavior, activities and in interests that are noted without any significant delay in either language or cognitive development.

Typically the diagnosis is made when a child is between the ages of 4 and 11. General assessments and neurological assessments are made using cognitive, psychomotor function, verbal and non-verbal assessments.

Misdiagnosis is common and can have a traumatic effect on the individual and on the family members. When misdiagnosed the incorrect medication can worsen behavior. If there has not been any diagnosis made or a misdiagnosis, which is not caught until adulthood then diagnosing correctly, the existence of Asperger's Syndrome is made more difficult because the expression of Asperger's Syndrome changes with age. Misdiagnoses include attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADSD). Another common delay in diagnosing Asperger's Syndrome is the cost of assessments.

Teens Coping With Asperger's Syndrome

The teen years are challenging enough without having to deal with being labeled eccentric or odd by your peers. Teens are dealing with the body changes of puberty, the increasing sexual hormones, and a thinking process that changes from that of a child to that of an adult having to deal with abstract ideas, the emerging social scene that means new people, new experiences, and a need for maturity to be able to handle it all. Communication is very critical for survival in the teen years and those with Asperger's Syndrome have difficulty with non-verbal communication and with being able to relate to others. During the teen years it is important for a teen to be able to fit in and belong to a group. With those teens that have Asperger's Syndrome the ability to fit in is hampered by the inability to communicate effectively with others. In an effort to fit in those teens that have Asperger's Syndrome may do things out of character just to gain approval from peers, hide their weaknesses and exaggerate their strength s to look important and to impress others. It is sometimes easier for the teen with Asperger's Syndrome to deal with those who are younger or older than they are instead of trying to fit into same age crowds.

Teens showing anxiety for social situations as those with Asperger's Syndrome often do, may respond well to anti-anxiety medication and be able to function better in school because of the medication.

It is during the teen years that the individual with Asperger's Syndrome comes to realize that they are different from others and the knowledge may initiate going through stages of loss and acceptance much like the stages of grief including anger, denial, depression, acceptance, and finally the stage where they begin to adapt to their differences and embrace them instead of being ashamed of them.

Parents, teachers and caregivers of the teen with Asperger's Syndrome can facilitate the acceptance and management of the condition by not bringing up the subject unless the teen initiates it, and when it is discussed giving the teen your best, "listening ear", being patient and non-judgmental. Try not to change the subject on the teen, or to minimize the difficulties that the teen is facing. Keep the conversation real and don't allow the teen to exaggerate the circumstances. Gently suggest counseling, as a means for letting the teen express what he or she is experiencing.

Remember when trying to gently persuade a teen to seek professional help it is best to remember that those with Asperger's Syndrome are very literal. Sometimes ideas such as getting into counseling are received better if they come from a peer, family friend, or someone else that the teen trust other than a parent because as we all know teens are trying to separate their identity from that of their parents.

Because other conditions may be associated with that of Asperger's Syndrome such as depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder pay close attention for signs of these conditions such as being sad most of the time, being irritable or angry without provocation, not being able to sleep well because of difficulty getting or staying asleep, eating habits that change, and the teen putting themselves down or making remarks about hating life, or wishing he or she were dead. Teens that withdrawal from those they love or activities that they love should also be monitored closely.

Organizations such as the Asperger Syndrome Coalition of the U.S. and the Autism Society of America have local chapters that you can join which may help to deal with the teen going through the turbulent years of adolescence while having Asperger's Syndrome.

Teens with Asperger's Syndrome like all other teens will be noticing sexuality development and will need to deal with new social situations and with raging hormones. Communicate to your teen messages about safe sex and how to relate to the person of the opposite sex in appropriate ways using step-by-step explanations avoiding overwhelming them with the "big picture".