Life with Aspergers

Just wanted to draw your attention to an excellent series of articles about the IEP (Individualised Education Programme) on Aspergers: A Mom's Eye View ( http://asdhelp.wordpress.com/ ) Help! IEP Time http://asdhelp.wordpress.com/2011/03/23/help-iep-time/ This is a very detailed article which covers; Does your child need an IEP. Three major steps for Preparation for an IEP It's well worth a read!

So far we've looked at the different ways in which bullying can manifest itself and discussed some options for damage control once it starts. Some people however present more of a target to bullies than others. In this post, we'll look at some things you can do to reduce your chances of being bullied. Being Different Like many aggressors, bullies often have an intense "dislike for the unlike". This means that if there is something about you that is different, they will seize upon it as an excuse to bully. If you're an aspie, you'll already be fighting an "uphill battle" because NTs can somehow sense our differences within minutes of meeting us. It's mostly to do with our body language and while it's possible to learn how to hide it from others in occasional conversation, there's very little that you can do when you're in constant daily contact with a potential bully. This means that you'll have to work all the harder to blend in....

Is there such a thing as "taking a vacation" when special needs children are involved? I know many people whose whole idea of a vacation is "any time without the kids" but aside from the respite services that some parents can take advantage of, there's little chance of that sort of holiday. Even my own parents who take the kids for a "holiday" during their school breaks have stipulated that they can only look after one child at a time. Breaks away from the kids are very rare for us. So, if a break away from the kids isn't possible, then what happens when you take them with you? Driving Vacations These are cheap and easy holidays - sometimes. One of the problems that many special needs children have is that they can't stay still for very long. A driving holiday can quickly turn from a peaceful trip into a nightmare if your child decides to continually unbuckle their seatbelt, annoy their siblings or pitch a "sensory fit" because ...

If you think that bullying is just something that kids do, think again. Bullying occurs quite frequently in the workplace and unlike school bullying, there is often no evidence to back your claims up and no higher authority to turn to for help. The targets for workplace bullying are often different to those of schoolyard bullying although many people, particularly "natural targets" such as aspies, will find themselves victims in both scenarios. The Corporate Hierarchy If you're the boss at work, you probably don't need to worry about being bullied but if you notice an unusually high staff turnover or if you notice that there are a lot of complaints both by and about specific individuals, you should probably investigate (quietly). CEOs themselves generally aren't bullies because if they antagonise all of their staff, the company profits will suffer. Bullies aren't usually to be found in the lower levels of the corporate hierarchy either. Unlike schoolyard bul...

Most people seem to think that Cyber-bullying is simply "internet bullying" but the issue is much older than that. Simply put, cyber-bullying means bullying via electronic means. It's already a widespread problem now but the plethora of personal devices becoming available means that unless checked, it may eventually overtake most other forms of bullying. Not Just an Internet Issue Cyber-bullying existed long before most people got their hands on the internet. It began life as prank and threatening telephone calls, moved to nasty SMS messages and now has a thriving life on social networking sites. Make no mistake, it's a growing and credible threat. Like other types of bullying, cyber-bullying can have fatal consequences. People have murdered or committed suicide after being cyberbullied. Note: There's nothing particularly special about the two incidents I linked above. They were just the first two I found. There are hundreds of similar cases reported online. ...

Links to Previous entries in this Series: Part 1: Bullies and Bullying - An Introduction Part 2: The Primary School Bully Part 3: The High School Bully So far in this series, I've been concentrating on bullying in school but it's important to note that bullying occurs in all kinds of places where people gather including sporting fields, clubs and bars, tertiary education institutes, social and community groups and even virtual (online) groups. Bullying in Tertiary Institutes The chances of bullying in universities,TAFES and other further education institutes rises significantly with exposure. If you're attending tertiary education and staying on campus you have a much higher chance of being bullied than someone who only attends part-time. Even more importantly though, people who study part-time tend to be more professional, more academic and more inclined to want to complete their education in the shortest time possible. They don't have time to "muck up" and ...

Links: Part 1: Bullies and Bullying - An Introduction Part 2: The Primary School Bully There are massive differences between the primary school bully and the high school bully and in fact the whole nature of teasing and bullying changes drastically. None of the methods which worked with the primary school bully will work here. Physical Abuse High School bullies are generally more verbal and less physical than their primary school counterparts but some bullies become physical within minutes of provocation. The age, and usually greater size, of these bullies means that when they do decide to become physical, they can do a lot of damage. It also doesn't help that bullies are usually not alone. High school physical abuse moves from having the potential to injure in primary schools to having a slim but increased chance of fatality. Verbal Abuse In male bullies, verbal abuse in high school tends to move away from the obvious physical features such as nose size or skin colour which were...