There appear to be a lot of unwritten rules. I did a search on Amazon and found dozens of books: The Unwritten Rules: The Six Skills You Need to Get Promoted to the Executive Level The Unwritten Rules of Friendship The Unwritten Rules of Baseball The Unwritten Rules of the Highly Effective Job Search And [...]
November 1, 2010
I love reading all those social skills books that tell you How To Do Eye Contact. Stand x-many inches away. Point your eyeballs at their eyeballs. Remember to blink. Avoid feeling embarrassed and ew. Yeah, like that’s what people really do. Listen up, people. Eye contact is not about eyes at all. At least, not [...]
October 20, 2010
Here are two plain-n-simple ideas for explaining relationships to an Asperger kid. And by “relationships” I mean not just friend-friend relationships, but also boss-worker relationships, teacher-student relationships, mom-child relationships, etc. 1. A relationship isn’t a thing. You can’t have a relationship the way you have a thing. If you put your thing on a shelf, [...]
October 15, 2010
Some people think you either have common sense or you don’t. But they’re wrong. That’s just because they can’t explain it. When you can’t explain something, you think it’s because it’s some freaky, invisible thing. But listen up, people. Common sense is very rational. That’s why it’s called common sense and not common freaky invisible [...]
November 26, 2009
For some families, holiday get-togethers are tense. Everybody’s got an agenda. Everybody’s got expectations. That’s too bad, because Thanksgiving can be a lot of fun. The idea is to just enjoy being together. Have some fun, eat good food, hug a lot, hike in the woods. Sleep uncomfortably, screw up the turkey, spill the milk. [...]
November 13, 2009
In the heap of “defining characteristics” of Asperger syndrome, here is one that gets little press. And it’s one of the most interesting. Asperger kids don’t learn from consequences. If you are the parent of an Aspie, you already know what this means. But there are other people reading this blog. So I will explain [...]
November 4, 2009
Do you notice that your kid’s tics are worse when playing video games? Like, far worse? For some kids, the computer/console is the only place where they do tic. But then afterward, they can tic for hours or even days. Something’s going on there. Science says tics are caused by the number of neurons floating [...]
November 1, 2009
Don’t. As in: Don’t take Asperger kids shopping. They don’t like crowds, noise, new sensations, and confusion. They aren’t patient. Most of them can’t sit still. They are either running around like a bull or curling up in a bored ball wailing to go home. They can’t make decisions on the fly. They can learn [...]
November 1, 2009
Is it just me, or is the phrase “good groupwork skills required” simply code for “no Asperger or ADHD kids welcome”? I’ve seen too many special programs targeted at high IQ kids that have this written into the description. Why is it there? Some possible reasons: The instructor plans to foist all the work onto [...]
August 12, 2009
Asperger people often have limited diets because of their mouth sensory issues. But with a bit of practice, they can teach their mouths to handle a wide range of nutritious foods. Here’s the equation: Food = Nutrition. I get that. We all get that. So then why is this post about Asperger’s, eating, and self-esteem? [...]
November 10, 2010
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