The mission of Asperger Help is to be a center for people seeking answers, sharing knowledge, understanding the process, and educating others about several disorders on the spectrum such as Autism, Aspergers, ADHD, Tourettes, and more.

Using Your Child’s Strengths to Prevail Against Systems’ Shortfalls

Sat, 2008-07-26 22:33 — ajsloan

Three Rivers Conference Center
7016 Grandridge Blvd.
Kennewick, WA 99336
509-737-3700

Workshop: July 31, 2008

Recently collected data revealed significant gaps in governing systems and interaction with parents and their children with autism. This presentation summarizes research based strategies and provides parents with an overview of systems’ thinking and tools to realize and empower their child’s success. “For Great works are performed, not by strength, but by perseverance…” Participants will come away with a strengths’ based tool kit, and a new appreciation about their role as a parent of a child with unique differences. Participants will engage in “active” learning through the methods of small group, large group, and individualized learning. Be ready to be inspired!

Comprehension Organizers: A Transformational Meta-Language for Learning for ALL Learners

Sat, 2008-07-26 22:31 — ajsloan

Three Rivers Conference Center
7016 Grandridge Blvd.
Kennewick, WA 99336
509-737-3700

This presentation is offered upon the precept that our thought processes govern who we are as individuals, shape our humanity, and form the platform for all learning. Especially for non-traditional learners, who may need mediated instructional strategies, learning and thinking is often marginalized.. This workshop is designed to present multiple types of thinking mind maps aimed at varied kinds of instruction and subject matter through the lens of differentiation. Participants will engage in “active” learning through the methods of small group, large group, and individualized learning. Come ready to analyze, synthesize, summarize, and conceptualize.

Sharon & Jimmy's Interview on KXLY

Sun, 2008-04-06 01:14 — asperger

SPOKANE - It's a sobering statistic: This year doctors will diagnose more than 25,000 children in the U.S. with autism, which is more than new pediatric cases of AIDS, diabetes and cancer combined.

There are so many myths and questions about autism and one Post Falls woman admits that living life with an autistic child isn't always easy but she wants other parents to know life certainly doesn't have to end.

Thirteen-year-old Jimmy is like any other young man. He likes animals, reads books and has a sense of humor that can keep you laughing for hours.

"He's extraordinarily interesting. His thought process is fascinating," Jimmy's mom Sharon Link said.

By all appearances Jimmy is a typical kid although his mom says she feared at a young age Jimmy suffered from autism. At age eight Jimmy received an official diagnosis.

"It was devastating when I first understood what was happening," she said.

Suzanee Wright, the co-founder of the group Autism Speaks, urged the United Nations to name Tuesday the first World Autism Awareness Day. Wright says with one in 150 people now diagnosed with the disorder, the world needs to come together to encourage support and find a cure.

"With the U.N. awareness, the global awareness, we need global collaboration and the entire globe to come in and find the cure because this is a global epidemic," Wright said.

Sharon Link says she now has to consider Jimmy's future.

"It's an adventure in a lot of ways. It's scary in others," she said.

Since Jimmy's diagnosis Sharon has studied autism extensively, earned her Ph.D and now helps counsel other parents with autistic children, encouraging them to seek therapy at the earliest signs and offering constant reassurance...

"It's going to be OK. I want parents to understand that it's OK," Sharon said.
Living with autism

Visit KXLY for more great stories around the Northwest Rockies
Posted: April 2, 2008 06:50 PM
Raising awareness about autism
Story by:
Karina Shagren / KXLY4 Reporter

Don't try to make autistic kids 'normal'

BY MARC ROSEN | Marc Rosen lives in Roslyn Heights. November 24, 2007 It seems nowadays that autism has become a center of controversy. As an autistic person, it disheartens me to see that most people lack a clear understanding of what autism is like for their children, peers, students and so on, yet they claim to know what is best for us.

Autism is called abnormal and a disorder only because neurologists operate under a Philistine's notion that there is "normal" within all things, and that only their arbitrary definition of "order" is valid.

An autistic person often is said to think outside the box, or deliberately cross the line. I can tell you from experience that we don't. To us, there's no box, there's no line. And we find neurotypical people absurd for complaining about something that just doesn't exist. This comes from the fact that many of us don't naturally develop intuitive thought and imagination, though once we learn how, we're quite capable of these feats.

I have been diagnosed with various autistic spectrum disorders. As I proved more capable than the charts predicted, the diagnosis was modified repeatedly, from PDD (pervasive developmental disorder) at age 2, to low-functioning autism when I learned to speak in sentences at age 4, to high-functioning Asperger's Syndrome when I was found to have an IQ well above average, to high-functioning autism when the Asperger's Syndrome diagnosis no longer fit.

This is a common experience for autistic people, but even more common is the idea among those of us who have found acceptance that we're happy the way we are and don't want to be "cured." The part about us that is especially different is that we don't process data via symbological means. In other words, we don't consider things to have greater meaning than themselves.

I had severe social difficulties from preschool onward, and by the time a term like "autism" would have had any meaning to my peers, most had already drawn conclusions, and would continue to do so.

My isolation, combined with a longstanding rift I had with my family, led to severe depression by age 9, which went undiscovered until I was 14 or so. Unable to express my emotions, I was placed in outpatient therapy for four years, which was enough to allow me to see my existence as valid. In all, I'd say that part of my life wouldn't have happened if I were better understood and wasn't persuaded that I was diseased, disordered or sick and in need of a cure.

Parents, educators and others who work with autistic people should take these words to heart, and continue to do all they can to work with autistic kids and teens, rather than trying to make them normal.

Newsday, Saturday, November 24, 2007

Early Thimerosal Exposure and Neuropsychological Outcomes at 7 to 10 Years

William W. Thompson, Ph.D., Cristofer Price, Sc.M., Barbara Goodson, Ph.D., David K. Shay, M.D., M.P.H., Patti Benson, M.P.H., Virginia L. Hinrichsen, M.S., M.P.H., Edwin Lewis, M.P.H., Eileen Eriksen, M.P.H., Paula Ray, M.P.H., S. Michael Marcy, M.D., John Dunn, M.D., M.P.H., Lisa A. Jackson, M.D., M.P.H., Tracy A. Lieu, M.D., M.P.H., Steve Black, M.D., Gerrie Stewart, M.A., Eric S. Weintraub, M.P.H., Robert L. Davis, M.D., M.P.H., Frank DeStefano, M.D., M.P.H., for the Vaccine Safety Datalink Team  

ABSTRACT Background It has been hypothesized that early exposure to thimerosal, a mercury-containing preservative used in vaccines and immune globulin preparations, is associated with neuropsychological deficits in children. Methods We enrolled 1047 children between the ages of 7 and 10 years and administered standardized tests assessing 42 neuropsychological outcomes. (We did not assess autism-spectrum disorders.) Exposure to mercury from thimerosal was determined from computerized immunization records, medical records, personal immunization records, and parent interviews. Information on potential confounding factors was obtained from the interviews and medical charts. We assessed the association between current neuropsychological performance and exposure to mercury during the prenatal period, the neonatal period (birth to 28 days), and the first 7 months of life. Results Among the 42 neuropsychological outcomes, we detected only a few significant associations with exposure to mercury from thimerosal. The detected associations were small and almost equally divided between positive and negative effects. Higher prenatal mercury exposure was associated with better performance on one measure of language and poorer performance on one measure of attention and executive functioning. Increasing levels of mercury exposure from birth to 7 months were associated with better performance on one measure of fine motor coordination and on one measure of attention and executive functioning. Increasing mercury exposure from birth to 28 days was associated with poorer performance on one measure of speech articulation and better performance on one measure of fine motor coordination. Conclusions Our study does not support a causal association between early exposure to mercury from thimerosal-containing vaccines and immune globulins and deficits in neuropsychological functioning at the age of 7 to 10 years.

Sharon Link, Ph.D.

Autism spectrum disorders are now being diagnosed at a rate of 1/150 individuals a year. Already faced with the potential demand for major transformations, education systems, medical systems, social systems, and family systems must significantly modify their awareness and skills in working with individuals who have spectrum disorders.

  • Autism
  • High Functioning Autism
  • Asperger Syndrome
  • Pervasive Development Disorder
  • Tourette’s Syndrome
  • Attention Deficit Disorder
  • Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
  • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

My training is in education and organizational leadership. I am a mother of a child with Asperger Syndrome. Having spent years of study and working as an educator, educational leader, advocate, and consultant, I provide advocacy and support for both parents and professionals seeking to better help and understand children with autistic spectrum disorders and adaptively change organizations to offset demands on these systems. My work is based on research that parents of children with spectrum disorders experience a much different experience raising their child than the typically developing child. I maintain a strong dedication to the theory that children with spectrum disorders are unique individuals who have their own specific personalities and learning styles. Through my research, I learned that parents of children with spectrum disorders experience phenomena unique to their parenting experience. I teach utilizing an informed approach of looking at the whole child operating within the context of the family system and organizational systems interacting with the individual. I work with people and various organizations locally, nationally, and internationally to bring conscious awareness to challenge, transform, and "lead others to understanding" in order to cope more effectively with the obstacles related to autistic spectrum disorders, leadership, and understanding. As a researcher, educator, trainer, and consultant I offer seminars that "inform to transform." To learn more visit: http://SharonLink.com

Parent Advocacy by Sharon Link

Advocates make sure that the law is upheld, but they do so much more.

The most successful “Parent Advocates” are parents who recognize their role as an advocate for their child, but instead of building that role as an adversary, they build positive relationships knowing that is the one true method to help their child through the educational process. Parents can actually model personalization by being personal in the school environment. Advocates are strong. But, their strength doesn’t diminish the power of others.

Click to watch video (* Dial Up Users - This is a large file)

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