Should I BeFired Up????? | Autism PDD

Yeah, way to make Aspies look like simpleton sexual offenders.  Not all Aspies/Auties have such odd personalities and are completely unaware of what constitutes assault or inappropriate behavior.  We breathe the same air and speak the same language as everyone else around us.  There are many different degrees and manifestations of this disorder and it's time that a more diverse portrayal was given.  Stereotypes are nothing more than broad, sweeping generalizations created by US.  We have the power to destroy them, too.

Good post!

I just picked up a copy of Minnesota Parent and read this article.  Could the author also mention another book? 

How about how wonderful kids on the Spectrum are? Or Ten Things Every Child With Autism Wishes You Knew???

I am just so tried of people treating Autistic children like they are freaks  - Hide your normal kids because my child is going to something horrible.  My son is so sweet.  He might make different noises and react differently. Ohhhh - I could go on you get it!!!

How do we know what's not okay?| For kids with Asperger's, that's a tricky question. A new book will help them figure that out.

By Monica Wright

Robert wanted a girlfriend. For a teenager, that's no surprise. For a teenager with Asperger's Syndrome, however, it presents challenges even beyond sweaty palms and cracking voices.

Asperger's Syndrome is an autism spectrum disorder that affects social and communication skills. Robert, like other people with Asperger's, is a black-and-white thinker, so he took a very black-and-white approach to his goal: he watched what other boys at his high school and on TV did with their girlfriends. He noted that these boys made comments about their girlfriends' bodies, so after choosing the girl he wanted for a girlfriend, he did the same thing.

Which is how he met Kari Dunn Buron.

Buron, an autism resource specialist for several schools around the Twin Cities at the time, learned that Robert had scared the girl and she had called the police. Yet Robert was clueless about what had gone wrong. "I was meeting young men who all had Asperger's and were in sexual offender programs or had similar charges against them, and as I interviewed them I realized they really had no idea what effect their words had on the girls," says Buron. "I wanted to come up with a plan for teaching social skills in a format that they would understand."

Buron's epiphany led to the creation of her new book, A Five Is Against the Law (Autism Asperger Publishing Company, 2007), which uses a simple five-point scale to explain degrees of behavior and how each degree might affect other people. For example, a "one" is very informal social behavior; this can include waving at a friend or simply saying hello. From there, the scale moves to a "two" (reasonable behavior), a "three" (odd behavior), a "four" (scary behavior), and the worst, a "five" (hurtful or threatening behavior), which is potentially against the law. Buron based her scale on a learning theory created by Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, director of the Autism Research Centre at the University of Cambridge in England. Baron-Cohen suggests that people on the autism spectrum are "systemizers," which means the best way for them to learn is by using systems (like the one-five scale) in order to understand things.

"Social interaction once you pass third grade is very subtle; a slight glance or someone's very insignificant flick of the eye could mean a lot in communication, and individuals with autism have a disorder of social communication and understanding," explains Buron. "So this book attempts to address that problem by using a strength of their learning, which is systemizing, rather than trying to talk about how their actions made another person feel, which is social concepts. That's the weakest teaching channel for autism."

A Five Is Against the Law uses interactive worksheets and activities to help teens and young adults with autism navigate social behavior in a systematic manner. One straightforward exercise involves the student and a teacher or parent making a list of different behaviors (for example, staring at someone, swearing at them, or touching) and then separately assigning that behavior one of the numbers from the scale. The student and the adult then compare answers.

"I created the five-point scale as a system these students could use to learn about social boundaries and social information in a very black-and-white way," says Buron. "Social information is so gray because people are variable, and that's why these guys weren't getting it."

On top of taking kids through the ins and outs of unwritten social rules, Buron's book also advises them on how to reign in behavior when it creeps toward the three-five range on the scale. According to Buron, the best way to avoid uncomfortable social situations is to plan ahead - that can include something as simple as knowing breathing tricks to relax the anxiety that creeps in at stage three to working with an adult to hash out an appropriate way to ask a girl out. "The book takes subtleties and puts them into a systematic scale to help these kids have an 'a-ha!' moment," says Buron. "It helps them understand that perspective is important and theirs was off, so it scared someone unintentionally."

Buron, who is already at work editing a textbook on autism education, says teachers and students alike have been happy that an "underaddressed" aspect of autism has been brought to light in a format that caters to their specific learning style. "The book has only been out a few months, but I've gotten really good feedback from teachers who said they immediately recognized it as something that might work with their students."

Monica Wright is Minnesota Parent's assistant editor

We've had a lot of negative publicity about Asperger's Syndrome with some violent offenders being rumored to have AS. And whether or not they did - that is what stays with the public.

I disagree with the tone of the article - especially since it is read by parents of NT children as well. I wouldn't have had as much of a problem if it was an autism magazine. Because those of us reading it would have taken it in context and just taken the useful information. When it is put in a magazine that is circulated and read in the general public, however, I would appreciate the tone being less negative and also emphasizing some positive things about our kids. Not to sugar-coat the disorder, but just to make people more aware of the complexities of the disorder. I don't want people to be frightened that my son is going to be a sex offender if they find out he has Asperger's. And, to a person uneducated about autism/Asperger's - that's what they might come away with from that article, in my opinion.

But, just my two cents!

Yes,  the article needs a different spin.. I do however find the 5 point scale a good tool and read about it in another book. We use it for level of voice. What disturbs me is that as an adult wouldn't an HFA know what is appropriate and what is not in relations to conduct with a minor(especially a teacher). Shouldn't this other guy just be stated to be a sex offeneder, not a sex offender with Asperger's?

I am all for celebrating and understanding how autistic minds think and work, and I  agree with the previous posters.  It's one of the reasons I advocate for my son as strongly as I do.  And although a more positive spin on the article and book would have been appropriate... on the opposite side, all of us have to live in this world, and my son will have to navigate society according to it's rules (for the most part) or be extremely isolated.  If someone can take a systematic approach to decoding at least the most obvious nuances of unspoken social behavior that doesn't "dumb down" my child but allows him to navigate those waters, I'll take a look at it.  Particularly in light of the post on the Schafer Report this morning - it's what we ALL would like to avoid (and this one's in my neighborhood):

Teacher With Aspergers on Trial for Sex Assault of Student
http://tinyurl.com/2aatyz

      A former substitute teacher for the Plano school district was on trial Wednesday accused of sexual performance of a child and sexual assault of a child.
      Jason Joel Pearce, 33, worked in Plano schools as a substitute between April 2001 and May 2005.
      Plano police said Pearce fondled and showed inappropriate photos to a 15-year-old girl at Willams High School.
      Pearce turned himself in to police in May 2005.
      In court Wednesday, prosecutors presented four photo albums as evidence.
      Pearce's attorney said his client may have acted inappropriately but said he didn't touch the student.
      The defense also said that Pearce has an illness called Asperger's Syndrome which affects his social behavior.
      Pearce was also a subsitute teacher in the Richardson school district for one year but was banned in 2001 for communicating inappropriately with students at Berkner High School.
      A spokesman for Richardson ISD said there is no system in place for school districts to communicate with each other.  

What none of us - parents, adult auties or aspies, etc. wants to see happen is further public persecution, or legal prosecution, of someone on the spectrum who is unable to do their jobs or enjoy their career choices because of misinterpretation of their actions, or their misinterpretation of general standards of social behavior.  Unfortunately, that is exactly what will happen (and grow increasingly worse) without education and understanding.

I am not autistic.  I am, however, different from the norm, and I don't always go along to simply get along.  But sometimes I find it expedient to dress as a sheep if I'm going to be in among sheep.   

 

I just want to ditto NorwayMom's post...she said almost word-for-word exactly what I was thinking!

GMTA, and all that!

I agree. Although if I had read the article previously, I'm not sure I would have gotten fired up. But now that you all mention it - it definitely could have been given a more positive spin. I am interested in the ideas behind the article, though! Anyone read the book?

I'm sorry but I dont' see what is so offensive about this article.  Sure Not all people with Aspergers have these issues but some do. So why not educate the public and make it more aware that these things DO happen.  I didnt see where anyone was making people with Aspergers look like sex offenders...I did take it that some people with Aspergers have a problem with realizing what is appropriate socially though.  (Hense the spectrum diagnosis???) 

As a parent I WANT TO know what could possibly go wrong socially for my son so that I may prevent it in the future. 

I think the book is a GOOD thing to help children that DO have these issues. 

karrie

The 5 point scale and exercises are probably useful tools, but the emphasis -- even in the title -- on these kids being potential lawbreakers is unsettling. 

Even though kids with autism do have a 7 times greater chance of having contact with police and other emergency personnel (for various reasons, including accidents and going missing), I would have appreciated a more positive spin on the book title and article. 

Thanks for sharing the article.  You should write a letter to the editor of the magazine.  It might just get published.

 

Hello, I am new to this group and am a mother of a 14 yr old boy with Asperger's who has developed sexual problems; specifically trying to get them to show him their private parts, and to touch them.  We are panicked and have had him assessed by psychologists and psychiatrists, some of whom are ASD experts and others are sexual offender experts.  Most think he needs a residential placement since he admits he cannot control this behavior and is getting more and more withdrawn.  Does anyone know of a program that treats sexual acting out and ASD?? we live in Canada and are getting nowhere with the system; we are worried our son will end up in jail if we don't find a solution soon.

Dear Norway Mom,

What a fantastic resource list for me and for anyone who has a pre-teen/teen with autism or a related disorder.  Thank you for your time and throughtfulness.  I can see that this forum is a teriffic resource.  Although I had 'THE TALK" with my son and had discussed boundaries many times before, as we all know, these kids need constant reinforcement and supports. I hope other parents can learn from my experience and will be proactive in preventing difficult situations as their teens explore their sexuality.

 

sstrathdee --

I don't know of any programs, but below is my list of puberty resources (ignore the yellow highlighting and let me know if any links are broken). 

The manual listed first might be very helpful, especially if the school or a local behavioral consultant can help you with the interventions and activities for instruction that are included in the free online manual.

Feel free to post your question under its own topic.  Good luck with everything.

General:  

1)  Here's a good manual created for those who work with Deaf-Blind kids, who also have learning issues and perseverative behaviors similar to autistic kids. 

Menstruation/Puberty in Girls

1)  See Chapter 6 in the above-mentioned manual for Deaf-Blind kids.

http://www.tr.wou.edu/dblink/pdf/sex-ed.pdf 

2)  Here is a 2 page social story about menstruation.  It is nice and simple and has cheerful visuals (clip art).  Here's the link to each page.

http://www.tinsnips.org/Media/social/menstruation1.pdf 

http://www.tinsnips.org/Media/social/menstruation2.pdf

 

I don't read enough Minnesota Parent to say anything of value about the article.
I do know Kari Dunn, and I think she would be very receptive to anyone's constructive criticism about the "a five is against the law" part because she is a strong, strong advocate for people with autism. 
I always thought she was combining her five point scale with Temple Grandin's analysis of "illegal, but ok, illegal and really bad", but I don't know if I just assumed that or if I ever talked to her about it.

Speechie,

Like I said earlier - if this had been an article in an autism magazine (like for parents) I wouldn't have seen anything wrong with it. And, I didn't the first time I read it either. But, taking it in the context that it was published in a magazine geared at mainly parents of NT children - I wish they had put a slightly more positive spin on it. If I was reading it and not having a lot of info about Asperger's, I might thing - wow, those kids with Asperger's are stalkers! I would probably also feel bad for them, but would definitely have a negative impression. I just wish they would have taken the time to put a few more things about Asperger's and symptoms and also take not quite so negative a tone. Unfortunately, that's what people want to see though - the negative stuff...

To be honest, I didn't find anything offensive in the article.  No one is saying all ASD kids are potential sex offenders but a significant problem with kids on the spectrum IS the whole social side of things so some of their behaviors could be interpreted in a very negative way as they grow older.  Without teaching of social  rules and how to interpret what the other person is communicating non-verbally, there is definately potential for trouble ahead. I am interested in this topic because last year I did incorporate teaching about how to be appropriate with the opposite sex with some of the kids I work with after reports of problems surfaced in my school.  Problems were things like seeking constant attention from a girl or group of girls to the point of being demanding and the girls didn't know what exactly to do. Now in my school, we luckily have teachers and students who are understanding of the differences that ASD kids have and they were willing to pitch in to help make social strategies part of the ASD kids' life so things are improving.  If this kind of thing is let go though, at some point a stranger who has no knowledge of the student or his differences would certainly interpret actions differently. ASD kids are by no means deliberately problematic, just not understanding of the subtle social cues surrounding sex, dating and the whole boy girl thing and desperately wanting to fit in, have friends and be a part of everything.  I'd like to read this book and see if there are any helpful suggestions. 

UTBcool - that's how I feel as well. It sounded like a great book, but I would have preferred people to get a more positive spin on the autism community as well.

I usually like Minnesota Parent and I think something should be written to them - are you up for it? (I haven't seen that issue).

I have no issue with the book.  What I do have an issue with, is that the only time this magazine has mentioned Autism -- Is when they talk about Aspie's behaving inappropriately.

It is a great book!! I thought they should of included another book as well -- maybe of a positive note??????

This publication is given out all over my area -- to many parents.  I just hate that the only knowledge people are receiving is negative to the Autism community.

 

I actually thought the book sounds fantastic! It's a great idea and very practical. I didn't find it offensive in any way. I thought it made it very clear that people with asperger's don't intend to "scare" other people or act inappropriately, but they often don't understand how they're actions affect others (which is very true). I didn't take from it that people with Asperger's were likely to be sex offenders, just that they were likely to misread social cues, and not always act or respond appropriately. JMO.Something is up with my son today and i didn't get to write what I meant to say. I think the book is good. I think the author of the article did what they are taught to do, grab the audience in the first few sentences, the title, just do it as quickly as possible. The problem is that most won't read beyond those first few lines, that's why I think it needs a different spin.
Copyright Autism-PDD.net