Autism is a disability that affects normal development. It is called a "spectrum disorder" because its impact on development can range from mild to severe. The areas of development most affected are social interaction and communication skills, difficulties with verbal and non-verbal communication, and leisure play.

Asperger syndrome, also called Asperger’s, is a disorder where individuals demonstrate social-language difficulties and behaviors similar to those seen in children with autism. Asperger’s is often referred to as “High Functioning Autism” because it may be a milder version of autistic spectrum disorders or pervasive developmental disorders. Children with Asperger’s often have normal intelligence, an exceptional talent or skill, and/or an extraordinary vocabulary. Their language development appears to be typical; however, these individuals often have difficulty understanding and using nonverbal cues (gestures, body language) for social interactions. (Excerpt from Handy Handout 188: What is Asperger Syndrome? By Thaashida Hutton) Asperger’s Syndrome).

The answer is EARLY. Early intervention makes a dramatic impact in children from birth to three years of age. The youngest brains are the most flexible and yield a tremendous amount of progress by the time they enter kindergarten. Early intervention may even reduce the need for intensive support later on.

With the diagnosis of autism, if your child is of school age, he/she will have someone in the special education department to oversee his/her needs in the classroom and monitor his/her progress routinely. You will be a part of this team. Keep lines of communication open with those individuals in charge of your child at school. Ask for follow-ups on behavior, academic progress, peer relationships, social skills, etc. Expect that your child may have a different routine or set of rules than others within the classroom in order for him/her to feel safe, less stressed, and to work in a quiet environment.

Keep up with current trends in dress and in fads. You don’t want to send your middle school child to school in a babyish, cartoon shirt. Dress your child in age-appropriate clothing and tune in to his/her interest outside academics. You may have a child that is an expert in computers or video games. Therefore, discuss with your child how he/she feels about helping a classmate that may not excel in those areas in order to help foster socialization.

Use social stories that have visuals to offer help to your child in social or anxiety producing situations that make him/her uncomfortable. These social stories will cue you into exactly how your child reacts in different situations. For help with social situation stories, please go to our Social Inferences Fun Deck and Say and Do Social Scenes Books.

Children with developmental disabilities have problems interacting with others, therefore are unable to learn social skills that the rest of us learn quite easily.Pragmatics (the social use of language) are often hard for children with autism to learn because they usually focus only on themselves and do not consider the feelings of others. Normally, children pick up on pragmatic skills by watching and conversing with parents who teach by example. However, for the child with autism, these unspoken lessons go unnoticed. For help with improving your child’s pragmatic skills, please look at our Say and Do Positive Pragmatics Games and Cards.

Children with autism often have a hard time recognizing and interpreting the meaning of facial expressions. For help with identifying emotions through facial expressions, please view our Photo Feelings Fun Deck and other products that help children understand the variety of emotions we use to express how we feel.

Children with autism need the same opportunities for inclusion in play activities as other children. Games help children with autism learn to develop social skills, motor skills, and communication. Simple games teach turn taking, help develop eye contact, help them understand compromise, sportsmanship, waiting, decision making, and helps them understand and enjoy each other, rather than standing alone merely watching and not knowing how to join in with a group. Games are an excellent way to promote an interest in other experiences, materials, and environments that these children may not typically seek on their own – since most children with autism prefer to play alone. Choose games that are appropriate for the child’s maturity, not necessarily age level. Remember, the first goals for game playing are simply to help your child develop social skills while learning to communicate and enjoying his/her peers.

For children with Autism Spectrum Disorders, board games are helpful tools for enhancing social interaction and communication skills. MagneTalk Turns & Topics teaches basic game play and improves language development with the flexibility to match game difficulty to the abilities of every child.

There are many online resources for information on autism. However, direct your searches to societies or foundations that support autism research and provide current data. From these sites, you will find support groups in your state and area.

Here are other Super Duper® products that may assist you in working with your child/children at home to develop social language and understand appropriate and inappropriate responses.

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