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Asperger's Syndrome - Our Stories and Experiences
Just like you read about children with Asperger Syndrome or PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified), Cameron has a lot of idiosyncracies, practices, attitudes, etc. that get him in trouble and teased and ridiculed. He's also very sad at times, very very depressed to the point of talking about suicide at least every other day. We had problems with him being attacked at school, over and over again, and after much screaming and threats of lawsuit over the lack of safety contributing to Cameron being repeatedly assaulted we were finally granted a meeting with the Director of Pupil Services, the District Psychologist and the Principal and Vice Principal of the school. After reciting Cameron's history to the District Psychologist she then asked us if anyone had ever mentioned Asperger's Syndrome in regards to Cameron's difficulties. As soon as that meeting was over and we got home I started researching Asperger's Syndrome online and it wasn't long before I was convinced that this is what Cameron has been dealing with all this time. I downloaded information from online, highlighted sections and made notes that were specific to Cameron's issues and scheduled a couple appointments, one with a psychiatrist (med doctor) and one with a particular psychologist whom Cameron is familiar with and connects with. Our suspicions were confirmed and Cameron was officially diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome in November 2005. After his diagnosis, his depression subsided quite substantially. I think it's because of a few reasons... 1) We are able to understand him better and we now realize that he's not necessarily purposely breaking rules, not necessarily purposely hurting feelings and not necessarily purposely 'bugging' people and because of this new-found understanding we are working with him differently now;We want to educate non-AS and non-PDD sufferers about these disorders in an effort to make the world, both present and future, a friendlier place for our son and others dealing with these disorders. We also want to help parents and caregivers of those dealing with Asperger's Syndrome and PDD-NOS by sharing our experiences and 'ah-ha' moments (we must have at least one 'ah-ha' moment every day, and as you learn more you'll probably have lots of 'ah-ha' moments as well. :) Please make yourself comfortable and enjoy your visit with us. We hope to see, and hear from, you often! :) ------------------- Below are links to articles straight 'From the Inside'. While there's plenty of diagnostic criteria online and in books, there really is not a lot of "in the trenches" experiences documented. The diagnostic criteria is fine and important and everything but I believe that it's sharing the stories that we all have inside of us that will make the biggest difference in the lives of our AS kids. Sometimes we're too close to a situation ourselves and someone else who is looking in, and who has experience with an AS child, can give suggestions based on their and their child's experiences. I most certainly hope that you'll share your experiences with us and in turn, I plan on doing the same here. :) This page will contain diary-like glimpses into our lives. There'll be some answers but also probably lots of questions as we too are still learning about Asperger's Syndrome ourselves. Some of the postings are very VERY sad. I'm posting my true, non-sugar-coated, feelings to help others to know that they aren't the only ones dealing with these troubling thoughts, etc. I hope it helps... Thank you and enjoy your visit and please feel free to write to us! Diane Get more information on natural remedies for Asperger's Syndrome
Some of our Stories - Hasn't been updated for awhile...March 2011 -As I have struggled to make ends meet in this darn economy over the past several years, I haven't been able to keep up with things here as much as I want to. Cameron has made incredible strides and I really want to write about it all, let you know what we've done and tried, what he's done himself, etc. I do have a few newer updates here, because I try to keep my customers apprised because my work is affected by all of this. So on this page you'll find more updated information about us, although not really much about the things we've done to get to the point we are at today. But for more recent updates than below, please see this page. Probably another important point to mention is that because many of our experiences have been so very difficult, I cry every time I write, or try to write, about them. Even now, I still cry about things that happened years ago, even now as I write this I'm wiping away tears (what can I say, I'm emotional, and it's been a long tough road). But anyhow, that makes it harder to write. I end up in a very sad place, as I'm sure many of you do, and sometimes I just can't write because of it. Plus, I don't like Cameron to see me in tears and because he's around often, and when he's not here I'm scrambling to do as much as possible to keep the income coming in, that also slows me down tremendously. I'm really very sorry that my stories are so outdated, but I promise to try to get some updates posted. :o) January 2006 - Sadness once again haunts our world... Sensory perception issues Medication interactions Schools and Districts bully too April 2006 - Shelby, our 14-year-old daughter and Cameron's sister Recognizing, Accepting and Making Obsessions Work The Depths of Despair May 2006 - Finally! A positive experience in our neighborhood! Neighbors can be so cruel :( February 2007 - Lost and depressed, just trying to make it through the day... CDC now says that Autism Spectrum Disorders are as common as 1 in 150 A bleak world this way comes... A Positive Moment in our Asperger's World Asperger's Syndrome characteristics demand that you anticipate everything! Great Instantly Downloadable Guides to Asperger's Syndrome and How to Cope
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