Yesterday I took Asher to the psychiatrist again for a check up. The timing was perfect because we had just had a parent/teacher conference with his school teachers this past weekend. He is still getting awesome grades. He is SO smart. But, the social aspect of things is still needing work and from what I gathered today, will be a life long work in progress. We talked meds and things we could do to help him and us cope and live happily. The medicine is helping with the ADHD but, the Aspergers is going to require something else. Dr. Cummings suggested that we start therapy. It would be talk therapy and social skills. She gave me a few numbers to call and we set up a follow-up appointment with her. I have really been struggling emotionally lately in dealing with the "fun" of the Aspergers part of his diagnosis. It doesn't help that I feel like no one gets it. Even though I know that there are people out there that do. The good thing is that from what I have been reading many Aspies (new lingo!) go on to do great things like becoming the CEO's of huge corperations or inventing new things because of how they think outside of the box. Anyway, I came home and started doing some more research on things I could do to help him and me. I loved this answer from Dr. sears that I found posted online in response to another Aspergers (ASD) question......
You are correct in referring to Asperger Syndrome as
"high-functioning autism," as it's a part of the whole spectrum of
autism. I prefer to simply call it Asperger Syndrome, and separate it
from the stigma of autism since many of these
children
act quite differently than those who are more severely autistic. I have
had the experience of being pediatrician to several of these children
in my practice, and have followed one child with Asperger Syndrome from
birth -- and he's now a 24-year-old computer whiz who is a senior
programmer in a major computer firm.
Like my former patient, many
children with Asperger Syndrome are extremely bright. The most obvious
characteristic of children with this syndrome are their social quirks.
"Quirky" is not necessarily a negative attribute, in this instance --
these are kids who think out of the box and, if treated professionally,
they will grow up to build better boxes. The so-called quirks that A.S.
children exhibit are variable, but the one thing that characterizes
these children is their social inappropriateness. Some are very aloof;
many have problems picking up on normal socialization cues and come
across as awkward. They often shun prolonged eye contact, and are less
engaging in conversation. Unlike most children with autism, A.S.
children rarely have any delay in speech; in fact, many are extremely
bright and eloquent. Their eloquence just appears at the wrong time. For
example, they may blurt out their opinion about a topic right in the
middle of the teacher's lesson in school instead of waiting until she is
finished. Difficulty with the back-and-forth listening and speaking of
normal conversation is also typical. Here are five ways to help your
child become socially more appropriate:
Get him counseling.
Interview specialists in Asperger Syndrome in your area and choose one
that is a good match with your child. Because your child is precociously
bright, he will likely perceive on his own whether or not this
counselor is right for him.
Be his social chairman.
You may notice that he'll relate appropriately with some children and
inappropriately with others. He may do better with one-on-one
relationships or shine in group play. Identify the most compatible peers
and foster those relationships. Invite temperament-compatible friends
over to your home for parties and sleep-overs. Keep track of "high-risk"
situations that cause him to get frustrated and become socially
inappropriate, such as too many kids in a small room, and avoid these
situations as much as possible. In my experience, children with Asperger
Syndrome get bored around boring kids, so you may need to encourage
relationships with other children who are bright and interesting.
Remember, your goal is to help him enjoy the company of other children,
and he needs to enjoy socializing in order to do it appropriately.
Model social skills.
Get him comfortable with making eye contact during conversations. When
you speak to him, make eye contact that is brief, soothing, and
non-threatening. Use animated facial gestures so that he enjoys looking
at someone's face. Teach him how to respond in emotional situations. If
he laughs when his friend is upset, for example, play show and tell.
Show him why his friend is sad, and how to be sympathetic with responses
such as "I'm sorry." If that doesn't work, tell him. Even a
five-year-old can understand the admonition, "That's inappropriate!" As
he gets older, you can show him how to further respond appropriately to
social cues. If another child brings him a toy and invites him to play,
he may not get the hint and need you to tell him, "Billy wants you to
have fun with him playing with the truck."
Get him moving. Boys with Asperger Syndrome are often also labeled A.D.H.D. One of the newest
treatments
for hyperactive children is intense exercise. I suspect that the basic
therapeutic mechanism is that exercise stimulates neurochemicals that
make the entire brain work better. Set him up to succeed: If there's a
particular game or activity that he's good at, whether it's softball or
soccer, encourage him to participate and excel at it. Team sports are
good for A.S. kids to pursue, although many of these children are more
comfortable with one-on-one sports, such as tennis.
Foster his "special something".
Discover your child's special talent (e.g., sports, academics, art,
music) and nurture its development. I call this the "carryover effect:"
If your child excels in one thing and feels that he is good at it, this
feeling is likely to carry over into helping him generally develop
appropriate behavior in other circumstances.
pregnancy symptoms at 33 weeks 
your must-do's 
The better you prepare your perineal tissues for the stretching of
birth, the less they will tear, and the better they will heal.
Like training muscles to perform at their best in an athletic event,
conditioning the tissues around the vaginal opening with massage
prepares
the perineum to perform. Midwives report that women who practice
perineal massage
daily in the last six weeks of pregnancy experience less stinging
sensation during crowning.
Mothers with a more conditioned perineum are less likely to tear or get
an
episiotomy. An added value of perineal massage is that it familiarizes a
woman with stretching sensations in this area so she will more easily
relax these stretching muscles when stinging occurs just before the
moment of birth.
