Aspergers

NAS77362 said:

My 7 year old son has been referred for ASD which is without doubt Aspergers.  Can anyone recommend any courses specifically for Aspergers as anything I have found is very general?

Either buy for just under £20 new or if not get for free 'The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome' pdf book, by Professor Tony Attwood, via the following link:

http://www.autismforthvalley.co.uk/files/5314/4595/7798/Attwood-Tony-The-Complete-Guide-to-Aspergers-Syndrome.pdf

It is partly a parents development guide on how to deal with and anticipate stuff.

I agree with Mimi's post and questions. 

I say this with kindness and because I believe it will help - I think the first thing to do is some serious reading on the topic of autism. 

It will help you, as a parent, if you're able to approach this from a more informed base.

If you want to keep up to date with a fairly fast-moving topic, it would be good to become familiar with reading peer-reviewed academic papers (some of the well-intentioned material on the web is highly generalised and intended for broad audience / aimed at people with a very low reading age).   

No UK

He's being referred for a diagnosis. The term is being phased out however ASD is a very broad spectrum and their are certain traits that are specific to people with aspergers.  It is very early days and I am still trying to take it all in and just want to educate myself as much as possible in order to help him as best as I can.

That's not being diagnosed any longer. Are you in the US?

For a start, focus on his strengths (even though he's 7) and understand he's not actually dis-ordered. He neuro-network just works differently. He'll process, experience and understand the world in an interesting way, which means he might communicate differently.  Like everyone else, he'll be really good at certain things and rubbish at others. There is no such thing as being able to do "anything you want if you put your mind to it". I know plenty of individuals who will never have the ability to be doctors or chemists or artists no matter how 'hard' they try. This is simply a warped illusion of 'freedom' or a warped ideal given to humans in the West. 

I had always wished my parents treated me like a perfectly interesting foreigner or stranger. Clear pragmatic communication (I can't read your mind), always an advance warning with scheduling or expectations, uninterrupted time to study and learn, and always seeking to understand rather than taking offence and assuming. Basic ethical exchange, but many parents fail to use it with their own children. 

Some of my favourite Autistic individuals on line are Jorn Bettin: https://autcollab.org/2020/04/30/autism-the-cultural-immune-system-of-human-societies/?fbclid=IwAR37xumHkRga0hADICA80wxaWycn7_Kr9Oc6uZhcs2zJ0QzamXOI4qwU2bQ

https://neuroclastic.com

Aucademy https://aucademy.co.uk

Jamie Heidel https://www.instagram.com/stories/thearticulateautistic/2754596799501709715/

I'm a little confused, is it an assessment he's been referred for? And what sort of course are you looking for? 

As far as I'm aware Aspergers is a term that is being phased out and everything is under the big banner of ASD now, which may be why you haven't been able to find anything specifically labelled with that title.