This week’s blog is more of a rant than anything else – please accept our apologies in advance but as a company that serves the needs of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders, we feel this is an issue that needs to be addressed. There seems to be a tremendous shortage of summer camp options for kids with Asperger’s Syndrome, or high functioning autism. Because these kids are high functioning and are usually mainstreamed during the school year, they often fall through the cracks when it comes to summer options.  Mainstream summer camps have a very fast-paced environment. A child who is shy or lacking in social skills will have an extremely difficult time. Additionally, the counselors are not trained to handle children with any kind of special needs. On the other side of the spectrum, the programs for kids with more severe disabilities like mental retardation or Down’s syndrome are also not appropriate. Having a child with any kind of developmental disability at home all summer is extremely stressful for parents. As we’ve discussed in previous blogs, this kind of stressful environment often leads to behavioral issues. Besides which, why should a child with Asperger’s or any disability miss out on the summer experiences available to typical kids – swimming, arts & crafts, outdoor sports, special friendships? Because children with Asperger’s, or other less involved disabilities like ADHD, sensory integration disorder, look like typical kids and have average or high IQ’s, it is wrongly assumed that they can be integrated into a typical summer camp environment when it is just not that simple. Furthermore, the options that do exist are often cost prohibitive. In more cases than not, kids that are high functioning don’t qualify for regional center services so it is a double-edged sword.  I am aware of a few camps that do incorporate special needs kids and provide the highly trained specialists necessary to integrate the kids. Unfortunately, these are the exception and not the norm. More organizations need to rally to increase the summer camp options for high-functioning autistic children who need a little extra special attention. We’d be interested to hear about existing summer camps that meet these criteria so we can provide it as a resource to our readers. Also please feel free to chime in with suggestions on what can be done to improve this situation for families of children with Asperger’s Syndrome.

This week the NY Times published a blog about the stress of raising a child with autism. The blog quickly made the Twitter circuit, as if the news that it is stressful to raise a child with autism is news. It seems obvious that raising a child with any kind of developmental disability is more stressful than raising a typical child so why the blog? Because apparently, a new study suggests there is evidence that parents of children with autism were reporting higher levels of stress than parents of children with developmental delays. One possible explanation for this is that children with autism have greater needs in the area of daily living skills, which cause parents to work harder. The study however indicated that it was not the hard work that was causing the higher levels of stress, rather the behavioral problems of children with autism. When specialists provide early intervention to children with autism, there are a lot of choices they can make in terms of what to target first, how to prioritize the list of needs. What this study suggests is that when prioritizing the list of interventions, difficult behaviors should be given priority. To target and treat problematic behaviors, Behavior Analysts perform a Behavior Functional Assessment, a set of processes for defining the environmental factors that contribute to, reliably predict, and maintain challenging behaviors. Understanding why a behavior occurs directly leads to how it can be changed. A Behavior Functional Assessment will allow you to gather information to understand problem behaviors and develop effective behavior support plans.

We’re only two weeks into summer vacation and already I can see the behavior problems creeping in. Boredom is one of the main culprits of behavior problems in children. The lack of predictability that goes hand in hand with summer and the absence of a regular routine can cause stress in children and can in turn cause them to act out. Parents may overlook this factor. After all, what child doesn’t love being out of school? Adults assume that most children would prefer the stress-free days of summer. But this isn’t always so. Many children prefer the structure and routine that is more synonymous with the school year. When a child can anticipate what is coming it increases his sense of control and independence and therefore encourages cooperation. Having a familiar routine builds confidence and decreases anxiety.  But all is not lost just because it is summer. If your child is not attending camp or doesn’t have a daily activity to depend on, it is still possible to build structure and routine into your day. Try to maintain times and sequence of events as much as possible. For example, if a child is used to eating breakfast as soon as he wakes up, stick to this routine. Since children feel more secure when they know what to expect, it is best to plan the day ahead of time and let your child know what the plan is for the day. Build some choices into the day to help your child feel some control and nurture self-esteem. Use visual schedules, pictures, drawings, etc. to cue a child about what is happening.  Present scheduled activities in a positive manner but try not to be overly rigid. Some flexibility is always necessary. If you remain flexible and adjust your expectations, it will be easier to maintain a stress-free environment for your children. And finally, always include some free time in the day – children need some down time and it can be exhausting to be overly scheduled.