Parenting

Going on vacation is is supposed to be relaxing but it can often turn out to be the opposite for those on the spectrum if we don’t plan it right. And for parents of autistics, that stress can spread to the whole family. When I was a kid, my parents made a lot of efforts […]

A few days ago, Toni Braxton claimed that her son had been cured of autism. There is no way that what Braxton said is true because there is no cure for autism. While early intervention and therapy can certainly help individuals on the spectrum live productive lives, autism is a lifelong condition. By claiming otherwise, […]

Will these behaviors ever stop? Getting the big picture of behavior and autism My head felt like it was going to explode when my son was diagnosed with autism in the mid-1980s. The diagnosis explained why he was flapping and spinning, but the “A” word stuck in my throat. Some parents, mostly mothers, have told […]

When my son was born in November 1979, I jumped for joy.  When he was diagnosed with autism 4 years later, I thought my head was going to explode.  I couldn’t get the word autism out of my mouth for months. In general, it is harder for men to talk about problems than women. Women […]

Wrong Planet columnist Robert Naseef, Ph.D. is a psychologist with 20 years of experience and is the parent of an individual on the autism spectrum.

"It seems like every time the phone rings I jump." Not a week goes without a parent of a child with autism or another neurodevelopmental condition echoing these words in my office. Is it a phone call from a child's school asking that the child be picked up early because of a meltdown? Could...

WARNNG: Wrong Planet is a family friendly site. However, the following article by columnist Scotty Holman touches on a very sensitive subject that may not be suitable for children or other people who are uncomfortable reading about abuse. Reader discretion is advised.

*"All is caprice. They love without measure those whom they will soon hate without reason." - Thomas Sydenham, seventeenth-century physician, describing patients he...

Joanne Houldsworth is the parent columnist for WrongPlanet.net. She covers autism through the perspective of a mother of a young son with Aspergers Syndrome. She writes a weekly blog, entitled Aspergers: A Mom’s Eye View, where this article was originally posted.

“Greg, the doctor has discovered that your brain does not work the same as most people’s…” That is how the discussion with my 8-year-old started…

There is much...

I am a parent. I have Asperger's syndrome. I have two grown children, one of whom is on the autism spectrum. I am very aware of how parents can react to an autism spectrum diagnosis in their child. It's not hard to find descriptions of their reactions on autism support sites on the Internet or in the popular media. I know how my friends and acquaintances have reacted to their child's diagnosis. It's unfortunate that many parents are...

A single mother says her only son, who had Asperger's syndrome, lost his life because the authorities did not understand his disability.

Glennys Jones' son, David, 23, was found dead on December 31 last year, following an overdose of prescription drugs. Last week, a coroner recorded an open verdict at an inquest into his death.

Now Miss Jones is calling for more awareness of his condition.

Dear Aspie:
“I am a social worker working with a 13-year-old-boy with Asperger's. He wants to learn martial arts, in part because he's in a rough school and gets bullied. His father is concerned that the boy's impulse control problems will result in him using his martial arts skills to seriously hurt or kill someone. The father, who is most likely an undiagnosed aspie himself, said he would have (literally) killed someone in high school...