Hi - I could really use some of your opinions

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Hi all

I am on Wrongplanet because I am the mother of a 10 year old aspie. However I am also in my working life an educational psychologist (in the UK - it's a pretty similar role to a school psychologist in the USA) who works on a multiagency diagnostic and support team for children and young people with autism and their families.

This Summer we are hoping to run a short series of sessions (probably 3 x 2 hour sessions) for teens with aspergers (and who are aware of their diagnosis) regarding emotional wellbeing / mental health in relation to conceptualisations of being on the spectrum. I guess basically we want to support people who may have had a limited or clumsy explanation of their condition, or who feel isolated, depressed, or withdrawn, to feel more positive about themselves as people with autism - very much in the 'difference vs disorder' vein. Parents will be invited to the sessions and will experience the same activities but in a separate, parallel setting - so that parents will be sharing in the message and can work with their youngsters over the week to discuss and reinforce the messages they have had.

What we wanted to know was, if you had been invited to this kind of thing:
- Would you have been interested? (we are thinking 12-16 ish age range)
- What sort of info or activities would have been helpful?
- What sort of info or activities should be avoided?!


Our team would be really grateful for any suggestions and / or insights you may be able to give.

Thanks very much

Claire

Sorry, but I would not have been likely to be interested in any kind of therapy classes at that age. By that age I had already been to many psych docs and therapists. All of them were trying to "cure" me of what at that time was considered a behavior problem. Autism/Asperger's were not recognized at that time. People on the spectrum were diagnosed has having emotional/behavior problems, which were felt to be "curable" by a combination of therapy, zombie drugs, and discipline.

After seeing so many psych people at a young age, I had become very resentful of all of the people around me finding fault with me, and trying to forcibly "cure" me of something that was not curable. And they always seemed to be angry, frustrated, and unsatisfied with me the way I am. By my early teens I was no longer interested in interacting with people by means of therapy or other social groupings, and had taken myself off the zombie drugs without consulting anyone. I didn't like feeling like a zombie. I was never close with other kids, and everyone was unhappy with the way I am, so I would not have wanted to participate in any therapy group with people of any age. It was bad enough that I had to have individual and family therapy.

It is possible that some spectrum kids may be interested in this project of yours. We don't all get fed up with attempts at socializing at the same age. I hope your project helps those who are interested in it.

Hi Questor
the programme isn't meant to be 'therapy' really - I mean not in terms of family therapy or forcing people to socialise or anything. It's just about reframing young people to have a more positive view/understanding of their diagnosis than what is likely to have been shared with them - as something that confers advantages as well as some challenges, as something that is a processing difference and part of who a person is rather than an added on 'disorder'. It's absolutely and emphatically NOT about trying to cure or change people, and it absolutely IS about accepting that it's okay - even positive - to be who you are as an autistic person.

Going back to youur 13 year old self, accepting that you may have been very reluctant at the thought of 'therapy', do you not think your 13 year old self would have been taken aback / surprised/delighted at attending a group that turned out to be the antithesis of all the other meetings and sessions you had been to, that wasn't about how to change yourself or how to be 'cured' or even a 'social skills' group with forced socialising with other people - and that actually just said, 'being on the spectrum is fine, you are okay as you are, you are not an inferior or wonky 'normal' person, you are simply a person who is part of a perfectly valid minority group AND THATS FINE'. Would you not have found that liberating - assuming we had got you through the door?

I am genuinely wondering because that really is the whole point of the sessions - because many AS kids have had the kind of experiences you describe, and we are trying to do the exact opposite.

Claire