concentration in Aspergers

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Hi, my 17 yr old son has Aspergers, and although he is intelligent and wants to work hard he struggles to concentrates, so severely at times that he can literally do nothing! this causes intense distress and frustration. any suggestions? thanks

In certain situations I find my mind locks up, sort of like when a computer freezes up. One suggestion I have would be for your son to try doing things in smaller pieces, like say 5 or 10 minutes at a time. For me, sometimes looking at things as a whole, or for longer time periods seems very daunting and can cause brain freeze.

Thanks for that great to know he's not alone!

I was exactly the same until about 5 days ago. I procrastinate a lot, but even when I tried to do work I could not concentrate. However, 5 days ago, I decided to go into the attic to study as it was noisey downstairs. It was silent up there. I did not take my phone, I could not hear my brother/sister shouting, couldn't hear the TV or people talking. I now study up there daily. On Tuesday I studdied maths from 9:30pm until 6am.
I think silence is the key, he needs to find the right place to concentrate in.

Are there any physical activities he likes to do? Perhaps taking a break and doing something just purely physical like lifting weights or running/brisk walking might help get his mind get back on track. I agree that trying to break things down into shorter or smaller tasks might help as well as having a good space to study that is as free of distractions as possible.

Asperger's and ADHD often go hand-in-hand. I'm about to restart stimulant medication because I simply can't function.

I can absorb myself in a task for hours.

I find I study better in a library in one of the cubicals by myself or around my grans. I have physically remove myself from all other distractions. I have also recently found out that if I listen to my favourite music it can help me. However, this was not the case several years ago and had to work in more or less silance.

If my son is interested in something, he can be absorbed for hours. If it's boring - no amount of motivation help him stay focused. It is really hard for him to study something he finds booring.

I read this article about Aspergers and ADHD and found it very insightful. It really breaks down the similarities and differences concerning the root causes of the attention problems. It might be useful to you.

Asperger Syndrome and Attention

thanks everyone

This is exactly the same for DS. One doc we see explained to us the reason why he knows DS has autism and not ADHD. DS can concentrate extensively on something he is interested in but cannot (or maybe won't is a better word, not sure) concentrate at all on something he finds irrelevant.