What To Expect with Autism and ADHD

Autism has such a large spectrum it is hard to give advice as each child is different. The school should have a statement which will describe the childs needs, so you should ask them if you can read it and what his IEP (Individual Educational Plan)is working on. I'm glad to see you have decided to work with kids and I hope the staff treat you well. Once you get to know the child and still need any advice I will be happy to help you if I can, as I have studied autism and ADHD. Good luck, my thoughts are with you!

My son doesn't have adhd but he does have mild autism. The things that go on with my son are that he gets a subject on his mind and he cannot get his mind off of it. When he was really small it was clocks, balloons and water towers. Now he is obsessed with trains and airports. I'm not saying it because he is mine, but he is a very sweet young man and wants to help others any way that he can. I don't know how old the little boy is that you will be working with but I hope this will help some. My son has never had to take medication for which we are very thankful. He has never had problems with hitting his head against something or any of those types of symptoms.

Hi Wolfie. First off you will have your hands full.and if you are willing to get past all the "should be" thoughts and realize that you are looking after a child with multiple problems. No I am not saying feel sorry for him, just understand that he is not able to stay focused for any length of time, and it is not his fault, I am not sure how much he will grasp or how you feel about counting your successes in centimeters rather than yards. While I do not really know a lot about this problem I have seen several children who have similar problems, Their aid is of course not allowed to discuss the child nor their problems except in a very general way, I did see children who were not able to pay attention for more than 10 seconds unless it was for something they wanted like a sweet, then they could act out for 1/2 hour or until they got what they wanted, I found that most of the children were great manipulators, and no doubt learned from those that tried to change their behavior by manipulating them with bribes of sweets, The other problem you may encounter is you may have a set plan for this child, but remember you only have him for so many hours a day, and then he has a foster home or his own parent that have their own ideas and they may be opposite to yours. You will find a challenge in this type of work and at time be overwhelmed with it going nowhere. but that is just because these children need and deserve some on that is working in their best interest, I commend you and believe that with your education you can do this.

Hi, although I don't have first hand experience of Autism, my brother had a degenerative genetic disease and in the early stages that caused him to become quite agressive and to lose concentration very easily so I know a little about what it is like. Generally I would suggest that any child that has the conditions that you refer to, will be under regular hospital and /or GP checkups and will likely be on some form of medication to lessen the symptoms. I think one of the most valuable contributions is to be understanding, caring, and tolerant of the child. I think you should also be prepared to repeat things and above all to be patient. I am really sorry that this all sounds to patronising to both the child and you, I don't mean it that way, but these are the sorts of qualities I think you would need. I think it can be made even more difficult in a mixed school because other children can be spiteful and hurtful so knowing how to tolerate and teach other children is important too, but if you are in a 'special needs' type of school where children with medical conditions are able to receive one to one type of care then that is slightly different. It might be a good idea to do a little research online for some of the exact character traits of children with conditions like this. Above all I would think patience and treating the child in the same way you would any other can only be good for his morale.

Hi Wolfie, Welcome back. Check out my discussion on "Tuesdays best friend award" I missed you but I'm sure you feel better now that you went on retreat. My youngest son was diagnosed with aspergers., which is a high functioning form of autism. So, I can tell you from my own experiences. Expect tantrums if they don't get their way. He wont like to be held close or hugged. he wont look you in the eye. He will find one thing that he likes to do and do it for hours on end.How old is he??

This is a very challenging work. You have to have loads of patience, and not to get emotional or think that you have failed the task if the same things appear again, even though you worked with the child. I worked for an year with a 6 year old girl who had autism and adhd. I worked with a lot of children and teenagers that had problems. This one was the hardest challenging one, but i did continue because i got attached to her and loved her. The best thing you can do with this child is react to him normally, show him you like him, and not be effected by his moods, he will have them and a lot, even though he is probably on medication. Just take it slowly, know the child and react to him. There is no way that i can direct you except the things i told you. But i wish you the best of luck.

I'm afraid I can't offer any help on this one mate. I'd just like to give you my full respect. It takes a special type of person to give this kind of care. Good on you.

Well I am sorry I have no specific experience of dealing with children with these disorders, so I can't help you in that way, but just wanted to say I hope everthing works out for you. If you have patience and understanding, then those are the main things with any child I think. Good luck.

My foster brother was autistic and was often in his own little world children with ADHD can be disruptive but react well to patience and praise

I don't have much knowledge of this myself. I've only known to people with these disorder and they was no different. (sometimes difficult to be around) not in the way I didn't but they didn't want people around them. On in which often wanted to be alone, I guess he felt nobody would appreciate him. Goodluck with this, It's a nice job to be doing and will make a world of good for the student(s). Kudos Brian, ~Joey

First of all let me say congradulations. This decsion to work in this way with a child or children really means the world to them. My son is going thru the stages of being diagnosed, however I have spent countless hours doing research of my own to already firmly belive that he has ADHD and Aspergers (which is a mild form of autism) The best advice I could give you is patience. At least with my son, the mood ranges are wide and can change for no paticular reason. When he wants to do somthing there is no real resoning with him on why it should not be done. You are going to be dealing probobly with hightly intelegent children who get easily agrivated by the fact that they know that they are unable to express themselves in a manner to which is considered "appropriate" by every day terms. Just know that for some reason (at least I have found this to be the usual case) God in his infinate wisdom gave autistic children the biggest kindes harts. To me I see that as a blessing and a curse for the child due to the fact that yes they love everyone unconditionaly, however they get emotionally hurt so easily too. I wish you all the luck and my prayers are with you.

I don't have a lot of personal experience honey but i know that most children with autism like to stick t routine and can find it hard to be touched! A lot depends on the severuty of the condition and how it interacts with adhd! Whatever I am sure you would do a fantastic job on a 1 to 1 basis and hope you enjoy it! Missed you honey - hope you had a great time!

I don't have any experience with autism. My son has adhd. I have found that he doesn't handle change very well. As long as you maintain your patience and understanding he is more complaint. Always try to point out the good things that the child is doing. If you happen to see something that the child shouldn't be doing, pull him to the side to explain why he shouldn't do that behavior but don't linger on it to long. My sons teacher tells him several times a day that she loves her friendship with him and that no matter what happens she will always love him. I think that has helped to know that no matter how bad it gets she will always be his friend.

I have no experience in these areas either, but I have a couple of friends who do....I sent them a link to this discussion, maybe they can shed some light for you so that you're better prepared for this child :) Good Luck

sorry I can't give you any advice pal , but I do wish you all the luck in the world , and I know you are brilliant with children and will do well in whatever you do xxx

Two of my children are ADHD and there were times people thought that one of them were autistic. The best advice I can give you is lots of patience, routine, and lots of praise. Truly recognize the positive behavior and praise the child to encourage repeated behavior. Also, routine is just really important. These children are easily agitated and routine/knowing what to expect really helps to reduces their frustration. Good luck sweetie! And congrats on the new job. :)

Autism - i dont ahve much idea.but with ADHD i ahve been colletingg so much articles on it for ione of my relatie.i dont think its a disease at all.we ahve to inculcate concentration in such kids and i am sure with age such children will do good and become fine pelase dont treat that as a diseae and all she/he will be altight soon