Asperger Syndrome and Difficult Moments: Practical Solutions for Tantrums

Written for parents and professionals, Asperger Syndrome and Difficult Moments offers practical solutions to the day-to-day challenges facing individuals with Asperger Syndrome and their families. This book discusses, clearly and concisely, how to deal with tantrums, meltdowns, and difficult behavior from children and young people with Asperger Syndrome. It looks particularly at the role of antecedent behaviors, which signal the beginning of a meltdown, as identified through functional assessment. The main focus is on the various stages of the meltdown cycle and functional analysis as a means of determining why behaviors occur. This is followed by a set of practical strategies that promote social skills development, including self-awareness, self-calming, and self-management. This book concludes with a chapter written specifically for parents, which offers concrete and easy-to-follow steps for developing a home plan that addresses agreement on the causes of problem behaviors, family organization and support, and designing a daily routine. Accompanying the clear and user-friendly writing style are a number of helpful reporting forms and other instruments that may be used by schools and parents as they work to reduce or eliminate such behavior in children and young people with Asperger Syndrome.