after 'stress' functioning'

[Guest guest]

I thought I might add the perspective of someone who's dealt with the feeling of

overload. As a kid, it was hard to express the work that it took to hold it

together in school/church/etc. I was 'high-functioning' so no one could

understand (even my parents) why I was 'good' for everyone except at home. I now

work with people, so still have to deal effectively with interacting with

others, and the sensory overload of too many sounds, too many conversations,

etc.

What's worked for me is to have some downtime alone when I get home. Depending

on the day, it can be a few minutes or an hour. I need to be alone, and I need

to control my sensory input--sometimes silence, sometimes music. Fortunately my

partner has learned a lot about Asperger/HFA and is understanding.

We find that our son has similar needs. While he's not in any sort of school

setting, he does have days when he needs to be left alone. Sometimes he can ask

for it, but many times he just tantrums or whines and otherwise acts like he

doesn't want us around. If we give him the time alone he needs, he can move

forward. If we don't he gets stuck in anger, frustration.

It seems from reading about the experiences of others with schools, that they

haven't yet figured our how to help HFA kids. Maybe you can focus on how best to

allow your child to decompress after a much less than ideal school situation,

until the schools can catch up with the evidence, and provide the right

environment to address our kids' needs and strengths.

jyq

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