Re: 15 year old - no interests

Sent: Saturday, April 14, 2012 12:20:24 PM

Subject: Re: 15 year old - no

interests

Â

, have you tried the drama club?Â My son

has done very well with that; it also provides a

social

outlet that he would not have otherwise.

Â

Good day everyone:

My 15 year old son has mild autism and I am

trying to help him through this difficult

stage of life (early high school).

He has no interests to speak of. I've tried

everything from astronomy to sports, with

little success.

Do any of your children have this kind of

problem? How did you help them?

Gaining friends is extremely difficult

without something to talk about.

Thank you all

April 19, 2012

my 15 yr old was the same way I tried getting him into the "special sports" with other people with disbilitys and he didnt feel comfortable. his only interest is video games and food! i did talk to his dctor and he said take him places and maybe something will spark a interest so this summer were going to try differant things. hope this helps.

April

mom of 3 special boys

April 20, 2012

My 13yo aspie son is a total gamer. We limit how much time he gets to spend on

them, but as long as he keeps his grades up, and gets his chores done, we're not

too hard on him.

One thing that a lot of people outside of our world don't really understand, is

that he finds a social outlet in them as well, when we allow him to play online.

He's learning how to talk to people appropriately, how to share talking time,

and how to communicate team work.

He has always loved games. When he was 4, I picked up a used gamecube from

someone in a near by city. I didn't know how to hook it up, and my husband was

sick in bed with the flu. My son got impatient, and while I was picking my older

daughter up from school the next day, he figured out how to hook it up, and was

playing it by the time we got home.

We have run into melt downs over getting stuck and being unable to finish a

game. My husband would work with him on problem solving for the issue he was

having at the time, and let HIM work out how to try and solve it. If he melted

down again, then game time was simply over. Over the years, he's long since

moved past the point where he would have melt downs over not being able to do a

game. Now, if he gets stuck, he looks up hints online, tries to problem solve

it, or as a last result, ends the game and picks a different one.

I'll also admit, with 2 aspies AND a teenager in the house, it's gotten easier

over the past year to seperate the kids by pointing one at the computer, one at

the video games, and one at my husband's computer. We do try to limit time wise,

but if chores are done, homework is done, and everyone is being good, I'll

totally let it slide.

Why? No arguing kids, no kids telling the other one what they SHOULD be doing,

no kids getting stubborn and argumentative, and no kids being antagonistic

towards the others. My piece of mind is TOTALLY worth an extra hour of game

time.

>

> I know computer games are controversial, we are OK with them because my son's

high ADHD actually responds to the medium.

>

> Anyway, he is really taken with this as a hobby:

>

> I will warn you though- he has total meltdowns when he can't figure out how to

do what he wants. There are Youtube tutorials out there that help.

>

> The games Terraria and MineCraft are open ended creative type games that also

include battling monsters, etc. DS enjoys these and it is possible to play

online with others in some circumstances.

>

> We use a tightly controlled (by us) server that allows a few other kids on at

a time. We set the rules so that DS can handle the interaction and since it's

ours, we can turn off the server (evicting everyone) if things go poorly.

>

> DS is very fact-oriented. He loves searching Wiki for information on topics

to teach his younger siblings. Very geeky- but what about D & D? The best players

have to remember loads of data. Most comic book stores have a club of D & D or

some other card based game going.

>

April 20, 2012

This is exactly how it is in my house. 2 Auties and Me the Aspie and an NT hubby. I dunno how he puts up with us, but all 3 of them are gamers, and my youngest (7) has driven us nuts with the I can't finish it, do it for me. I had to tell both my hubby and oldest NOT to do that, let him either work it out or find a different game. I'm not a gamer, but a book reader (love my Nook Color), and a computer person.

I have struggled over the years with guilt about the alone time spent on games and computers, but since coming to grips about why we do it, I'm not as bad about it now. I still require reading time with the youngest, game nights with real board games, even though he's the tantrum king if he loses. I've had to teach him to say Good Game if he loses, though many times he does it through tears, but we get through it.

My oldest has a whole network of friends on the 360 that he plays games with and talks to. BOTH of them do very well, or as best they can, socially at school and online. My youngest isn't allowed to talk online due to the swearing issue that other kids/adults do on there, as he's a repeater. I heard him beeping himself where swear words should be, so I cut him off from games with that sort of thing in them, and told him no online talking cuz those people use naughty words and you repeat them, and we don't do that in this house.

Ashton (mom with Aspergers with two Autistic sons)

My 13yo aspie son is a total gamer. We limit how much time he gets to spend on them, but as long as he keeps his grades up, and gets his chores done, we're not too hard on him.

One thing that a lot of people outside of our world don't really understand, is that he finds a social outlet in them as well, when we allow him to play online. He's learning how to talk to people appropriately, how to share talking time, and how to communicate team work.

He has always loved games. When he was 4, I picked up a used gamecube from someone in a near by city. I didn't know how to hook it up, and my husband was sick in bed with the flu. My son got impatient, and while I was picking my older daughter up from school the next day, he figured out how to hook it up, and was playing it by the time we got home.

We have run into melt downs over getting stuck and being unable to finish a game. My husband would work with him on problem solving for the issue he was having at the time, and let HIM work out how to try and solve it. If he melted down again, then game time was simply over. Over the years, he's long since moved past the point where he would have melt downs over not being able to do a game. Now, if he gets stuck, he looks up hints online, tries to problem solve it, or as a last result, ends the game and picks a different one.

I'll also admit, with 2 aspies AND a teenager in the house, it's gotten easier over the past year to seperate the kids by pointing one at the computer, one at the video games, and one at my husband's computer. We do try to limit time wise, but if chores are done, homework is done, and everyone is being good, I'll totally let it slide.

Why? No arguing kids, no kids telling the other one what they SHOULD be doing, no kids getting stubborn and argumentative, and no kids being antagonistic towards the others. My piece of mind is TOTALLY worth an extra hour of game time.

>

> I know computer games are controversial, we are OK with them because my son's high ADHD actually responds to the medium.

>

> Anyway, he is really taken with this as a hobby:

>

> I will warn you though- he has total meltdowns when he can't figure out how to do what he wants. There are Youtube tutorials out there that help.

>

> The games Terraria and MineCraft are open ended creative type games that also include battling monsters, etc. DS enjoys these and it is possible to play online with others in some circumstances.

>

> We use a tightly controlled (by us) server that allows a few other kids on at a time. We set the rules so that DS can handle the interaction and since it's ours, we can turn off the server (evicting everyone) if things go poorly.

>

> DS is very fact-oriented. He loves searching Wiki for information on topics to teach his younger siblings. Very geeky- but what about D & D? The best players have to remember loads of data. Most comic book stores have a club of D & D or some other card based game going.

>

April 20, 2012

My nine year old with PDD-NOS has always zeroed in on one particular thing. For a long time, it was Legos. We have mountains of Legos stored in boxes in the closet as he no longer plays with them. In fact, he won't play with anything at all except MineCraft or Roblox and a couple of other games on the computer. This is all he does. This is all he is interested in. When I make him get off, he just sits in a chair quietly until he can go back on again. He does read, but when we insisted he come out to play volley ball with his cousins, he tried, but then stood in the middle of the lawn reading a book.I feel very conflicted about the amount of time he spends on the computer. I like how it is building up his small motor skills and problem solving skills and helps with his socialization skills, etc.

I like how he is really, really good at something because he struggles so much in other areas of his life, especially schoolwork. I like that he has made three good friends with similar interests and they talk online to each other about whatever it is they do in a game. But it's a sedentary activity. I'm noticing a little bit of tummy fat (he has always been thin). No sunshine? Fresh air? This has to be really bad for him. But, what to do about it??? I'm at a loss. To: autism-aspergers Sent: Friday, April 20, 2012 9:57 AM Subject: Re: Re: 15 year old - no interests

This is exactly how it is in my house. 2 Auties and Me the Aspie and an NT hubby. I dunno how he puts up with us, but all 3 of them are gamers, and my youngest (7) has driven us nuts with the I can't finish it, do it for me. I had to tell both my hubby and oldest NOT to do that, let him either work it out or find a different game. I'm not a gamer, but a book reader (love my Nook Color), and a computer person.

I have struggled over the years with guilt about the alone time spent on games and computers, but since coming to grips about why we do it, I'm not as bad about it now. I still require reading time with the youngest, game nights with real board games, even though he's the tantrum king if he loses. I've had to teach him to say Good Game if he loses, though many times he does it through tears, but we get through it.

My oldest has a whole network of friends on the 360 that he plays games with and talks to. BOTH of them do very well, or as best they can, socially at school and online. My youngest isn't allowed to talk online due to the swearing issue that other kids/adults do on there, as he's a repeater. I heard him beeping himself where swear words should be, so I cut him off from games with that sort of thing in them, and told him no online talking cuz those people use naughty words and you repeat them, and we don't do that in this house.

Ashton (mom with Aspergers with two Autistic sons)

My 13yo aspie son is a total gamer. We limit how much time he gets to spend on them, but as long as he keeps his grades up, and gets his chores done, we're not too hard on him.

One thing that a lot of people outside of our world don't really understand, is that he finds a social outlet in them as well, when we allow him to play online. He's learning how to talk to people appropriately, how to share talking time, and how to communicate team work.

He has always loved games. When he was 4, I picked up a used gamecube from someone in a near by city. I didn't know how to hook it up, and my husband was sick in bed with the flu. My son got impatient, and while I was picking my older daughter up from school the next day, he figured out how to hook it up, and was playing it by the time we got home.

We have run into melt downs over getting stuck and being unable to finish a game. My husband would work with him on problem solving for the issue he was having at the time, and let HIM work out how to try and solve it. If he melted down again, then game time was simply over. Over the years, he's long since moved past the point where he would have melt downs over not being able to do a game. Now, if he gets stuck, he looks up hints online, tries to problem solve it, or as a last result, ends the game and picks a different one.

I'll also admit, with 2 aspies AND a teenager in the house, it's gotten easier over the past year to seperate the kids by pointing one at the computer, one at the video games, and one at my husband's computer. We do try to limit time wise, but if chores are done, homework is done, and everyone is being good, I'll totally let it slide.

Why? No arguing kids, no kids telling the other one what they SHOULD be doing, no kids getting stubborn and argumentative, and no kids being antagonistic towards the others. My piece of mind is TOTALLY worth an extra hour of game time.

>

> I know computer games are controversial, we are OK with them because my son's high ADHD actually responds to the medium.

>

> Anyway, he is really taken with this as a hobby:

>

> I will warn you though- he has total meltdowns when he can't figure out how to do what he wants. There are Youtube tutorials out there that help.

>

> The games Terraria and MineCraft are open ended creative type games that also include battling monsters, etc. DS enjoys these and it is possible to play online with others in some circumstances.

>

> We use a tightly controlled (by us) server that allows a few other kids on at a time. We set the rules so that DS can handle the interaction and since it's ours, we can turn off the server (evicting everyone) if things go poorly.

>

> DS is very fact-oriented. He loves searching Wiki for information on topics to teach his younger siblings. Very geeky- but what about D & D? The best players have to remember loads of data. Most comic book stores have a club of D & D or some other card based game going.

>

April 20, 2012

My 7 yo is at the Lego stage now. He was given to huge tubs of Str Wars Legos and creates his own ships and puts the Lego characters on them. My oldest never took to Legos, though we tried to get him to build things with them. He would either just stack them up in a tall tower or line them up side by side. Same with Hot Wheel racecars. Instead of playing with them, he would line them up and say they were parked.

As for outside activities, we have a back yard now and my son does like to go out in it by himself, though all he does is walk around with a stick whacking things to make noise. I need to get him some things to play with now that the weather is beginning to show signs of spring.

Ashton

My nine year old with PDD-NOS has always zeroed in on one particular thing. For a long time, it was Legos. We have mountains of Legos stored in boxes in the closet as he no longer plays with them. In fact, he won't play with anything at all except MineCraft or Roblox and a couple of other games on the computer. This is all he does. This is all he is interested in. When I make him get off, he just sits in a chair quietly until he can go back on again. He does read, but when we insisted he come out to play volley ball with his cousins, he tried, but then stood in the middle of the lawn reading a book.

I feel very conflicted about the amount of time he spends on the computer. I like how it is building up his small motor skills and problem solving skills and helps with his socialization skills, etc.

I like how he is really, really good at something because he struggles so much in other areas of his life, especially schoolwork. I like that he has made three good friends with similar interests and they talk online to each other about whatever it is they do in a game. But it's a sedentary activity. I'm noticing a little bit of tummy fat (he has always been thin). No sunshine? Fresh air? This has to be really bad for him. But, what to do about it??? I'm at a loss.

Sent: Friday, April 20, 2012 9:57 AM Subject: Re: Re: 15 year old - no interests

This is exactly how it is in my house. 2 Auties and Me the Aspie and an NT hubby. I dunno how he puts up with us, but all 3 of them are gamers, and my youngest (7) has driven us nuts with the I can't finish it, do it for me. I had to tell both my hubby and oldest NOT to do that, let him either work it out or find a different game. I'm not a gamer, but a book reader (love my Nook Color), and a computer person.

I have struggled over the years with guilt about the alone time spent on games and computers, but since coming to grips about why we do it, I'm not as bad about it now. I still require reading time with the youngest, game nights with real board games, even though he's the tantrum king if he loses. I've had to teach him to say Good Game if he loses, though many times he does it through tears, but we get through it.

My oldest has a whole network of friends on the 360 that he plays games with and talks to. BOTH of them do very well, or as best they can, socially at school and online. My youngest isn't allowed to talk online due to the swearing issue that other kids/adults do on there, as he's a repeater. I heard him beeping himself where swear words should be, so I cut him off from games with that sort of thing in them, and told him no online talking cuz those people use naughty words and you repeat them, and we don't do that in this house.

Ashton (mom with Aspergers with two Autistic sons)

My 13yo aspie son is a total gamer. We limit how much time he gets to spend on them, but as long as he keeps his grades up, and gets his chores done, we're not too hard on him.

One thing that a lot of people outside of our world don't really understand, is that he finds a social outlet in them as well, when we allow him to play online. He's learning how to talk to people appropriately, how to share talking time, and how to communicate team work.

He has always loved games. When he was 4, I picked up a used gamecube from someone in a near by city. I didn't know how to hook it up, and my husband was sick in bed with the flu. My son got impatient, and while I was picking my older daughter up from school the next day, he figured out how to hook it up, and was playing it by the time we got home.

We have run into melt downs over getting stuck and being unable to finish a game. My husband would work with him on problem solving for the issue he was having at the time, and let HIM work out how to try and solve it. If he melted down again, then game time was simply over. Over the years, he's long since moved past the point where he would have melt downs over not being able to do a game. Now, if he gets stuck, he looks up hints online, tries to problem solve it, or as a last result, ends the game and picks a different one.

I'll also admit, with 2 aspies AND a teenager in the house, it's gotten easier over the past year to seperate the kids by pointing one at the computer, one at the video games, and one at my husband's computer. We do try to limit time wise, but if chores are done, homework is done, and everyone is being good, I'll totally let it slide.

Why? No arguing kids, no kids telling the other one what they SHOULD be doing, no kids getting stubborn and argumentative, and no kids being antagonistic towards the others. My piece of mind is TOTALLY worth an extra hour of game time.

>

> I know computer games are controversial, we are OK with them because my son's high ADHD actually responds to the medium.

>

> Anyway, he is really taken with this as a hobby:

>

> I will warn you though- he has total meltdowns when he can't figure out how to do what he wants. There are Youtube tutorials out there that help.

>

> The games Terraria and MineCraft are open ended creative type games that also include battling monsters, etc. DS enjoys these and it is possible to play online with others in some circumstances.

>

> We use a tightly controlled (by us) server that allows a few other kids on at a time. We set the rules so that DS can handle the interaction and since it's ours, we can turn off the server (evicting everyone) if things go poorly.

>

> DS is very fact-oriented. He loves searching Wiki for information on topics to teach his younger siblings. Very geeky- but what about D & D? The best players have to remember loads of data. Most comic book stores have a club of D & D or some other card based game going.

>

April 21, 2012

Does he like water or sand? Or a small trampoline? Just ideas... To: autism-aspergers Sent: Friday, April 20, 2012 1:01 PM Subject: Re: Re: 15 year old - no interests

My 7 yo is at the Lego stage now. He was given to huge tubs of Str Wars Legos and creates his own ships and puts the Lego characters on them. My oldest never took to Legos, though we tried to get him to build things with them. He would either just stack them up in a tall tower or line them up side by side. Same with Hot Wheel racecars. Instead of playing with them, he would line them up and say they were parked.

As for outside activities, we have a back yard now and my son does like to go out in it by himself, though all he does is walk around with a stick whacking things to make noise. I need to get him some things to play with now that the weather is beginning to show signs of spring.

Ashton

My nine year old with PDD-NOS has always zeroed in on one particular thing. For a long time, it was Legos. We have mountains of Legos stored in boxes in the closet as he no longer plays with them. In fact, he won't play with anything at all except MineCraft or Roblox and a couple of other games on the computer. This is all he does. This is all he is interested in. When I make him get off, he just sits in a chair quietly until he can go back on again. He does read, but when we insisted he come out to play volley ball with his cousins, he tried, but then stood in the middle of the lawn reading a book.

I feel very conflicted about the amount of time he spends on the computer. I like how it is building up his small motor skills and problem solving skills and helps with his socialization skills, etc.

I like how he is really, really good at something because he struggles so much in other areas of his life, especially schoolwork. I like that he has made three good friends with similar interests and they talk online to each other about whatever it is they do in a game. But it's a sedentary activity. I'm noticing a little bit of tummy fat (he has always been thin). No sunshine? Fresh air? This has to be really bad for him. But, what to do about it??? I'm at a loss.

Sent: Friday, April 20, 2012 9:57 AM Subject: Re: Re: 15 year old - no interests

This is exactly how it is in my house. 2 Auties and Me the Aspie and an NT hubby. I dunno how he puts up with us, but all 3 of them are gamers, and my youngest (7) has driven us nuts with the I can't finish it, do it for me. I had to tell both my hubby and oldest NOT to do that, let him either work it out or find a different game. I'm not a gamer, but a book reader (love my Nook Color), and a computer person.

I have struggled over the years with guilt about the alone time spent on games and computers, but since coming to grips about why we do it, I'm not as bad about it now. I still require reading time with the youngest, game nights with real board games, even though he's the tantrum king if he loses. I've had to teach him to say Good Game if he loses, though many times he does it through tears, but we get through it.

My oldest has a whole network of friends on the 360 that he plays games with and talks to. BOTH of them do very well, or as best they can, socially at school and online. My youngest isn't allowed to talk online due to the swearing issue that other kids/adults do on there, as he's a repeater. I heard him beeping himself where swear words should be, so I cut him off from games with that sort of thing in them, and told him no online talking cuz those people use naughty words and you repeat them, and we don't do that in this house.

Ashton (mom with Aspergers with two Autistic sons)

My 13yo aspie son is a total gamer. We limit how much time he gets to spend on them, but as long as he keeps his grades up, and gets his chores done, we're not too hard on him.

One thing that a lot of people outside of our world don't really understand, is that he finds a social outlet in them as well, when we allow him to play online. He's learning how to talk to people appropriately, how to share talking time, and how to communicate team work.

He has always loved games. When he was 4, I picked up a used gamecube from someone in a near by city. I didn't know how to hook it up, and my husband was sick in bed with the flu. My son got impatient, and while I was picking my older daughter up from school the next day, he figured out how to hook it up, and was playing it by the time we got home.

We have run into melt downs over getting stuck and being unable to finish a game. My husband would work with him on problem solving for the issue he was having at the time, and let HIM work out how to try and solve it. If he melted down again, then game time was simply over. Over the years, he's long since moved past the point where he would have melt downs over not being able to do a game. Now, if he gets stuck, he looks up hints online, tries to problem solve it, or as a last result, ends the game and picks a different one.

I'll also admit, with 2 aspies AND a teenager in the house, it's gotten easier over the past year to seperate the kids by pointing one at the computer, one at the video games, and one at my husband's computer. We do try to limit time wise, but if chores are done, homework is done, and everyone is being good, I'll totally let it slide.

Why? No arguing kids, no kids telling the other one what they SHOULD be doing, no kids getting stubborn and argumentative, and no kids being antagonistic towards the others. My piece of mind is TOTALLY worth an extra hour of game time.

>

> I know computer games are controversial, we are OK with them because my son's high ADHD actually responds to the medium.

>

> Anyway, he is really taken with this as a hobby:

>

> I will warn you though- he has total meltdowns when he can't figure out how to do what he wants. There are Youtube tutorials out there that help.

>

> The games Terraria and MineCraft are open ended creative type games that also include battling monsters, etc. DS enjoys these and it is possible to play online with others in some circumstances.

>

> We use a tightly controlled (by us) server that allows a few other kids on at a time. We set the rules so that DS can handle the interaction and since it's ours, we can turn off the server (evicting everyone) if things go poorly.

>

> DS is very fact-oriented. He loves searching Wiki for information on topics to teach his younger siblings. Very geeky- but what about D & D? The best players have to remember loads of data. Most comic book stores have a club of D & D or some other card based game going.

>

April 21, 2012

Oh yes to the trampoline, not too sure about the sand, as he doesn't like his hands dirty, and yes to the water. My son's a jumper. When he gets anxious (over video games), he jumps while he plays, just on the floor. When we lost our cat, he jumped and cried all day. I'm hoping to be able to get him a trampoline this summer. Might even get him one of those exercise ones that he can take outside or keep in his room. A friend of ours let him borrow hers once and he loved it.

Ashton

Does he like water or sand? Or a small trampoline? Just ideas...

To: autism-aspergers Sent: Friday, April 20, 2012 1:01 PM

Subject: Re: Re: 15 year old - no interests

My 7 yo is at the Lego stage now. He was given to huge tubs of Str Wars Legos and creates his own ships and puts the Lego characters on them. My oldest never took to Legos, though we tried to get him to build things with them. He would either just stack them up in a tall tower or line them up side by side. Same with Hot Wheel racecars. Instead of playing with them, he would line them up and say they were parked.

As for outside activities, we have a back yard now and my son does like to go out in it by himself, though all he does is walk around with a stick whacking things to make noise. I need to get him some things to play with now that the weather is beginning to show signs of spring.

Ashton

My nine year old with PDD-NOS has always zeroed in on one particular thing. For a long time, it was Legos. We have mountains of Legos stored in boxes in the closet as he no longer plays with them. In fact, he won't play with anything at all except MineCraft or Roblox and a couple of other games on the computer. This is all he does. This is all he is interested in. When I make him get off, he just sits in a chair quietly until he can go back on again. He does read, but when we insisted he come out to play volley ball with his cousins, he tried, but then stood in the middle of the lawn reading a book.

I feel very conflicted about the amount of time he spends on the computer. I like how it is building up his small motor skills and problem solving skills and helps with his socialization skills, etc.

I like how he is really, really good at something because he struggles so much in other areas of his life, especially schoolwork. I like that he has made three good friends with similar interests and they talk online to each other about whatever it is they do in a game. But it's a sedentary activity. I'm noticing a little bit of tummy fat (he has always been thin). No sunshine? Fresh air? This has to be really bad for him. But, what to do about it??? I'm at a loss.

Sent: Friday, April 20, 2012 9:57 AM Subject: Re: Re: 15 year old - no interests

This is exactly how it is in my house. 2 Auties and Me the Aspie and an NT hubby. I dunno how he puts up with us, but all 3 of them are gamers, and my youngest (7) has driven us nuts with the I can't finish it, do it for me. I had to tell both my hubby and oldest NOT to do that, let him either work it out or find a different game. I'm not a gamer, but a book reader (love my Nook Color), and a computer person.

I have struggled over the years with guilt about the alone time spent on games and computers, but since coming to grips about why we do it, I'm not as bad about it now. I still require reading time with the youngest, game nights with real board games, even though he's the tantrum king if he loses. I've had to teach him to say Good Game if he loses, though many times he does it through tears, but we get through it.

My oldest has a whole network of friends on the 360 that he plays games with and talks to. BOTH of them do very well, or as best they can, socially at school and online. My youngest isn't allowed to talk online due to the swearing issue that other kids/adults do on there, as he's a repeater. I heard him beeping himself where swear words should be, so I cut him off from games with that sort of thing in them, and told him no online talking cuz those people use naughty words and you repeat them, and we don't do that in this house.

Ashton (mom with Aspergers with two Autistic sons)

My 13yo aspie son is a total gamer. We limit how much time he gets to spend on them, but as long as he keeps his grades up, and gets his chores done, we're not too hard on him.

One thing that a lot of people outside of our world don't really understand, is that he finds a social outlet in them as well, when we allow him to play online. He's learning how to talk to people appropriately, how to share talking time, and how to communicate team work.

He has always loved games. When he was 4, I picked up a used gamecube from someone in a near by city. I didn't know how to hook it up, and my husband was sick in bed with the flu. My son got impatient, and while I was picking my older daughter up from school the next day, he figured out how to hook it up, and was playing it by the time we got home.

We have run into melt downs over getting stuck and being unable to finish a game. My husband would work with him on problem solving for the issue he was having at the time, and let HIM work out how to try and solve it. If he melted down again, then game time was simply over. Over the years, he's long since moved past the point where he would have melt downs over not being able to do a game. Now, if he gets stuck, he looks up hints online, tries to problem solve it, or as a last result, ends the game and picks a different one.

I'll also admit, with 2 aspies AND a teenager in the house, it's gotten easier over the past year to seperate the kids by pointing one at the computer, one at the video games, and one at my husband's computer. We do try to limit time wise, but if chores are done, homework is done, and everyone is being good, I'll totally let it slide.

Why? No arguing kids, no kids telling the other one what they SHOULD be doing, no kids getting stubborn and argumentative, and no kids being antagonistic towards the others. My piece of mind is TOTALLY worth an extra hour of game time.

>

> I know computer games are controversial, we are OK with them because my son's high ADHD actually responds to the medium.

>

> Anyway, he is really taken with this as a hobby:

>

> I will warn you though- he has total meltdowns when he can't figure out how to do what he wants. There are Youtube tutorials out there that help.

>

> The games Terraria and MineCraft are open ended creative type games that also include battling monsters, etc. DS enjoys these and it is possible to play online with others in some circumstances.

>

> We use a tightly controlled (by us) server that allows a few other kids on at a time. We set the rules so that DS can handle the interaction and since it's ours, we can turn off the server (evicting everyone) if things go poorly.

>

> DS is very fact-oriented. He loves searching Wiki for information on topics to teach his younger siblings. Very geeky- but what about D & D? The best players have to remember loads of data. Most comic book stores have a club of D & D or some other card based game going.

>

April 22, 2012

Mine doesn't like to get dirty either although when he was young he loved to play in sand. (He's 9) Indoor trampolines are great. Have one. What about riding toys? A big wheel? Or some such? There is a water toy I found that is a large plastic tray with channels and a bridge and plastic boats that mine loved. To: autism-aspergers Sent: Saturday, April 21, 2012

11:34 AM Subject: Re: Re: 15 year old - no interests

Oh yes to the trampoline, not too sure about the sand, as he doesn't like his hands dirty, and yes to the water. My son's a jumper. When he gets anxious (over video games), he jumps while he plays, just on the floor. When we lost our cat, he jumped and cried all day. I'm hoping to be able to get him a trampoline this summer. Might even get him one of those exercise ones that he can take outside or keep in his room. A friend of ours let him borrow hers once and he loved it.

Ashton

Does he like water or sand? Or a small trampoline? Just ideas...

To: autism-aspergers Sent: Friday, April 20, 2012 1:01 PM

Subject: Re: Re: 15 year old - no interests

My 7 yo is at the Lego stage now. He was given to huge tubs of Str Wars Legos and creates his own ships and puts the Lego characters on them. My oldest never took to Legos, though we tried to get him to build things with them. He would either just stack them up in a tall tower or line them up side by side. Same with Hot Wheel racecars. Instead of playing with them, he would line them up and say they were parked.

As for outside activities, we have a back yard now and my son does like to go out in it by himself, though all he does is walk around with a stick whacking things to make noise. I need to get him some things to play with now that the weather is beginning to show signs of spring.

Ashton

My nine year old with PDD-NOS has always zeroed in on one particular thing. For a long time, it was Legos. We have mountains of Legos stored in boxes in the closet as he no longer plays with them. In fact, he won't play with anything at all except MineCraft or Roblox and a couple of other games on the computer. This is all he does. This is all he is interested in. When I make him get off, he just sits in a chair quietly until he can go back on again. He does read, but when we insisted he come out to play volley ball with his cousins, he tried, but then stood in the middle of the lawn reading a book.

I feel very conflicted about the amount of time he spends on the computer. I like how it is building up his small motor skills and problem solving skills and helps with his socialization skills, etc.

I like how he is really, really good at something because he struggles so much in other areas of his life, especially schoolwork. I like that he has made three good friends with similar interests and they talk online to each other about whatever it is they do in a game. But it's a sedentary activity. I'm noticing a little bit of tummy fat (he has always been thin). No sunshine? Fresh air? This has to be really bad for him. But, what to do about it??? I'm at a loss.

Sent: Friday, April 20, 2012 9:57 AM Subject: Re: Re: 15 year old - no interests

This is exactly how it is in my house. 2 Auties and Me the Aspie and an NT hubby. I dunno how he puts up with us, but all 3 of them are gamers, and my youngest (7) has driven us nuts with the I can't finish it, do it for me. I had to tell both my hubby and oldest NOT to do that, let him either work it out or find a different game. I'm not a gamer, but a book reader (love my Nook Color), and a computer person.

I have struggled over the years with guilt about the alone time spent on games and computers, but since coming to grips about why we do it, I'm not as bad about it now. I still require reading time with the youngest, game nights with real board games, even though he's the tantrum king if he loses. I've had to teach him to say Good Game if he loses, though many times he does it through tears, but we get through it.

My oldest has a whole network of friends on the 360 that he plays games with and talks to. BOTH of them do very well, or as best they can, socially at school and online. My youngest isn't allowed to talk online due to the swearing issue that other kids/adults do on there, as he's a repeater. I heard him beeping himself where swear words should be, so I cut him off from games with that sort of thing in them, and told him no online talking cuz those people use naughty words and you repeat them, and we don't do that in this house.

Ashton (mom with Aspergers with two Autistic sons)

My 13yo aspie son is a total gamer. We limit how much time he gets to spend on them, but as long as he keeps his grades up, and gets his chores done, we're not too hard on him.

One thing that a lot of people outside of our world don't really understand, is that he finds a social outlet in them as well, when we allow him to play online. He's learning how to talk to people appropriately, how to share talking time, and how to communicate team work.

He has always loved games. When he was 4, I picked up a used gamecube from someone in a near by city. I didn't know how to hook it up, and my husband was sick in bed with the flu. My son got impatient, and while I was picking my older daughter up from school the next day, he figured out how to hook it up, and was playing it by the time we got home.

We have run into melt downs over getting stuck and being unable to finish a game. My husband would work with him on problem solving for the issue he was having at the time, and let HIM work out how to try and solve it. If he melted down again, then game time was simply over. Over the years, he's long since moved past the point where he would have melt downs over not being able to do a game. Now, if he gets stuck, he looks up hints online, tries to problem solve it, or as a last result, ends the game and picks a different one.

I'll also admit, with 2 aspies AND a teenager in the house, it's gotten easier over the past year to seperate the kids by pointing one at the computer, one at the video games, and one at my husband's computer. We do try to limit time wise, but if chores are done, homework is done, and everyone is being good, I'll totally let it slide.

Why? No arguing kids, no kids telling the other one what they SHOULD be doing, no kids getting stubborn and argumentative, and no kids being antagonistic towards the others. My piece of mind is TOTALLY worth an extra hour of game time.

>

> I know computer games are controversial, we are OK with them because my son's high ADHD actually responds to the medium.

>

> Anyway, he is really taken with this as a hobby:

>

> I will warn you though- he has total meltdowns when he can't figure out how to do what he wants. There are Youtube tutorials out there that help.

>

> The games Terraria and MineCraft are open ended creative type games that also include battling monsters, etc. DS enjoys these and it is possible to play online with others in some circumstances.

>

> We use a tightly controlled (by us) server that allows a few other kids on at a time. We set the rules so that DS can handle the interaction and since it's ours, we can turn off the server (evicting everyone) if things go poorly.

>

> DS is very fact-oriented. He loves searching Wiki for information on topics to teach his younger siblings. Very geeky- but what about D & D? The best players have to remember loads of data. Most comic book stores have a club of D & D or some other card based game going.

>

April 22, 2012

I always enjoy reading about the characteristics of other Aspie kids - all of the strange behavior my son has and does exhibit is apparently right in line with the norm! When my son was little, he had only 2 interests: legos and hot wheels....though he never built the lego ships that came in the kits, just either made his own ships or stacked them...same with the hot wheels...rarely played with them like cars, but he could sure make one heck of an organized parking lot! When he was in 2nd grade, his teacher read the class a Captain Underpants book...my son LOVED these stories, and this started his love for books...he has probably spent the majority of his 16 years with his nose in a book (we've had to cut the power to his room, remove light bulbs, remove every single book, etc. to get him to sleep and not read the night through)...he finally made 2 friends a few years ago, and though he now does socialize a little bit at school...he only has 2 true friends. His interests are minimal, and what he is interested in, he researches the heck out of it and obsesses on it until he is an expert and has found something else to move on to (the phases last a really, really long time though). It was cute to read about another child that " jumps " ...ever since my son could walk, if something was exciting or funny or made him angry, he would run around and jump up and down and either giggle or shout. In a nutshell, my son's interests are pretty limited to books and anything with a screen, and food. For a punishment method, we used to have him run laps up and down the stairs, or other exercises, which he hated, so it was a good deterant while providing some much-needed exercise. He is the only kid I know that prefers to sit inside with a book on a sunny day, or sit in the tent reading while camping, or in the hotel watching cartoons (regardless of what language they are in) while travelling. My son also has generalized anxiety disorder, and I think that had we not forced him to overcome some of his anxiety and try things he didn't want to, he might have no interests at all. As tough as it can be to make him do something he doesn't want to, he is always glad we did in the end.We do have to limit screen time, as he has problems distinguishing fiction from non-fiction (he understands what they are, just confuses them in reality), so video games can cause problems.I hope this has helped at all....good luck, and have a super great weekend!Thanks to all of you for sharing your experiences and questions...we have had little to no support since my son's diagnosis 8 years ago, and it is so nice to see we are not alone! I don't post often, but do really enjoy reading everyone's posts! Take Care!> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Mine doesn't like to get dirty either although when he was young he loved to play in sand. (He's 9) Indoor trampolines are great. Have one. What about riding toys? A big wheel? Or some such? There is a water toy I found that is a large plastic tray with channels and a bridge and plastic boats that mine loved.> > > > To: autism-aspergers > Sent: Saturday, April 21, 2012> 11:34 AM> Subject: Re: Re: 15 year old - no interests> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Oh yes to the trampoline, not too sure about the sand, as he doesn't like his hands dirty, and yes to the water. My son's a jumper. When he gets anxious (over video games), he jumps while he plays, just on the floor. When we lost our cat, he jumped and cried all day. I'm hoping to be able to get him a trampoline this summer. Might even get him one of those exercise ones that he can take outside or keep in his room. A friend of ours let him borrow hers once and he loved it.> > > Ashton> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Does he like water or sand? Or a small trampoline? Just ideas...> > > > > > To: autism-aspergers > > Sent: Friday, April 20, 2012 1:01 PM> > Subject: Re: Re: 15 year old - no interests> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > My 7 yo is at the Lego stage now. He was given to huge tubs of Str Wars Legos and creates his own ships and puts the Lego characters on them. My oldest never took to Legos, though we tried to get him to build things with them. He would either just stack them up in a tall tower or line them up side by side. Same with Hot Wheel racecars. Instead of playing with them, he would line them up and say they were parked.> > > > As for outside activities, we have a back yard now and my son does like to go out in it by himself, though all he does is walk around with a stick whacking things to make noise. I need to get him some things to play with now that the weather is beginning to show signs of spring.> > > > Ashton> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > My nine year old with PDD-NOS has always zeroed in on one particular thing. For a long time, it was Legos. We have mountains of Legos stored in boxes in the closet as he no longer plays with them. In fact, he won't play with anything at all except MineCraft or Roblox and a couple of other games on the computer. This is all he does. This is all he is interested in. When I make him get off, he just sits in a chair quietly until he can go back on again. He does read, but when we insisted he come out to play volley ball with his cousins, he tried, but then stood in the middle of the lawn reading a book.> > > I feel very conflicted about the amount of time he spends on the computer. I like how it is building up his small motor skills and problem solving skills and helps with his socialization skills, etc.> I like how he is really, really good at something because he struggles so much in other areas of his life, especially schoolwork. I like that he has made three good friends with similar interests and they talk online to each other about whatever it is they do in a game. But it's a sedentary activity. I'm noticing a little bit of tummy fat (he has always been thin). No sunshine? Fresh air? This has to be really bad for him. But, what to do about it??? I'm at a loss.> > > > > > > > To: autism-aspergers > > > Sent: Friday, April 20, 2012 9:57 AM> Subject: Re: Re: 15 year old - no interests> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > This is exactly how it is in my house. 2 Auties and Me the Aspie and an NT hubby. I dunno how he puts up with us, but all 3 of them are gamers, and my youngest (7) has driven us nuts with the I can't finish it, do it for me. I had to tell both my hubby and oldest NOT to do that, let him either work it out or find a different game. I'm not a gamer, but a book reader (love my Nook Color), and a computer person. > > > > > I have struggled over the years with guilt about the alone time spent on games and computers, but since coming to grips about why we do it, I'm not as bad about it now. I still require reading time with the youngest, game nights with real board games, even though he's the tantrum king if he loses. I've had to teach him to say Good Game if he loses, though many times he does it through tears, but we get through it. > > > > > My oldest has a whole network of friends on the 360 that he plays games with and talks to. BOTH of them do very well, or as best they can, socially at school and online. My youngest isn't allowed to talk online due to the swearing issue that other kids/adults do on there, as he's a repeater. I heard him beeping himself where swear words should be, so I cut him off from games with that sort of thing in them, and told him no online talking cuz those people use naughty words and you repeat them, and we don't do that in this house.> > > > > Ashton (mom with Aspergers with two Autistic sons)> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > My 13yo aspie son is a total gamer. We limit how much time he gets to spend on them, but as long as he keeps his grades up, and gets his chores done, we're not too hard on him.> > > > One thing that a lot of people outside of our world don't really understand, is that he finds a social outlet in them as well, when we allow him to play online. He's learning how to talk to people appropriately, how to share talking time, and how to communicate team work. > > > > > > > He has always loved games. When he was 4, I picked up a used gamecube from someone in a near by city. I didn't know how to hook it up, and my husband was sick in bed with the flu. My son got impatient, and while I was picking my older daughter up from school the next day, he figured out how to hook it up, and was playing it by the time we got home.> > > > > > > We have run into melt downs over getting stuck and being unable to finish a game. My husband would work with him on problem solving for the issue he was having at the time, and let HIM work out how to try and solve it. If he melted down again, then game time was simply over. Over the years, he's long since moved past the point where he would have melt downs over not being able to do a game. Now, if he gets stuck, he looks up hints online, tries to problem solve it, or as a last result, ends the game and picks a different one.> > > > > > > I'll also admit, with 2 aspies AND a teenager in the house, it's gotten easier over the past year to seperate the kids by pointing one at the computer, one at the video games, and one at my husband's computer. We do try to limit time wise, but if chores are done, homework is done, and everyone is being good, I'll totally let it slide.> > > > > > > Why? No arguing kids, no kids telling the other one what they SHOULD be doing, no kids getting stubborn and argumentative, and no kids being antagonistic towards the others. My piece of mind is TOTALLY worth an extra hour of game time. > > > > > > > > > >> > > > > > > > > I know computer games are controversial, we are OK with them because my son's high ADHD actually responds to the medium. > > > > > > Anyway, he is really taken with this as a hobby:> > > http://www.yoyogames.com/gamemaker/windows> > > > > > I will warn you though- he has total meltdowns when he can't figure out how to do what he wants. There are Youtube tutorials out there that help. > > > > > > The games Terraria and MineCraft are open ended creative type games that also include battling monsters, etc. DS enjoys these and it is possible to play online with others in some circumstances. > > > > > > We use a tightly controlled (by us) server that allows a few other kids on at a time. We set the rules so that DS can handle the interaction and since it's ours, we can turn off the server (evicting everyone) if things go poorly. > > > > > > > > > DS is very fact-oriented. He loves searching Wiki for information on topics to teach his younger siblings. Very geeky- but what about D&D? The best players have to remember loads of data. Most comic book stores have a club of D&D or some other card based game going.> > > > > >> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >

April 22, 2012

The conclusion that we have normal Aspie kids amuses me.Â The fact

that I see myself in so many of them is comforting in a way.Â Who

wouldn't rather read a book than go camping?Â Perfectly normal

behaviour

Â

I always enjoy reading about the characteristics of other

Aspie kids - all of the strange behavior my son has and

does exhibit is apparently right in line with the norm!

When my son was little, he had only 2 interests: legos and

hot wheels....though he never built the lego ships that

came in the kits, just either made his own ships or

stacked them...same with the hot wheels...rarely played

with them like cars, but he could sure make one heck of an

organized parking lot! When he was in 2nd grade, his

teacher read the class a Captain Underpants book...my son

LOVED these stories, and this started his love for

books...he has probably spent the majority of his 16 years

with his nose in a book (we've had to cut the power to his

room, remove light bulbs, remove every single book, etc.

to get him to sleep and not read the night through)...he

finally made 2 friends a few years ago, and though he now

does socialize a little bit at school...he only has 2 true

friends. His interests are minimal, and what he is

interested in, he researches the heck out of it and

obsesses on it until he is an expert and has found

something else to move on to (the phases last a really,

really long time though).

It was cute to read about another child that

"jumps"...ever since my son could walk, if something was

exciting or funny or made him angry, he would run around

and jump up and down and either giggle or shout.

In a nutshell, my son's interests are pretty limited to

books and anything with a screen, and food. For a

punishment method, we used to have him run laps up and

down the stairs, or other exercises, which he hated, so it

was a good deterant while providing some much-needed

exercise. He is the only kid I know that prefers to sit

inside with a book on a sunny day, or sit in the tent

reading while camping, or in the hotel watching cartoons

(regardless of what language they are in) while

travelling. My son also has generalized anxiety disorder,

and I think that had we not forced him to overcome some of

his anxiety and try things he didn't want to, he might

have no interests at all. As tough as it can be to make

him do something he doesn't want to, he is always glad we

did in the end.

We do have to limit screen time, as he has problems

distinguishing fiction from non-fiction (he understands

what they are, just confuses them in reality), so video

games can cause problems.

I hope this has helped at all....good luck, and have a

super great weekend!

Thanks to all of you for sharing your experiences and

questions...we have had little to no support since my

son's diagnosis 8 years ago, and it is so nice to see we

are not alone! I don't post often, but do really enjoy

reading everyone's posts! Take Care!

>

> ï¿½

>

> Mine doesn't like to get dirty either although when

he was young he loved to play in sand. (He's 9) Indoor

trampolines are great. Have one. What about riding toys? A

big wheel? Or some such? There is a water toy I found that

is a large plastic tray with channels and a bridge and

plastic boats that mine loved.

>

> Sent: Saturday, April 21, 2012

> 11:34 AM

> Subject: Re: Re: 15 year old - no

interests

>

> ï¿½

>

> Oh yes to the trampoline, not too sure about the

sand, as he doesn't like his hands dirty, and yes to the

water.ï¿½ My son's a jumper. When he gets anxious (over

video games), he jumps while he plays, just on the floor.

When we lost our cat, he jumped and cried all day.ï¿½ I'm

hoping to be able to get him a trampoline this summer.ï¿½

Might even get him one of those exercise ones that he can

take outside or keep in his room.ï¿½ A friend of ours let

him borrow hers once and he loved it.

>

> Ashton

>

> On Sat, Apr 21, 2012 at 3:54 AM, Van Laan

crowlady18@...> wrote:

>

> ï¿½

>

> Does he like water or sand? Or a small trampoline?

Just ideas...

>

>

> Sent: Friday, April 20, 2012 1:01 PM

>

> Subject: Re: Re: 15 year old - no

interests

>

> ï¿½

>

> My 7 yo is at the Lego stage now.ï¿½ He was given to

huge tubs of Str Wars Legos and creates his own ships and

puts the Lego characters on them. My oldest never took to

Legos, though we tried to get him to build things with

them.ï¿½ He would either just stack them up in a tall tower

or line them up side by side. Same with Hot Wheel

racecars.ï¿½ Instead of playing with them, he would line

them up and say they were parked.

>

> As for outside activities, we have a back yard now

and my son does like to go out in it by himself, though

all he does is walk around with a stick whacking things to

make noise.ï¿½ I need to get him some things to play with

now that the weather is beginning to show signs of spring.

>

> Ashton

>

> On Fri, Apr 20, 2012 at 9:35 AM, Van Laan

crowlady18@...> wrote:

>

> ï¿½

>

> My nine year old with PDD-NOS has always zeroed in on

one particular thing. For a long time, it was Legos. We

have mountains of Legos stored in boxes in the closet as

he no longer plays with them. In fact, he won't play with

anything at all except MineCraft or Roblox and a couple of

other games on the computer. This is all he does. This is

all he is interested in. When I make him get off, he just

sits in a chair quietly until he can go back on again. He

does read, but when we insisted he come out to play volley

ball with his cousins, he tried, but then stood in the

middle of the lawn reading a book.

>

> I feel very conflicted about the amount of time he

spends on the computer. I like how it is building up his

small motor skills and problem solving skills and helps

with his socialization skills, etc.

> I like how he is really, really good at something

because he struggles so much in other areas of his life,

especially schoolwork. I like that he has made three good

friends with similar interests and they talk online to

each other about whatever it is they do in a game. But

it's a sedentary activity. I'm noticing a little bit of

tummy fat (he has always been thin). No sunshine? Fresh

air? This has to be really bad for him. But, what to do

about it??? I'm at a loss.

>

> > http://www.yoyogames.com/gamemaker/windows

>

> Sent: Friday, April 20, 2012 9:57 AM

> Subject: Re: Re: 15 year old - no

interests

>

> ï¿½

>

> This is exactly how it is in my house.ï¿½ 2 Auties and

Me the Aspie and an NT hubby.ï¿½ I dunno how he puts up with

us, but all 3 of them are gamers, and my youngest (7) has

driven us nuts with the I can't finish it, do it for me.ï¿½

I had to tell both my hubby and oldest NOT to do that, let

him either work it out or find a different game.ï¿½ I'm not

a gamer, but a book reader (love my Nook Color), and a

computer person.ï¿½

>

> I have struggled over the years with guilt about the

alone time spent on games and computers, but since coming

to grips about why we do it, I'm not as bad about it now.ï¿½

I still require reading time with the youngest, game

nights with real board games, even though he's the tantrum

king if he loses.ï¿½ I've had to teach him to say Good Game

if he loses, though many times he does it through tears,

but we get through it.ï¿½

>

> My oldest has a whole network of friends on the 360

that he plays games with and talks to.ï¿½ BOTH of them do

very well, or as best they can, socially at school and

online.ï¿½ My youngest isn't allowed to talk online due to

the swearing issue that other kids/adults do on there, as

he's a repeater.ï¿½ I heard him beeping himself where swear

words should be, so I cut him off from games with that

sort of thing in them, and told him no online talking cuz

those people use naughty words and you repeat them, and we

don't do that in this house.

>

> Ashton (mom with Aspergers with two Autistic sons)

>

> On Thu, Apr 19, 2012 at 6:11 PM, herberkids3

herberkids3@...> wrote:

>

> ï¿½

>

> My 13yo aspie son is a total gamer. We limit how much

time he gets to spend on them, but as long as he keeps his

grades up, and gets his chores done, we're not too hard on

him.

>

> One thing that a lot of people outside of our world

don't really understand, is that he finds a social outlet

in them as well, when we allow him to play online. He's

learning how to talk to people appropriately, how to share

talking time, and how to communicate team work.

>

> He has always loved games. When he was 4, I picked up

a used gamecube from someone in a near by city. I didn't

know how to hook it up, and my husband was sick in bed

with the flu. My son got impatient, and while I was

picking my older daughter up from school the next day, he

figured out how to hook it up, and was playing it by the

time we got home.

>

> We have run into melt downs over getting stuck and

being unable to finish a game. My husband would work with

him on problem solving for the issue he was having at the

time, and let HIM work out how to try and solve it. If he

melted down again, then game time was simply over. Over

the years, he's long since moved past the point where he

would have melt downs over not being able to do a game.

Now, if he gets stuck, he looks up hints online, tries to

problem solve it, or as a last result, ends the game and

picks a different one.

>

> I'll also admit, with 2 aspies AND a teenager in the

house, it's gotten easier over the past year to seperate

the kids by pointing one at the computer, one at the video

games, and one at my husband's computer. We do try to

limit time wise, but if chores are done, homework is done,

and everyone is being good, I'll totally let it slide.

>

> Why? No arguing kids, no kids telling the other one

what they SHOULD be doing, no kids getting stubborn and

argumentative, and no kids being antagonistic towards the

others. My piece of mind is TOTALLY worth an extra hour of

game time.

>

> >

>

> >

>

> >

>

> > I know computer games are controversial, we are

OK with them because my son's high ADHD actually responds

to the medium.

>

> >

>

> > Anyway, he is really taken with this as a hobby:

>

>

> >

>

> > I will warn you though- he has total meltdowns

when he can't figure out how to do what he wants. There

are Youtube tutorials out there that help.

>

> >

>

> > The games Terraria and MineCraft are open ended

creative type games that also include battling monsters,

etc. DS enjoys these and it is possible to play online

with others in some circumstances.

>

> >

>

> > We use a tightly controlled (by us) server that

allows a few other kids on at a time. We set the rules so

that DS can handle the interaction and since it's ours, we

can turn off the server (evicting everyone) if things go

poorly.

>

> >

>

> > DS is very fact-oriented. He loves searching

Wiki for information on topics to teach his younger

siblings. Very geeky- but what about D & D? The best

players have to remember loads of data. Most comic book

stores have a club of D & D or some other card based

game going.

>

> >

>

No virus

found in this message.

Checked by AVG - www.avg.com

Version: 2012.0.1913 / Virus Database: 2411/4951 - Release Date:

04/21/12

April 22, 2012

I would rather cut off my right arm (literally) than go camping! At least tent camping. My inlaws have a double wide w/ a florida room w/ a/c and heat and fans and comfy beds, running water and a full kitchen etc.....that's my kinda camping and I can read my book there too To: autism-aspergers Sent:

Saturday, April 21, 2012 7:56 PM Subject: Re: Re: 15 year old - no interests

The conclusion that we have normal Aspie kids amuses me. The fact

that I see myself in so many of them is comforting in a way. Who

wouldn't rather read a book than go camping? Perfectly normal

behaviour

I always enjoy reading about the characteristics of other

Aspie kids - all of the strange behavior my son has and

does exhibit is apparently right in line with the norm!

When my son was little, he had only 2 interests: legos and

hot wheels....though he never built the lego ships that

came in the kits, just either made his own ships or

stacked them...same with the hot wheels...rarely played

with them like cars, but he could sure make one heck of an

organized parking lot! When he was in 2nd grade, his

teacher read the class a Captain Underpants book...my son

LOVED these stories, and this started his love for

books...he has probably spent the majority of his 16 years

with his nose in a book (we've had to cut the power to his

room, remove light bulbs, remove every single book, etc.

to get him to sleep and not read the night through)...he

finally made 2 friends a few years ago, and though he now

does socialize a little bit at school...he only has 2 true

friends. His interests are minimal, and what he is

interested in, he researches the heck out of it and

obsesses on it until he is an expert and has found

something else to move on to (the phases last a really,

really long time though).

It was cute to read about another child that

"jumps"...ever since my son could walk, if something was

exciting or funny or made him angry, he would run around

and jump up and down and either giggle or shout.

In a nutshell, my son's interests are pretty limited to

books and anything with a screen, and food. For a

punishment method, we used to have him run laps up and

down the stairs, or other exercises, which he hated, so it

was a good deterant while providing some much-needed

exercise. He is the only kid I know that prefers to sit

inside with a book on a sunny day, or sit in the tent

reading while camping, or in the hotel watching cartoons

(regardless of what language they are in) while

travelling. My son also has generalized anxiety disorder,

and I think that had we not forced him to overcome some of

his anxiety and try things he didn't want to, he might

have no interests at all. As tough as it can be to make

him do something he doesn't want to, he is always glad we

did in the end.

We do have to limit screen time, as he has problems

distinguishing fiction from non-fiction (he understands

what they are, just confuses them in reality), so video

games can cause problems.

I hope this has helped at all....good luck, and have a

super great weekend!

Thanks to all of you for sharing your experiences and

questions...we have had little to no support since my

son's diagnosis 8 years ago, and it is so nice to see we

are not alone! I don't post often, but do really enjoy

reading everyone's posts! Take Care!

>

> ï¿½

>

> Mine doesn't like to get dirty either although when

he was young he loved to play in sand. (He's 9) Indoor

trampolines are great. Have one. What about riding toys? A

big wheel? Or some such? There is a water toy I found that

is a large plastic tray with channels and a bridge and

plastic boats that mine loved.

>

> Sent: Saturday, April 21, 2012

> 11:34 AM

> Subject: Re: Re: 15 year old - no

interests

>

> ï¿½

>

> Oh yes to the trampoline, not too sure about the

sand, as he doesn't like his hands dirty, and yes to the

water.ï¿½ My son's a jumper. When he gets anxious (over

video games), he jumps while he plays, just on the floor.

When we lost our cat, he jumped and cried all day.ï¿½ I'm

hoping to be able to get him a trampoline this summer.ï¿½

Might even get him one of those exercise ones that he can

take outside or keep in his room.ï¿½ A friend of ours let

him borrow hers once and he loved it.

>

> Ashton

>

> On Sat, Apr 21, 2012 at 3:54 AM, Van Laan

crowlady18@...> wrote:

>

> ï¿½

>

> Does he like water or sand? Or a small trampoline?

Just ideas...

>

>

> Sent: Friday, April 20, 2012 1:01 PM

>

> Subject: Re: Re: 15 year old - no

interests

>

> ï¿½

>

> My 7 yo is at the Lego stage now.ï¿½ He was given to

huge tubs of Str Wars Legos and creates his own ships and

puts the Lego characters on them. My oldest never took to

Legos, though we tried to get him to build things with

them.ï¿½ He would either just stack them up in a tall tower

or line them up side by side. Same with Hot Wheel

racecars.ï¿½ Instead of playing with them, he would line

them up and say they were parked.

>

> As for outside activities, we have a back yard now

and my son does like to go out in it by himself, though

all he does is walk around with a stick whacking things to

make noise.ï¿½ I need to get him some things to play with

now that the weather is beginning to show signs of spring.

>

> Ashton

>

> On Fri, Apr 20, 2012 at 9:35 AM, Van Laan

crowlady18@...> wrote:

>

> ï¿½

>

> My nine year old with PDD-NOS has always zeroed in on

one particular thing. For a long time, it was Legos. We

have mountains of Legos stored in boxes in the closet as

he no longer plays with them. In fact, he won't play with

anything at all except MineCraft or Roblox and a couple of

other games on the computer. This is all he does. This is

all he is interested in. When I make him get off, he just

sits in a chair quietly until he can go back on again. He

does read, but when we insisted he come out to play volley

ball with his cousins, he tried, but then stood in the

middle of the lawn reading a book.

>

> I feel very conflicted about the amount of time he

spends on the computer. I like how it is building up his

small motor skills and problem solving skills and helps

with his socialization skills, etc.

> I like how he is really, really good at something

because he struggles so much in other areas of his life,

especially schoolwork. I like that he has made three good

friends with similar interests and they talk online to

each other about whatever it is they do in a game. But

it's a sedentary activity. I'm noticing a little bit of

tummy fat (he has always been thin). No sunshine? Fresh

air? This has to be really bad for him. But, what to do

about it??? I'm at a loss.

>

> > http://www.yoyogames.com/gamemaker/windows

>

> Sent: Friday, April 20, 2012 9:57 AM

> Subject: Re: Re: 15 year old - no

interests

>

> ï¿½

>

> This is exactly how it is in my house.ï¿½ 2 Auties and

Me the Aspie and an NT hubby.ï¿½ I dunno how he puts up with

us, but all 3 of them are gamers, and my youngest (7) has

driven us nuts with the I can't finish it, do it for me.ï¿½

I had to tell both my hubby and oldest NOT to do that, let

him either work it out or find a different game.ï¿½ I'm not

a gamer, but a book reader (love my Nook Color), and a

computer person.ï¿½

>

> I have struggled over the years with guilt about the

alone time spent on games and computers, but since coming

to grips about why we do it, I'm not as bad about it now.ï¿½

I still require reading time with the youngest, game

nights with real board games, even though he's the tantrum

king if he loses.ï¿½ I've had to teach him to say Good Game

if he loses, though many times he does it through tears,

but we get through it.ï¿½

>

> My oldest has a whole network of friends on the 360

that he plays games with and talks to.ï¿½ BOTH of them do

very well, or as best they can, socially at school and

online.ï¿½ My youngest isn't allowed to talk online due to

the swearing issue that other kids/adults do on there, as

he's a repeater.ï¿½ I heard him beeping himself where swear

words should be, so I cut him off from games with that

sort of thing in them, and told him no online talking cuz

those people use naughty words and you repeat them, and we

don't do that in this house.

>

> Ashton (mom with Aspergers with two Autistic sons)

>

> On Thu, Apr 19, 2012 at 6:11 PM, herberkids3

herberkids3@...> wrote:

>

> ï¿½

>

> My 13yo aspie son is a total gamer. We limit how much

time he gets to spend on them, but as long as he keeps his

grades up, and gets his chores done, we're not too hard on

him.

>

> One thing that a lot of people outside of our world

don't really understand, is that he finds a social outlet

in them as well, when we allow him to play online. He's

learning how to talk to people appropriately, how to share

talking time, and how to communicate team work.

>

> He has always loved games. When he was 4, I picked up

a used gamecube from someone in a near by city. I didn't

know how to hook it up, and my husband was sick in bed

with the flu. My son got impatient, and while I was

picking my older daughter up from school the next day, he

figured out how to hook it up, and was playing it by the

time we got home.

>

> We have run into melt downs over getting stuck and

being unable to finish a game. My husband would work with

him on problem solving for the issue he was having at the

time, and let HIM work out how to try and solve it. If he

melted down again, then game time was simply over. Over

the years, he's long since moved past the point where he

would have melt downs over not being able to do a game.

Now, if he gets stuck, he looks up hints online, tries to

problem solve it, or as a last result, ends the game and

picks a different one.

>

> I'll also admit, with 2 aspies AND a teenager in the

house, it's gotten easier over the past year to seperate

the kids by pointing one at the computer, one at the video

games, and one at my husband's computer. We do try to

limit time wise, but if chores are done, homework is done,

and everyone is being good, I'll totally let it slide.

>

> Why? No arguing kids, no kids telling the other one

what they SHOULD be doing, no kids getting stubborn and

argumentative, and no kids being antagonistic towards the

others. My piece of mind is TOTALLY worth an extra hour of

game time.

>

> >

>

> >

>

> >

>

> > I know computer games are controversial, we are

OK with them because my son's high ADHD actually responds

to the medium.

>

> >

>

> > Anyway, he is really taken with this as a hobby:

>

>

> >

>

> > I will warn you though- he has total meltdowns

when he can't figure out how to do what he wants. There

are Youtube tutorials out there that help.

>

> >

>

> > The games Terraria and MineCraft are open ended

creative type games that also include battling monsters,

etc. DS enjoys these and it is possible to play online

with others in some circumstances.

>

> >

>

> > We use a tightly controlled (by us) server that

allows a few other kids on at a time. We set the rules so

that DS can handle the interaction and since it's ours, we

can turn off the server (evicting everyone) if things go

poorly.

>

> >

>

> > DS is very fact-oriented. He loves searching

Wiki for information on topics to teach his younger

siblings. Very geeky- but what about D & D? The best

players have to remember loads of data. Most comic book

stores have a club of D & D or some other card based

game going.

>

> >

>

No virus

found in this message.

Checked by AVG - www.avg.com

Version: 2012.0.1913 / Virus Database: 2411/4951 - Release Date:

04/21/12

April 22, 2012

I enjoy camping - as long as there are not too many people - but

reading a book is still my number one preference.Â

Â

I would rather cut off my right arm (literally)

than go camping!Â At least tent camping.Â My inlaws

have a double wide w/ a florida room w/ a/c and heat

and fans and comfy beds, running water and a full

kitchen etc.....that's my kinda camping and I can read

my book there too

Â

From:

Riley

To:

autism-aspergers

Sent:

Saturday, April 21, 2012 7:56 PM

Subject:

Re: Re: 15 year old - no

interests

Â

The conclusion that we have normal Aspie

kids amuses me.Â The fact that I see myself in

so many of them is comforting in a way.Â Who

wouldn't rather read a book than go camping?Â

Perfectly normal behaviour

On 22/04/2012 9:38 AM, jennifer.a.cassidy@...

wrote:

Â

I always enjoy reading about the

characteristics of other Aspie kids - all

of the strange behavior my son has and

does exhibit is apparently right in line

with the norm! When my son was little, he

had only 2 interests: legos and hot

wheels....though he never built the lego

ships that came in the kits, just either

made his own ships or stacked them...same

with the hot wheels...rarely played with

them like cars, but he could sure make one

heck of an organized parking lot! When he

was in 2nd grade, his teacher read the

class a Captain Underpants book...my son

LOVED these stories, and this started his

love for books...he has probably spent the

majority of his 16 years with his nose in

a book (we've had to cut the power to his

room, remove light bulbs, remove every

single book, etc. to get him to sleep and

not read the night through)...he finally

made 2 friends a few years ago, and though

he now does socialize a little bit at

school...he only has 2 true friends. His

interests are minimal, and what he is

interested in, he researches the heck out

of it and obsesses on it until he is an

expert and has found something else to

move on to (the phases last a really,

really long time though).

It was cute to read about another child

that "jumps"...ever since my son could

walk, if something was exciting or funny

or made him angry, he would run around and

jump up and down and either giggle or

shout.

In a nutshell, my son's interests are

pretty limited to books and anything with

a screen, and food. For a punishment

method, we used to have him run laps up

and down the stairs, or other exercises,

which he hated, so it was a good deterant

while providing some much-needed exercise.

He is the only kid I know that prefers to

sit inside with a book on a sunny day, or

sit in the tent reading while camping, or

in the hotel watching cartoons (regardless

of what language they are in) while

travelling. My son also has generalized

anxiety disorder, and I think that had we

not forced him to overcome some of his

anxiety and try things he didn't want to,

he might have no interests at all. As

tough as it can be to make him do

something he doesn't want to, he is always

glad we did in the end.

We do have to limit screen time, as he has

problems distinguishing fiction from

non-fiction (he understands what they are,

just confuses them in reality), so video

games can cause problems.

I hope this has helped at all....good

luck, and have a super great weekend!

Thanks to all of you for sharing your

experiences and questions...we have had

little to no support since my son's

diagnosis 8 years ago, and it is so nice

to see we are not alone! I don't post

often, but do really enjoy reading

everyone's posts! Take Care!

On , Van Laan

wrote:

>

> ï¿½

>

> Mine doesn't like to get dirty either

although when he was young he loved to

play in sand. (He's 9) Indoor trampolines

are great. Have one. What about riding

toys? A big wheel? Or some such? There is

a water toy I found that is a large

plastic tray with channels and a bridge

and plastic boats that mine loved.

>

> Sent: Saturday, April 21, 2012

> 11:34 AM

> Subject: Re: Re:

15 year old - no interests

>

> ï¿½

>

> Oh yes to the trampoline, not too

sure about the sand, as he doesn't like

his hands dirty, and yes to the water.ï¿½ My

son's a jumper. When he gets anxious (over

video games), he jumps while he plays,

just on the floor. When we lost our cat,

he jumped and cried all day.ï¿½ I'm hoping

to be able to get him a trampoline this

summer.ï¿½ Might even get him one of those

exercise ones that he can take outside or

keep in his room.ï¿½ A friend of ours let

him borrow hers once and he loved it.

>

> Ashton

>

> On Sat, Apr 21, 2012 at 3:54 AM,

Van Laan crowlady18@...>

wrote:

>

> ï¿½

>

> Does he like water or sand? Or a

small trampoline? Just ideas...

>

>

> Sent: Friday, April 20, 2012 1:01 PM

>

> Subject: Re: Re:

15 year old - no interests

>

> ï¿½

>

> My 7 yo is at the Lego stage now.ï¿½ He

was given to huge tubs of Str Wars Legos

and creates his own ships and puts the

Lego characters on them. My oldest never

took to Legos, though we tried to get him

to build things with them.ï¿½ He would

either just stack them up in a tall tower

or line them up side by side. Same with

Hot Wheel racecars.ï¿½ Instead of playing

with them, he would line them up and say

they were parked.

>

> As for outside activities, we have a

back yard now and my son does like to go

out in it by himself, though all he does

is walk around with a stick whacking

things to make noise.ï¿½ I need to get him

some things to play with now that the

weather is beginning to show signs of

spring.

>

> Ashton

>

> On Fri, Apr 20, 2012 at 9:35 AM,

Van Laan crowlady18@...>

wrote:

>

> ï¿½

>

> My nine year old with PDD-NOS has

always zeroed in on one particular thing.

For a long time, it was Legos. We have

mountains of Legos stored in boxes in the

closet as he no longer plays with them. In

fact, he won't play with anything at all

except MineCraft or Roblox and a couple of

other games on the computer. This is all

he does. This is all he is interested in.

When I make him get off, he just sits in a

chair quietly until he can go back on

again. He does read, but when we insisted

he come out to play volley ball with his

cousins, he tried, but then stood in the

middle of the lawn reading a book.

>

> I feel very conflicted about the

amount of time he spends on the computer.

I like how it is building up his small

motor skills and problem solving skills

and helps with his socialization skills,

etc.

> I like how he is really, really good

at something because he struggles so much

in other areas of his life, especially

schoolwork. I like that he has made three

good friends with similar interests and

they talk online to each other about

whatever it is they do in a game. But it's

a sedentary activity. I'm noticing a

little bit of tummy fat (he has always

been thin). No sunshine? Fresh air? This

has to be really bad for him. But, what to

do about it??? I'm at a loss.

>