Aspergers, computer games and nutrition

Filed under:Behavior — posted by admin on March 24, 2009 @ 2:08 pm

Hi there it’s time for this weeks Aspergers blog post …

But before then I just want to ensure you are updated with the latest news on the Parenting Aspergers Community.

After a brief closure so that I could ensure that all members are being well looked after the site is back open again for new members.

And following a number of email requests … I have agreed to keep the current introductory offer open for another 6 days only.

If you want to learn more or sign up NOW just go to:

http://www.parentingaspergerscommunity.com/public/10.cfm

OK on to this week’s article …

Question

I have a partner and many family members with Asperger’s, but the worst affected is 19. He has very limited social skills, his eating pattern is poor, and so is his sleeping pattern. But he is addicted to a game on his computer. How do we as parents encourage him to spend less time on the computer, eat better, and sleep more?

Answer

Playing electronic games provides repetition, consistency, and security in his life. Also, electronic games are predictable. He can count on the same actions and results every time he plays the games. People with Asperger’s Syndrome want to feel safe and secure in their activities. The electronic games allow him to follow predetermined rules that result in predictable outcomes.

It sounds like your son is concentrating on electronic games at the expense of his health. He spends time in front of a video screen that could be better spent learning new eating habits and practicing better sleeping patterns.

Check into Asperger’s support groups for your son; there might be one in your local area. Support groups give advice on daily living skills and healthy lifestyles. Encourage your son to join one of these groups; he will meet people who are his age and may be experiencing similar difficulties with Asperger’s Syndrome. In addition to information, a support group can give your son the opportunity to talk about his feelings about Asperger’s and the help necessary for him to cope with adult responsibilities.

Another resource for your son is an Asperger’s specialist who can inform and teach your son social skills. A specialist, such as a psychiatrist, might prescribe Melatonin, which will help your son sleep better at night.

Your son is in his late teens, and he is fast approaching adulthood. You can use reasoning and negotiation instead of rules and orders. However, if the excessive computer use continues, you might need to move it into a room that restricts his access to it. Also, the computer can be used as a reward if your son tries new foods and establishes a regular pattern of sleep. Although your son is getting older, there are rules that are still effective in changing his behaviour; you should establish those rules in your household.

In terms of nutrition, many autistic children suffer from food allergies, overgrowth of intestinal yeast, and sensitivity to sugar and dairy products. Consult a doctor to see if your son needs to adjust his diet. Changing your son’s diet to wheat-free, dairy-free, and sugar-free products requires patience because people with Asperger’s can be very strong-willed, and implementing change can be difficult for both of you. See if other family members will adopt a diet similar to your son’s; this will make him feel integrated into the family. Also, read diet books, look into websites, and read advice from nutritionists.

Your son’s sleep patterns can be changed with consistent hours. He needs to establish a time that he will go to bed each evening and get up each morning. If he complains that he cannot get to sleep or wake up at a given time, tell him that there are parts of our bodies called circadian rhythms, and they help our bodies rest. If your son can get to bed at a specific time several nights in a row, the circadian rhythms in his body will reset and help him go to sleep and wake up at a given time each evening and morning. Remove all distractions from his bedroom to help him concentrate on rest and sleep.

That’s all for this week … and don’t forget to take advantage of the extended special offer to join The Parenting Aspergers Community go straight to:

http://www.parentingaspergerscommunity.com/public/10.cfm

Thanks and have a great day

Dave Angel

comments (15)

15 comments »

My 12/13 yr old grandson likes certain foods which limits his intake. He likes four weatbix in the morning (the brown sugar is metered out). His lunch is usually two pieces of white high fibre bread or a white bun, unbuttered, with small bag of chips. (he doesn’t mind a small amount of marmite on it). Homemade cake or cookie fruit (not banana or apple in his lunchbox). Will eat prunes or apricots. Tea time very limited. give token amount of peas, will eat raw carrot, the odd broccolli head, small potato (leaves most of it), grated Edam cheese, Fruit and a glass of milk. Likes Icecram and chocolate sauce and self saucing chocolate pudding. Scones and piklets.
Eating carbs makes him a big fella although the pediatrician says he will change the older he gets.
Bedtime is according to his age and school year. Homework and setting the table is always done during the week.
Computer time is taken away for demerits.
He dries his back after bath or shower better if he sees in a mirror. Got this tip from an expert in AS.
Likes his basketball, softball and table tennis although basketball is all he plays now.
It is good for him if his friend comes down from North and they tend to play outside a bit more. Make him walk the dog once a day if he is down here.

Comment by Lillian Carde — March 24, 2009 @ 5:37 pm
I coninue to be amazed at how many people post the same exact questions that I have. While I cannot offer any sugestions regarding this question, I certainly appreciate the fact that it is being asked since we are experiencing these same 3 problems with our son! Thank you very much for any advice!

Comment by Kelly Wilson — March 24, 2009 @ 6:27 pm
My son too is a really picky eater! He sometimes eats grapes,apple wedges w/o peel, sometimes corn on the cob(but no corn nibblets in a can).He eats chicken nuggets(but not otherwise cooked,skinless)french fries,rice and pasta with butter or ketchup….,peanutbutter,Wheat Thin crackers,bacon,certain cereals,icecream,candy,milk,water some juice packs, pancackes/waffles. That is basically the gist of things! He is NEVER open to trying new things either.I have tried to ‘hide’healthy things in their food, but he knows it right away and then he won’t touch that item for a while,if ever again.
I’m not one to bribe, but I actually have,to no avail.
Any tips?

Comment by Hilde Rist — March 24, 2009 @ 7:38 pm
The advice is great, but as we all know it’s the implementation that is the hard part. Persistant and consistant is the only way.
To all carers please be kind to yourselves when things don’t seems to be going well – you are all angels doing the best you can for special people who teach us much about viewing the world from a different angle.

Comment by Tanja — March 25, 2009 @ 4:11 am
My son is 12(Aspergers) and he has never gone to bed early since he was born, he tends to go between 1130-1230 and gets up at 7 for school, I use to worry and try to get him in bed earlier but it’s difficult to make someone sleep when they are not tired, as he has never had problems getting up or being tired at school I’ve given up worrying, he obviously does not need a lot of sleep unlike me!!!
The same with his eating habits, he eats very healthily as he does not like sweets and loved fish, meat, veg and fruit, but eating is not something that interests him, I use to run around after him shoving food in his mouth but now I know he is growing normally and he will eat when he is hungry. When he was younger I use to feed him while he was playing the computer as he ate automaticaly and I could get more into him.

Comment by Karen Robins — March 25, 2009 @ 8:42 am
My son age 13 (aspergers) will only eat: sugary cereal, spaghetti with smooth tomato sauce (nothing added except sugar), turkey tacos (turkey, taco seasoning, cheddar cheese, flour tortilla), pizza (has every day for lunch), pancakes (with lots of syrup if he pours it), and Publix chicken tenders (full of fat). I cannot get him to eat (or get near) a vegetable or fruit. He may eat 1/4 of a banana if I beg and plead. Any suggestions on how to get him to eat veggies? Thanks.

Comment by Betty — March 25, 2009 @ 9:17 am
Our son is a 7yr old aspie. He enjoys TV and computer. And has certian foods he likes. To get aroud his Tv and computer habits we have set limits, on week days he has to do homework first and play outside for 2 hrs. and no Tv or computer till after supper. and bed time is @ 8pm. When we set rules he takes them as law. In order to get chores done they are written down and posted in his room. This wasreally easy for him to do.

When he was a tot we had a hard tim getting him to anything but French fries. At 4yrs old I wastired of making seperate meals so I put my foot down, the rule:s was If you do not eat you will go to bed with an empty belly. For the first week I cried because he did. Eventually he understood. Now he will eat a few bits of everything and all the good stuffis saved for the weekend.

Even though he was in bed at 8pm he would lie in bed playing with his fingers till 3am. When he was in the first grade I put him on a quater of a melatoin tablet. And this helped him alot.
Over the past year and a half we have made major improvements.

Comment by Dannie — March 25, 2009 @ 9:22 am
My 18 year old daughter is always on her computer doing her artwork and socializing with friends. She could stay up all night if I let her. She also will skip dinner to answer emails. She is working with her therapist on how to change these bad habits.

Comment by Tammi Nishimura — March 25, 2009 @ 9:26 am
Have you tried visual simulous? Like a chart with pictures of food and words eat then pictures of video computer games maybe laminated so he can check them off? His requirement for repetition and his “own world” is something I have with my daughter, but with this prompts, i did them for hygene, getting ready in morning, night, school routine etc. Now I just have to say them.

One thing I was doing wrong before was using language like “If you don’t do this than you can’t do or won’t get..” She didnt’ react well to that. I was redirected (yes me not my daughter) to do this First ______ then _______ At first I thought it was too babish for her, to my amazement she took right to it and it has worked really well. I also made cards up for directions on how to manage and get things in the kitchen and cook simple things she liked, soup, hot sandwiches etc.

The program I found was this Visual Essentials, it was like $69 but so worth it, has pix of food to how to act to everything, including video games.

Hope this helps.

Comment by Bonnie Murphy — March 25, 2009 @ 9:50 am
ASntoher thing to try is a printed daily schedule. I did this with my son when he was wanting to play computer games at every waking moment. It helped him to know what he needed to do and when it needed to be done. Make a set amount of time daily spent doing video/computer games, and enforce it with a timer. If you say “It is time to stop”, then they can argue. If the timer goes off, there is no one to argue or plead with for more time. Have some other activities available for him to do.

Comment by Lisa — March 25, 2009 @ 5:19 pm
ANother thing I’ve found interesting is that Aspy’s seem to require less sleep than the average person in order to function well. My son can go to bed at 10:00pm and awake on his own by 6:30 am with no ill effects. He cannot go to sleep if he is not exhausted, so I quit trying to force an earlier bedtime.

Comment by Lisa — March 25, 2009 @ 5:22 pm
My daughter is 18 and hasalways had issues with sleep. When younger if she went to bed early she was up at 0400 so I let her go when she was tired. Now though this can be 30 hours later! Same with food. She would eat healthily until a teenager however her diet at the moment is poor and she is extremely fussy. Plus she refuses to accept she has Asperger!

Comment by michelle — March 26, 2009 @ 3:54 am
food issues can result in vomiting and phobias! its far better to adapt wot they like for healthy options ie; wholemeal pasta n bread-i only allow breakfast choices at the weekend as i do with the computer as whenever he is on it he will not get off untill hes completed every level aspies cannot compromise so save urself the headache! as they get older they can be easier to reason with but it has to b b4 an event.

Comment by stacey birkin — April 1, 2009 @ 12:31 pm
“I can’t stop now, I’ll lose my points!” my 13 year old Aspie son says when his time is up. After ruling with ‘Now means Now’ and the fights that followed; I had to find a new strategy. This is what we do now: When an hour is up he is allowed to finish that session which takes about 10 – 15 minutes. If he starts another session when I’m not looking the plug is pulled and he looses his points and computer privledge the next day. If it happens again he looses two days, etc.. This strategy is both reasonable and considerate. Problem solved, most of the time.

Comment by Kathy Perilloux — April 5, 2009 @ 8:06 am
Oh my goodness…. I too have an 11 year old who doesnt need sleep. I have been pulling my hair out trying to make him go to bed early… yay .. he is “normal” and the eating story… we often call him “the camel” he can go for days without a good meal then all of a sudden decides he is hungry and eats up a storm. Oh how i wish i had heard about this web site sooner.

Comment by Lorraine Gilmour — April 15, 2009 @ 7:34 pm