aspergerssyndrome.html

ASPERGER'S SYNDROME: - A developmental disorder - A neurological disorder - Lifelong THE TRIAD OF IMPAIRMENT: Communication: - Difficulty with language and interpretation of language - Difficulty with understanding the rules of conversation - Difficulty with 'reading' non-verbal signs and body language - Difficulty with understanding the concept of personal space - General lack of skills for communication which leads to endless misunderstandings and anxiety Problem solving: - Very rigid ways of thinking and routines which prevent the seeing of the 'wider picture' - Inability to project into the future and imagine different scenarios - Very high anxiety levels which prevents clear thinking Social skills: - Lack of communication and problem solving skills lead to social isolation which takes away the opportunity to learn - Fundamental social skills are missing and there is often no understanding of the rules of social interaction - Inability to make friends and relate to peer group and family members. Human Givens therapists work with the emotional needs and with the resources nature has given us to help meet these needs. All human beings have emotional needs that need to be met if we want to lead mentally healthy and balanced lives. Nature has given us resources to help meet these needs. The resources we have are: - The ability to develop complex long term memory - The ability to build rapport, empathize and connect with others - A rational mind to check out emotions - The ability to 'know' - An observing self - The dreaming brain In people with Asperger's Syndrome a lot of these resources are impaired. The emotional needs we have are: - The need to feel safe and an environment which allows us to develop fully - Attention (to give and receive it) - Being emotionally connected to others - Being part of a wider community - Friendship, fun, love, intimacy - Sense of status with social groupings - Sense of competence and achievement - Meaning and purpose Because a lot of the resources are impaired, most needs will not be met without the intervention and support of a therapist. Neurobiology provides us with evidence that caring and loving relationships are key to emotional/social development. Feeling secure comes mainly from receiving loving care from our surroundings and feeling accepted by others. The need for security is often not met because their homes are not the safe havens they ought to be. Huge tensions often exist between parents and siblings who are finding it hard to cope with such an invisible disability. They have difficulty forming relationships with their families and peer group, which leaves them isolated and affects their need for friendship, sharing and fun and their need to be emotionally connected to others. Their basic human need of having a status within social groupings and the need to be part of a wider community is therefore also affected. When people cannot form relationships with their families and their peer group, this has a snowball effect on their emotional/social development which is already impaired. This in turn will leave them outside mainstream society. They become lonely, sad, depressed, extremely anxious and sometimes mentally ill. A sense of autonomy and control, another basic human need, escapes them if they do not have the social skills and emotional understanding needed to look after themselves and take control. A Human Givens therapist can meet the client with Asperger's Syndrome at any stage of their development. An HG therapist can help someone to develop missing or impaired resources needed to build rapport, empathise and connect with others. She can help them to develop their imagination, build up their self-esteem and become aware of how different emotions affect our thinking and our response to life. She can be instrumental in helping them to develop skills to calm down and teach them anxiety-reducing strategies. She can help them develop their problem solving skills and teach them to challenge negative thinking. A Human Givens therapist can also support the whole family and liaise with GPs and social workers and schools if needed.

How Human Givens therapy can help clients with Asperger's Syndrome

`How Human Givens therapy can help clients with Asperger's Syndrome`