Coping with AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER

The term Asperger's is no longer used, the disorder now falling under this broader category

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Are nuts good for you?

The ASPREE study, originally about low-dose aspirin, became a study of ageing, recently reporting that people who eat nuts daily tend to have longer disability-free survival. The explanation may be nutritional - we know nuts are rich in vitamins, minerals, polyphenols, phytosterols and unsaturated fats. However, it may just be that people who choose to eat nuts are the sort of people who have a generally healthy way of life. More research is needed.

Problem areas

* SOCIAL COMMUNICATION Difficulties interpreting verbal/non-verbal language, gestures, tone of voice, taking things literally, and not understanding abstract concepts. Allow extra time for processing information or answering questions.

* SOCIAL INTERACTION Difficulty 'reading' other people, recognising their feelings and intentions and expressing their own emotions.

* OVEROR UNDER-SENSITIVITY TO SENSORY INPUT Sound, touch, taste, smell, light, colour, pain or temperature may be overwhelming. Simple adjustments can make environments more autism-friendly.

* EXTREME ANXIETY Particularly in social situations or facing change. If it's too much they experience meltdown or shutdown. They need help recognising triggers and finding coping mechanisms.

Asperger's diagnosis was previously applied to autistic people who were verbal, without general learning disabilities but had average, or above average, intelligence, some calling this 'high-functioning' autism, a lifelong developmental spectrum condition affecting how people communicate/interact with the world in different ways.