Resources

This page links to useful resources and support organisations for people with Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome…

Aspergers Victoria

Aspergers Victoria is a comprehensive support organisation based in Melbourne.
This overview of its services and resources (Victoria only) is taken from its website…

“Our truly unique peer-led, for-purpose organisation is celebrating Aspergers, celebrating strengths and celebrating 28 years of support.  Since 1991 our model has been underpinned by the power of peer support and lived experience, delivering sector leading peer programs and services to empower our neurodiverse Aspergers community. 

“We provide a range of member services across the lifespan from kids to adults, parents and carers, professionals and employers to support discovery of strengths and empower: by Aspies, for Aspies, with Aspies. 

“We have maintained our name with Aspergers due to member community requests. We understand and support how an individual describes their neurology is an individual thing. This may be person with Aspergers, Aspergers person, autistic person, Aspie and more for this diffability. Given our limited resources we focus our service for a specific part of this population who often face hidden but shared issues in their own way.”

We deliver empowerment through: 

• Peer Groups
• Community Education Events
• Email Information Line
• Professional referral network
• Employment coaching
• Education & Training

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The ICAN Network

The I CAN Network is driving a rethink of Autism, from ‘I Can’t’ to ‘I CAN’. We mentor young people on the Autism Spectrum to live life with an ‘I CAN’ attitude. We bring out the ‘awe’ in AWEtism through education, advocacy and providing opportunities. We build networks across schools, universities, TAFEs, communities, businesses and governments.

Together, we are Australia’s first social enterprise founded by people with Autism. You can read more us in our annual report.

WHAT WE DO

MENTORING

We run a social enterprise of customised mentoring across camps, schools, universities, TAFEs, businesses and communities.

EDUCATION

We run professional development and manage a speakers agency so that health professionals, education professionals and the wider community can learn about enabling people on the Autism Spectrum.

ADVOCACY

We run campaigns that drive a rethink of Autism so that schools, workplaces and communities can celebrate the individual strengths of people on the Autism Spectrum.

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This page also contains links to useful articles by other people.
The article titles are links to those articles in a new browser window.

Self-management of angry outbursts for Aspie men

John’s comment:

This used to be me. Regularly. I’d explode at Lynne or one of our kids… simply for being a persistent, temporary source of stress, interrupting my obsessive focus on something I felt compelled to be doing.

It might be Lynne calling me to join the family for dinner. The stress would build relentlessly, with each ‘interruption’, until my mind would tip over the threshold that triggered a meltdown — and I’d lash out at the perceived source of that stress.

Then I’d spend hours feeling lousy and reproaching myself viciously for the outburst and my seeming inability to control my anger over something so trivial.

That rarely happens since diagnosis. I’ve trained myself to recognise the early signs of irritation and, most times when it does — often due to the other person’s own rising frustration and stress — I quickly analyse what’s really happening and do a quick self-intervention.

This raises my self-esteem instead of destroying it, and prevents me from hurting the ones I love. Not always, sadly, but outbursts are now very rare and there’s no self-justification. If it does happen I’m quick to realise and apologise.

NEWSFLASH! This is often a symptom of PDA — Pathological Demand Avoidance. Refer to our section on PDA for more information and ideas. (See main menu.)

Addictive behaviours and Aspies — a common trait

John’s comment:

This has been a lifelong issue for me, I’ve realised. Linked to our need for routine, even ritual, and reassurance, I’ve been surprised by the number of adult Aspies — especially men — who have addictions of various kinds, from alcoholism to over-eating to hoarding to pornography to video games.

I consider myself fortunate that my parents were strong in their abhorrence toward alcoholism, gambling addiction and addiction to medications. My father’s family had been adversely affected by alcoholism and gambling when they were young, and my mother’s family were devoutly anti-alcohol and gambling. So, between those two powerful influences in my childhood, I was wary of all these addictions.

What I didn’t anticipate, though, was addiction to food and online socialising… one of which caused me weight problems and the other stress issues (offline).