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Del Morrill, M.S. C.C.H

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A Center for Counseling & Hypnosis
Tacoma, Washington, USA
(253) 752-1506

Asperger's Syndrome

Question
A friend has asked about hypnosis in the treatment of Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism, for her 8-yr.-old son. His condition manifests as an extreme difficulty in socializing, specifically in reading cues from others such as body language, spatial distance from others, etc. He also has dx of ADHD and is on medication. This boy is mainstreamed in school, and has a lot of support both at home and at school. Still, his mother, understandably, continues to look for additional help. I have begun my own education on the subject, but wondered if you have encountered this in your work with children.

Answer
I'm afraid I have no experience with Asperger's or autism, but I have had children with ADD and ADHD. My first session with a 10 year old was spent on the floor asking questions and giving suggestions while he remained fascinated with what was in my "magic boxes." I never had him sit in the chair. Later, having him in the chair, I used methods like story-telling and the problem-solving script (set to his own level). Other methods were drawing and coloring how he felt about the issues he has and role-playing with animals, dolls or puppets, etc. You might try starting a story line and have him add to it, with you following with another line, etc., gradually drawing him into whatever issue arena you want to handle, and see what evolves. Also, with a younger child, you could use a pendulum or blowing up balloons for induction, and then have very short hypnosis experiences by inducing, bringing him out and re-inducing, etc. He may also respond well to having a puppet "hypnotize" him after you have shown him how you hypnotize the puppet, and the puppet hypnotizes you. Let me know how it goes for you.

 
 

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