if SW had to diagnosis, she'd say Asperger

Ktllc

New Member
V's social worker never really mentioned what kind of diagnosis she had in mind. Since I had some conflicting feelings about what had been said by other professionals. I only gave her a release for V's general pediatrician.
V has been seeing her for 5 months and she wants to switch him to the social group instead of individual therapy as soon as we have it up and running. She thinks it will be more beneficial to him as she is not really getting anywhere in indidual sessions.
So anyways, I asked her this week: what would the diagnosis be if you had to give one? She said that V is quite complex but she would lean towards Aspergers, the high functioning end of the spectrum. I asked her if she was confortable with me sharing this info with the school if I thought it was necessary as I have a meeting with them in a couple weeks. She said absolutely, she was standing behind her professional opinion. She actually is looking forward to the results of this special research/university group that specializes in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) treatment and diagnosis.
So now, it is the third counselor who believes we are dealing with a very high functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) kiddo. The more people get to know V, the more they see that some is off.
Now, I'm afraid that the reasearch group will overlook it, just like the other psychologist did in the past. It will be an all day evaluation, but still. I have this fear in me: they won't see it.
I know, it's crazy, parents are usually afraid to get such a diagnosis for their kids. I'm like the opposite! I read so many good things about this method. If V is diagnosis by them, he will be a client for life! I so want this for him.
And as V gets older, I would say it becomes more apparent to me. His comments ("Why is she talking to me" referring to a little girl his age wanting to chat with him in a little train at a festival), his play (functional play but limited imaginary play, a lot of lining up lately but no meltdown if I say it needs to be cleaned up), his conversation patterns (quite self centered or talks with no purpose but still able to have minimal back and forth if encouraged).
Why can't the opinion of the ones who know him best count?
 

Malika

Well-Known Member
I quite understand your fear, but I would trust that the expertise and experience of the specialists will give a reasonably accurate picture of what is going on with V. Cross that bridge when you get to it, not before (says me) :)
 
T

TeDo

Guest
Ktllc, if they are anything like the neuropsychologist we saw, a review of ALL records is also included. That's what helped us because difficult child 1 was NOT very cooperative with their testing. Hopefully that's what your group will do also. And yes, an Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) diagnosis is sometimes a little easier to deal with because you KNOW many of the thinking errors and get where there might be misunderstandings.
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
I would be cautious about the social worker. Aspies don't have speech delays. He is likely on the spectrum, but probably not an Aspie. Good luck :)
 

lovelyboy

Member
Midwest....I hear what you are saying regarding Aspies and speech delays.....but Aspies can have bad auditory processing disorder, and this causes them to have difficulty comprehenting communication? My son had great speech...still has, BUT he sometimes uses it inappropriatly, out of context and sometimes struggles to "get" what other people say or their non verbal language! If Aspies didnt have any speech/language problems why then would so many of them be recommended for social training and ST? Just my thoughts.......
I also understand ktllc when she says she is worried that they might overlook his diagnosis....My son can very easily be overlooked because of his abillity to override his problems cognitively.....You need to spend plenty of time in different contexts to see what he struggles with......
The neuro totally misread my son and we had a very bad experience! We want to go for second opinion now!
Ktllc.....hope everything works out fine!
 

Ktllc

New Member
About speech delay: he seems to do just fine in some language tests and some others V shows a mild delay. Which explains why he can have private therapy (although it stopped because of lack of progress for now) but the school won't do anything at this point because it is not severe enough. The psychiatric-educational evaluation showed a very significant delay in social communication despite good verbals skills.
But in real life, he really struggles. Usually he does not get the point or when he talks he makes no point. And as far as the Auditory Processing Disorders (APD) component, I start to really doubt it. I just started introducing letter sounds now that he pretty much masters the alphabet and he gets it quite easily. I am very surprised by it, but he really does not show any difficulties. Sure, we are one on one and I do my best to keep him focused, engaged and present it in a way that is fun for him. But still, he just gets it and even find words with the sound.
That makes me wonder if the real problem is the social piece.
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
I don't think it's a big deal if they call it Aspergers (which is common to use for any form of autism) or just Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). But while Aspies can speak well, they don't know how to socialize and they often talk about stuff nobody cares about or they monologue about their obsessions. I think most ASDers have communication problems, whether their speech is good or bad. To me it seems as if V has classic regressive autism...and APDs are pretty common with all of that. Has your son ever seen a pediatric neurologist to make sure he has no physical problems that caused this? I took my son for all sorts of medical tests...it helped rule stuff out. He even had an MRI of the brain just to be safe.
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
And as far as the Auditory Processing Disorders (APD) component, I start to really doubt it. I just started introducing letter sounds now that he pretty much masters the alphabet and he gets it quite easily. I am very surprised by it, but he really does not show any difficulties. Sure, we are one on one and I do my best to keep him focused, engaged and present it in a way that is fun for him. But still, he just gets it and even find words with the sound.


Read more: http://www.conductdisorders.com/forum/f6/if-sw-had-diagnosis-shed-say-asperger-49373/#ixzz1zU1aLaqY

Don't rule out Auditory Processing Disorders (APD) yet... there is a LOT more to Auditory Processing Disorders (APD) than the classical form where they have problems processing verbal language. He is working with you one-on-one, in a quiet setting, and learning. How does he do in a setting with background noise (e.g. classroom...)? It could be something like "auditory figure ground" (one of the "other" APDs), where the brain has trouble filtering background noise, or trouble focusing on the important sounds. Typically, kids with problems with auditory figure ground do better one-on-one in a quiet setting.
 

Ktllc

New Member
Just to clarify, V really does not fit the definition of regressive autism since he has never regressed. His language developped normally but it did not progress as fast as the other kids. Probably is the best description. V does not really obsess about a specific topic, but he will get caught up in details and husband and I often end up replying "who cares?" because the conversation becomes so boring to us. It's like a never ending string of questions. I have heard about Aspergers telling you all about a subject, V does not tell us but ask question about his subject of interest at the time. Right now it is about where mankind comes from, who created us, did God create the Big bang, if there was nothing before than where was God,etc... Impossible to answer !! t's like he never out grew the "why" stage. It is good to be so inquisitive, but it is hard to live with a child like that. Add to that his difficulty expressing ideas, although I know the ideas are clear and quite intelligent in his head. Does this sound aspie at all?
 

TerryJ2

Well-Known Member
I hear you!

difficult child got into that stage of asking Big Bang questions, too. It got pretty complicated ... I wasn't sure if he was old enough to understand about implosions and supernovas and gas and all that ... but when I threw out a few of those terms, he asked, insistently, "But HOW did it all start BEFORE that?"
Hey, that's what people have been asking forever!
Good stuff to think about. :)
Yes, he sounds Aspie to me, but I'd have to meet him to know for sure. As the saying goes, if you've met one, you've met ONE. :)
 

lovelyboy

Member
My son also asked that kind of repetitive questions.....At first we thought it's just because he is super clever.....and maybe its true.....BUT the underlying problem here can sometimes be that they either don't understand the language part of what you are saying and also that they dont read the social cues of others to realize they are becoming anoying! The last 2 behaviours could be part of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). It was around age 6 that I got the terrible shock when I realized that my sons amazing clever and intelligent questions wasnt always a sign of his intelect but one day when he said " I dont understand what you are saying.....please explain it again".......the penny dropped for me! Your son is still VERY young....plenty of the symptoms can still lead into a veriety of diagnosis's! For me I think the image will become clearer once the social expectations around age 7-8 starts increasing......This is when my son started showing some repetitive behaviour and his anxiety went through the roof.......
 

Malika

Well-Known Member
Right now it is about where mankind comes from, who created us, did God create the Big bang, if there was nothing before than where was God,etc... Impossible to answer !

Good lord, but these are amazingly sophisticated questions! They may "bore" you and your husband but they have fascinated many a philosopher and religious thinker before him... :) They must reflect a superior intelligence. J has never heard of the Big Bang and never yet asked such questions. He did once ask "Who is God" but that's it.
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
Actually, yes, it does remind me of Aspergers. And Aspies often ask very intelligent questions, even though many can not tie their own shoelaces. They are not social stars, but very verbally astute and often deep thinkers. My son used to drive me nuts asking me how electricity turns on a light bulb. And when I said I didn't know, that didn't stop him from his incessant questions about it. And when we looked it up on the internet, that still didn't stop his fascination with it. So I'd say maybe V is there somewhere. The only part that doesn't really fit is that he doesn't always understand what you are saying to him.

My daughter had serious visual AND auditory processing problems which made it hard for her to learn how to read (she needed special 1-1 help and did not read until fourth grade) or to follow verbal orders in sequence. But she always understood sentences and language. I think this may be different from either Aspergers or an Auditory Processing Disorders (APD). If not, it's pretty extreme.
 
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