C
Chantillylaceo
Guest
My 5 year old has ADHD and sensory processing disorder (SPD). He's in Occupational Therapist (OT) and is medicated (please, do not judge me for medicating my child so young when you don't know the whole story. He is impulsive to the point that he puts himself and others in danger).
About a year ago, I was concerned about his social skills and started working on them. I'm a speech path, so he has had a lot of social skills training that includes picture schedules and social stories in his daily life.
The psychologist that tested him 9 months ago before I medicated him said that he thought the ADHD medication would help his social skills, but even with the medication and my home-made "pragmatic therapy" he still hasn't made any progress.
For example: Last week he went to the dentist and when the dentist told him "hi" he barked at the dentist (not in an aggressive way). Seriously. When people tell him "hi" he usually ignores them. I have to stop him, ask him where he's supposed to look (to which he replies: "at their face") and tell him to say hi. We've been working on this FOR A YEAR! He also says a lot of things with just one word. When he wanted to tell his teacher that he brought a book to school he said, "Book" and just looked at her that she should know what he meant. I have to tell him all the time that people don't know what you mean... you have to tell them, "I brought a book." He does not have a language delay though. He's actually pretty advanced in his language skills. I've tested him myself.
The psychologist said that he doesn't think my son has Asperger's. He said that he's not a expert in that area, but he didn't really register much on the Autism screening tool he did. I'm still concerned though. Here are the symptoms of AS my son has and the ones that he does not have:
Symptoms he has:
Delay in empathy (he shows some empathy for family... on occassions)
Poor social skills
sensory processing disorder (SPD)
He likes things to go a certain way and doesn't do well with change
Tantrums easily
Coordination delay
Trouble regulating his emotions
Does things that he thinks other kids think are silly over and over again (I heard one kid tell his mom "He does that all the time" when my son was repeating "Boo!" to him and jumping from behind the door over and over again)
Doesn't seem to make an effort to learn his friends' names when they all know his name (He's been at this new place about 5 weeks)
Symptoms he does not have:
He is very expressive in his speech
He seems to understand facial expressions and body language - at least he does mine - maybe not so much with his friends
No repetitive behaviors (with the exception of "silly" things like above)
He seems to understand humor... he sometimes goes overboard and laughs too loud or too hard
I'm not sure that he has something he obsesses over. He loves mowing, lawn equipment, and tractors of all kinds, but it's hard to say if it's a normal 5 year old interest or excessive
I'm sorry this is so long. Five is a little young for an AS diagnosis, but I'm concerned that he's not progressing in his social skills - even with the ADHD medication. Also, my dad has poor social skills and I strongly suspect that he has a mild asperger's. What do you think? How should I persue this if I believe he does have AS or should I just wait until he's older?
About a year ago, I was concerned about his social skills and started working on them. I'm a speech path, so he has had a lot of social skills training that includes picture schedules and social stories in his daily life.
The psychologist that tested him 9 months ago before I medicated him said that he thought the ADHD medication would help his social skills, but even with the medication and my home-made "pragmatic therapy" he still hasn't made any progress.
For example: Last week he went to the dentist and when the dentist told him "hi" he barked at the dentist (not in an aggressive way). Seriously. When people tell him "hi" he usually ignores them. I have to stop him, ask him where he's supposed to look (to which he replies: "at their face") and tell him to say hi. We've been working on this FOR A YEAR! He also says a lot of things with just one word. When he wanted to tell his teacher that he brought a book to school he said, "Book" and just looked at her that she should know what he meant. I have to tell him all the time that people don't know what you mean... you have to tell them, "I brought a book." He does not have a language delay though. He's actually pretty advanced in his language skills. I've tested him myself.
The psychologist said that he doesn't think my son has Asperger's. He said that he's not a expert in that area, but he didn't really register much on the Autism screening tool he did. I'm still concerned though. Here are the symptoms of AS my son has and the ones that he does not have:
Symptoms he has:
Delay in empathy (he shows some empathy for family... on occassions)
Poor social skills
sensory processing disorder (SPD)
He likes things to go a certain way and doesn't do well with change
Tantrums easily
Coordination delay
Trouble regulating his emotions
Does things that he thinks other kids think are silly over and over again (I heard one kid tell his mom "He does that all the time" when my son was repeating "Boo!" to him and jumping from behind the door over and over again)
Doesn't seem to make an effort to learn his friends' names when they all know his name (He's been at this new place about 5 weeks)
Symptoms he does not have:
He is very expressive in his speech
He seems to understand facial expressions and body language - at least he does mine - maybe not so much with his friends
No repetitive behaviors (with the exception of "silly" things like above)
He seems to understand humor... he sometimes goes overboard and laughs too loud or too hard
I'm not sure that he has something he obsesses over. He loves mowing, lawn equipment, and tractors of all kinds, but it's hard to say if it's a normal 5 year old interest or excessive
I'm sorry this is so long. Five is a little young for an AS diagnosis, but I'm concerned that he's not progressing in his social skills - even with the ADHD medication. Also, my dad has poor social skills and I strongly suspect that he has a mild asperger's. What do you think? How should I persue this if I believe he does have AS or should I just wait until he's older?