Is it Asperger's??

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-29-2008
Is it Asperger's??
8
Sat, 03-29-2008 - 1:13am

I've had concerns about my 3 1/2 year old son, Ethan, since he was about 2.

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-03-2004
Sat, 03-29-2008 - 9:58am

Your note caught my eye because our kids are close in age. Brady is 3 (and 1/4 )and we feel strongly he has Aspergers . Right before he turned 3 we saw a dev ped at Kennedy Kreiger who gave him a dx of PDD-NOS but said he will most likely be Aspergers but no doctor should t give that dx to any child under 4. My ped refered us out to specialists when I brought up the idea.


I was stunned that anyone in a school setting would even try to diagnose your kid. I work in a public school and we would never diagnose a kid. We can only give diagnostic tests and look at scores to come up with a plan that addresses the individual childs needs. Even our school psychologist wouldn't diagnose a kid she would just reort her findings related to the test dta.


My son also has ear issues but he didn't babble at 14 mos, so he had tubes put in then and adenoids removed. His hearing is still not 100% but much better. He also goes to a spec ed pre school. It took about a month to get adjusted .


He recently started putting things in his mouth, usually his whole hand. I too see flapping esp, when excited. His obsession is with numbers and letter and he started reading . We recently learned that he needs glasses and this really has improved his socailization ( who knew?)


He is our little professor :)


Theresa

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-03-2004
Sat, 03-29-2008 - 10:18am

More similarities ( sorry webkinz seeking sister to Aspie cut me off).


The direction thing. My son can tell me how to get to the mall ( or Physical Therapy, Drs, grocery store)from the back seat. Turn here- go right ,go left. It is remarkable and another Aspie trait.


You are asking the right questions and you should trust your instincts. If you want more info get an appt with a dev ped or other specialist.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Mon, 03-31-2008 - 7:19am

- I can't give you an answer, only my experienced 'mummy thoughts'. You really need a proper dx, and he may still be too young for a definitive Asperger's dx. Do try to be patient on the dx front though, because in my experience it is worth waiting for the 'right' dx, as the 'wrong' one can be as unhelpful - in fact, MORE unhelpful sometimes - than no dx at all.


*but*, having said that, and with all the usual provisos, you are describing my DS at that age almost exactly. Ds was eventually diagnosed with Asperger's aged 8 after a very long and difficult struggle with school, drs, mental health professionals - and in the end, the diagnosis was based much more on a series of observations in various settings over the space of a year, rather than on one set of definitive diagnostic tests. We are *still* waiting for an OT eval of sensory issues, which is likely to take another 2 years. But the dx explained a lot of red flags, and also helped us put into place the kind of support DS needed to flourish - it's been a life saver for us as a family, because DS is now about as happy as it is possible for a 9 year old boy to be, excelling at school and in a gifted and talented programme for math and creative writing, goes camping with cub scouts and on drama and basketball workshops - 2 years ago none of these things would have been possible, he was desperately unhappy, failing at school (borderline expulsion case because of his social and emotional problems).


The hand flapping didn't start with DS til he was about 6 - I wish it had started earlier, it would have been a good red flag to pick up! - but all the other stuff you describe, particularly the mouthing inappropriate things, the high intelligence, the difficulty getting him to engage, the anxiety, potty training, etc - all were him. He didn't have obsessions then, but he does now (currently, space, electricity and advanced physics, none of which we can really help him with which frustrates him no end!!). His anxiety (at changes in routine, or misinterpreting social signals, or people breaking the rules) manifest itself in aggressive attacks on other children, which is why he was in such trouble at school, and also why I wish so so so much we'd picked up on it earlier, because we were tackling it in a way which would have worked, had he been NT (neuro-typical - ie, not Asperger's), but actually made it worse because he wasn't.


My thoughts on your situation is go with your mummy instinct. I'd get him evaluated if you can - he may still be too young, but you can make a start - because it will either a) put your mind at rest that there is nothing 'wrong' and he's just going at his own pace on things or b) give you an indication of where he might need some extra help and support. Either option is better than flailing around in the dark with a gut feeling that something isn't right but not knowing what to do about it. None of the the red flags you describe in isolation is indicative of anything, but the combination does point towards 'something' *possibly*. He obviously isn't severely autistic, and if there *is* something (it's a big if - you may be right and it may just be that he needs to catch up the bits he missed when he wasn't hearing properly) it needs to be properly diagnosed and evaluated by a professional - or a series of professionals, more likely - rather than by us or your or his teachers in isolation.


But you have come to the right place if you want support and been-there-done-that and ideas and suggestions and people to bounce stuff off, welcome to the board.


Kirsty, mum to Euan (9, Asperger's) Rohan (5, NT) and Maeve (2, NT)

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-25-2003
Mon, 03-31-2008 - 3:51pm

Hello and sorry for the delay in responding.

It sounds to me like your DS has a lot of red flags for *something*. No-one can tell you what over the Internet. He does need to be seen by a professional for a comprehensive evaluation.

I get that he had a hearing loss for some time, and that would explain a language delay. However a hearing loss will not account for other behaviors you have mentioned, such as obsessions, sitting with his back to the teacher (if he were reading lips or looking for facial cues he would be staring at her intently), parallel playing and oral sensory seeking.

I do think you should take to his ped and get the ball rolling for a full evaluation. Also feel free to hang out here as much as you like and to ask questions. It is a scary process to go though and we can certainly help you out with that. We have all done it or are doing it.

-Paula


visit my blog at www.onesickmother.com

-Paula

visit my blog at www.onesickmother.com
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-29-2008
Mon, 03-31-2008 - 6:09pm

Kirsty


I would love to hear more about what your son was like when he was age 3-4, just so I can compare it to how Ethan is now.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Tue, 04-01-2008 - 5:03am

Jenn,


It was actually exactly at 3-4 that we started noticing things and getting concerned. Up until then he'd been such a 'good' baby and toddler, apart from potty training a bit late he hit all his milestones fine, was very bright and expressive - but also (looking back) very quiet and watchful. I was working f/t so he was in a nursery and we noticed at 3-4 that he would sometimes bite kids or launch himself at them, completely out of the blue. It was so strange, and it didn't fit any 'pattern' that we could see (and he was a bit old to start biting!). After a lot of observation it appeared to be when he was overwhelmed with noise, or felt threatened...but sometimes it seemed completely out of the blue. (Again, looking back, it was when people broke the rules or behaved in a way that he could not understand so he interpreted innocuous things as huge threats)


For a long time we put it down to external things - starting school, having a baby brother, but oddly, he seemed *fine* with big changes and very bothered by small ones - he'd was absolutely fine with the arrival of a new baby, but went to pieces if daddy was home late from work and couldn't read his bedtime story. He had a series of teachers who kept dragging us into school, complaints from other parents about his 'violence' (which gradually got better), and then we noticed at play time he'd pull his hood up over his ears and 'go flappy', and he seemed to drift off in class and daydream a lot and be unable to stay on task. He couldn't write or spell to save his life (actually, still can't spell very well) but if you stood him at the whiteboard and asked him to explain something to do with literacy or numeracy he'd give you an explanation worthy of a college undergraduate.


The reason it took so long to get a dx is that we went off on a lot of red herrings and wild goose chases (which is why I always tell people - wait for the right diagnosis even if that takes time) - -plus we are in the UK, with a National Health System that means that anything non-urgent does have a long waiting time to access. He wasn't hyperactive, wasn't ADHD, wasn't learning disabled (apart from the physical act of writing and concentrating), although slightly sensory-sensitive not off the charts, and he wasn't obviously 'autistic' (in fact he 'failed' all the autism-spectrum tests with flying colours LOL), he has hypermobile joints and is slightly underweight (partly because he has some problems with eating - he becomes convinced he is going to choke on some types of food). But when he was 8 a specialist paediatric mental health nurse and a paediatric psychiatrist (these will have different titles in the US, we're in the UK) did a series of tests and observations at school, at home, in 'controlled play', and also put DH and I through the mill about our own family history. It was a bit difficult because I think they were looking for psychological reasons, but they didn't find any, DH and I and our family dynamics are depressingly normal.


And that's when we got the Asperger's diagnosis which was a complete AHA! moment for us all. Everything I have since read and observed completely explains, in hindsight, all of Euan's wierdnesses and tics. the chewing thing, the inappriopriate putting things in his mouth, the daydreaming, the hood up, the hand flapping, the love of puns and jokes, the difficulty socialising (for years birthday parties and playdates were a completely nightmare, until I figured out that for his own social life he much preferred 'structured' activities like cubs, sports, drama clubs where there are clear rules and expectations

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-29-2008
Tue, 04-01-2008 - 11:28am

Thanks for that information, I love hearing about other people's experiences and how their children were diagnosed.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Wed, 04-02-2008 - 4:49am

Good luck with the paediatrician and the allergist. I used to have weeks where I thought it had 'gone away' and it was always a heartsink moment when I realised it hadn't.


Interestingly, Euan (and a lot of kids here) also had exczema and allergies (in his case, dairy, eggs, sesame and hazelnuts). I am sure there must have been studies showing a link...or maybe not.


Kirsty