Preschoolers and Asperger's?

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Registered: 03-27-2003
Preschoolers and Asperger's?
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Wed, 11-30-2005 - 5:32pm

Hi all -- I'm new around here. I have a 3 year old whose behavior was "diagnosed" autistic by a neurologist earlier this year. I say "diagnosed" because the doctor observed him and interviewed us for 1/2 hour before writing up his diagnosis. Not a lot of faith in that one.

Since doing more research on my own, I think that Asperger's *might* apply to Gavin. Since Asperger's is not typically caught until elementary school, it seems there is very little information out there about preschoolers. Does anyone know of any links or books that specifically speaks to this age group?

Thanks for any assistance!
Beth
Gavin 7/2/02
Evelyn 3/9/05

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Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 11-30-2005 - 8:32pm

I don't know of any books about asperger preschoolers per se, but ones about autism and HFA will likely cover alot of the info. There are more and more kids being diagnosed with AS in preschool. Some will be diagnosed with ASD (autism spectrum disorder) or PDD-NOS or HFA and then later be "upgraded" to AS.

My daughter was diagnosed PDD-NOS in preschool and was "upgraded" to AS at age 7 when her langauge caught up. My son (classic ASer/ HFA kiddo) was diagnosed ADHD and SID in preschool and AS at 7 as well.

What kind of information in particular are you looking for? There are some accounts from parents of AS kids who will account the childs life from early childhood. Some of the AS type books will have some info in them about what symptoms look like in preschool as well.

Renee

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Avatar for bethallan
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Registered: 03-27-2003
Thu, 12-01-2005 - 12:11am

What am I looking for? LOL! I'm looking for ways to deal with him! Sorry, I just had to laugh at that.

Most of the info that I've found talks about the situations that older children and teens deal with. I'm hoping to find some techniques to deal with him on a daily basis to minimize the conflicts that we are having. Gavin is quite verbal, but is delayed. He speaks more like a 2 1/2 year old, rather than a 3 1/2 year old. We are just now getting him to have some conversations with us. He is nowhere near the level of conversation and reasoning that would be required by some the techniques I have read about that are directed at the older kids. He rarely has tantrums (probably not any more so than the average 3 year old), but is very overstimulated. I have a hard time getting him to calm down and focus with me, which leads to more conflict.

I hope that explains it a little better. It's very hard to know if we're dealing with a hyper kid, AS, ADD, or just a kid that needs some wrangling in once in a while. He just started an early childhood class in our school district, so we're hoping that will give us some more clarity with regard to his behavior.

Thanks for asking!
Beth

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Registered: 03-26-2003
Thu, 12-01-2005 - 7:43am

hi beth,

i have two preschoolers on the spectrum and have been working for almost 2 years on the same stuff. i understand your frustration because there is very little informtion on this age group.

in your post, some things stood out--he's overstimulated and hard to calm down. have you looked into the sensory integration stuff? quite often kids on the spectrum are either under or over responsive with their sensory systems. SI includes ways to help keep your child regulated by getting to know their sensory systems and working with it. somethings may be doing activities that involve heavy work, or jumping on a trampoline, or making him into a pillow sandwich to give him deep pressure. so the idea being if you can learn how to help your child stay regulated by giving his nervous system the input it needs, he can concentrate on other things.

are you familiar with this stuff? valerie

~Valerie
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Registered: 03-26-2003
Thu, 12-01-2005 - 9:40am

I agree with Val, look into SI for one thing.

For another, I would read up on autism treatments and see which you think would work best for your son. Asperger's is basically autism without the langauge or cognitive delays. Many of the same treatments that work for autism are used for AS. Even though my kids are older, I use autism treatments with them including ABA, social stories, visual checklists, etc.

I recently have been reading a book I think you might find helpful. It breaks down all the autism treatments, briefly explains them, tells which population they are most useful for (age group and diagnosis) and whether or not they are scientifically based, promising, need more data or what not. It is called "Autism Spectrum Disorders: Interventions and Treatments for Children and Youth" by Richard L. Simpsom, et al.

Some of the treatments I am finding most promising in that book that I want to learn more about are PRT and Cognitive behavioral therapy. At your sons age PRT would likely be great.

For behavior, it is always important to first do a functional analysis of behavior. This is an indepth look into the why a behavior is occuring. Our kids typically don't respond to typical behavior management that NT kids do. We have to find out why they are having behavior problems and intervene accordingly.

Renee

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Registered: 03-31-2003
Thu, 12-01-2005 - 11:26am

My DD is nearly 4, and just received a dx of PDD-NOS a few weeks back, although she's been in a special ed preschool class (receiving speech, OT and now PT) since September. Something that struck me from your post was that the main thing you mentioned regarding Gavin's behavior was his language delay. Aspergers kids don't tend to have a language delay, in fact often they're pretty precocious with language. Perhaps Gavin just has a language delay and some sensory integration issues, as other posters have mentioned. Or, he could be PDD-NOS as well. My DD is very verbal as well, but also very delayed -- she has an enormous vocabulary but has severe difficulty putting words together in sentences. She tends to memorize and repeat entire sentences/phrases she's learned, rather than forming her own, original sentences, which makes conversation very difficult. Does this sound like Gavin? Does he tend to repeat what you say a lot? Or repeat "scripts" he's learned from books and TV shows?

There's a book called "Quirky Kids" by Perri Klass and Eileen Costello which I found really helpful as I was just beginning to learn about all this stuff. It doesn't necessarily break down treatment possibilities as other books might do, but it does break down what all of the various diagnoses mean, different traits, etc. -- and what it helped me do was understand why my DD behaved the way she did. That understanding helped me cope, and also helped me figure out ways in which to make our daily lives more manageable...

Another book I found helpful -- which doesn't specifically deal with ASD but with my DD's temperament -- is called "Raising your Spirited Child" by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka. She defines the "spirited child" as a child who is "MORE intense, sensitive, perceptive, persistent, and energetic." While a lot of my DD's issues stem from her PDD and especially her language delay, this book *really* helped me with specific tactics to implement in terms of her daily behavior. It's really worth a look, and talks in detail about preschoolers as well as older kids.

Hope that's helpful!

Jennifer :)

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Registered: 03-26-2003
Thu, 12-01-2005 - 12:16pm

In general, most literature says that AS kids have precocious language but that isn't neccessarily totally accurate. A number may have initial delays, at least minor ones. The DSM states that they have no "significant" delay in language or cognitive skills. Single words by 2 and sentences by 4 I think? Maybe 3.

My daughter was significantly language delayed. As first her dx was PDD-NOS because of it but because her langauge caught up she was reclassified as AS. She had only a couple words at 2 and her phrases and sentence at 3 where either echolalic or completely weird (think yoda with word retreival problems, ex "White truck, yellow house want I" meaning she wanted my friend with the white truck to come over to our house, which was yellow). We didn't have real conversations with her on any level until she was nearly 5.

Her language has for the most part caught up. She still has significant pragmatic and conversational problems, but does have a large vocabulary, etc. I have asked a number of professionals if Cait should be HFA rather than AS and I have been assured that she is AS per the DSM and ICD-10.

In fact, most people with AS will have a hard time with communication skills and pragmatic language. In young children it can show up as a bit of a delay just not a "signficant" one.

Renee

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Thu, 12-01-2005 - 1:00pm

That's really interesting... Like you said, much of what I've read has indicated that AS children don't have a language delay, which is how you can recognize AS vs. other disorders. I hadn't known that you could actually be reclassified once the language catches up -- I guess that just proves how fluid and overlapping all these categories are.

To be honest, it's my DD's language delay that's the biggest source of frustration, worry, and anxiety for me... It's also the source of most of her behavior problems, since it's just so frustrating for her that she can't communicate the way she wants to. Of course, there are other issues besides language (nonverbal learning disability, etc.) and I'm sure those issues will become more pronouced (and therefore, cause me more anxiety!) as her language catches up. But right now, I just feel like everything would be *so* much easier -- for DD as well as for the rest of us -- if we could only have a conversation...

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Registered: 02-24-2004
Thu, 12-01-2005 - 1:38pm

Nathan is 6 1/2 HFA, but speaks more like a 4 1/2yr old. I did find that as his speech progressed I was able to communicate better with him. He wasn't really speaking at age 3, so I worked hard at getting him to talk. I talked constantly with him, asking him questions about EVERYTHING. Anything to get him to say something. He's come a long way, and doing well.

I learned from reading books, searching info on the computer, and also got advice from my sister who works with autistic kids. Speak slowly, not using too many words. Clarity helps with confusion. And explaining things. I did this, and still do this ALOT. This really helps him to understand what I am trying to get across. I also found that if I remain calm, this helps him. This is very difficult to do, by the way! Being in a hurry, doing too many things at once....causes stress and confusion for him. There are many times where I have to just drop what I'm doing to help redirect him or stop a tantrum, or even tend to a moment of confusion. Too much noise can be bothersome too. So if I'm trying to get his attention, the room has to be somewhat quiet....or he can't focus on me or what I'm trying to say.

I hope you find this helpful. It may be info that you already know, but just incase.....

michelle

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-20-2001
Thu, 12-01-2005 - 1:53pm
My 3 1/2 yr old was dx Asperger's right at his 3rd bday by a pediatric neurologist.

 


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Registered: 02-20-2001
Thu, 12-01-2005 - 1:57pm

My Bobby has a langauge delay and the ped neuro still felt he was Asperger's I have read somethings online lately that there is a bit of disagreement over whether or not

 


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