Hi, I'm April and I have a son, Jeremy who will be 7 next month. He is a twin and has 4 other brothers and sisters. I'm not sure if I'm in the right place; I was hoping some of you could help me determine that.

Since Jeremy was born he has been 'different' but wonderful. He was a very happy baby but when he got mad, boy was he a force to deal with! His language skills developed very early, in fact he seemed to always be talking even before he could say actual words. His twin, Zac, was the more physical and Jeremy was more verbal, and we always accepted their differences and didn't push either of them. As Jeremy got older we noticed certain things that seemed a little bit different, but having had 3 kids before him, all with different personalities and abilities, we didn't worry about it much. Since birth he had always had trouble staying warm, and as he grew he became more sensitive to temperatures. If it's cool, he's freezing. If it's warm, he's burning (according to him). The same goes for everything-there are no happy mediums with him. It's like everything affects him ten times more than it does most people. Every little injury is a major wound to him. A little disappointment becomes a huge crisis. He also is very literal. If I say dinner is ready in a few minutes, he has to know exactly how many. If I say 'in a minute' he'll count 60 seconds. We have to be very specific when we are talking to him, for example I can't say 'put your shoes away and put your pajamas on' because he can't do both at once. He'll freak out. I have to tell him one thing at a time.

When he started school other things came up. He became very attached to the schedule for the day, and any variance would throw him off for the rest of the day; he would have tantrums and not understand why this day had to be different. He is brilliant, far above grade level in reading and math, with a great memory and vocabulary, but his fine motor skills are horrible. He gets very frustrated if he can't complete a writing assignment or figure something out right away and will have a complete meltdown. His relationships with other kids are very difficult also. He doesn't seem to understand other people's boundaries. He wants to have friends, but is only interested in one or 2 kids, and will chase them and get very angry if they don't want to play the games he does. During 'circle time', he could not wait his turn to speak and would cut in when the other kids were talking. He seems physically unable to be still or quiet-he talks to himself frequently and is constantly fidgeting, moving his fingers and toes. We had his hearing checked last year because he seems at times to just 'zone out'; it's like he really can't hear you. We have to say his name several times before he realizes we're talking to him. He has a rich imagination and loves to learn. He just seems to have no self-control and no sense of personal space, or of how to interact with people appropriately. After being diagnosed developmentally delayed-atypical by the people at school, and being told by his previous doctor that he just needs more time with his dad (who lives with us and spends lots of time with him), we finally got him an appointment with a developmental pediatrician, but the waiting list is so long he can't be seen until August. We made the appointment in Feb. so the waiting is getting pretty rough. I've been trying to get help for him since he was about 3 1/2. I'm not even that concerned about a diagnosis, I just want to figure out some ways to help him.

I'm really sorry this got so long. I've researched just about everything I could think of, trying to get an idea of what might be going on with my little boy, and the asperger's / pdd seems to fit him better than anything else I've come across. Since the people on this board are dealing with this, I thought you might be able to give me advice or direct me to a place that might be able to serve us better or at least let me know we'll live through this! Thanks so much for reading all this! :)