Age of Diagnosis with Asperger's (as opposed to other spectrum diagnoses)

[Anonymous]

My son is being evaluated for spectrum issues in the next month. I am wondering from parents of children with Asperger's at what age they got the diagnosis. My son is 4 and we (and our pediatrician still) never saw any yellow flags until recently. Yellow flags are a little trouble socializing in school and some stimming -- no speech delay or major social issues. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

My understanding is that Asperger's is generally not diagnosed until age 4 or older, when the lack of social skills begins to be more obvious. I don't think that speech delay is associated with Asperger's. Children can be very verbal, but they do not pick up on the social cues that guide the rest of us in conversation. So, it can be difficult to hold a back and forth conversation with them. Does your child have any sensory issues, like with sound or light? That can be another sign of Asperger's (but can also be a sign of many other things).
Good luck with your son's evaluation.

[Anonymous]

I am curious why you would want to pursue getting a spectrum diagnosis if you describe your son's issues as mild? If it is not interfering with his daily life, I would be cautious to slap a label on him. Yellow flags are often not enough for psychologists and developmental pediatricians to diagnose Asperger's. A friend of mine went through years of evaluations before someone finally gave her child the diagnosis of Asperger's at the age of 8.

[Anonymous]

I agree with PP...if he only has mild social issues and no language/communication issues, I would be surprised if it's Asperger's. What makes you think it's a spectrum disorder?

[Anonymous]

Often, you need a diagnosis in order to get your insurance to pay for treatment. Nobody wants their child to have a label but if it is the difference between getting some therapy or nothing at all, get a diagnosis.

[Anonymous]

I'm not OP but I'm guessing someone recommended an evaluation.

[Anonymous]

OP here: Pediatrician agreed that there are enough flags to at least see someone. Of course I am not seeking a label for label's sake.

What I was really hoping for as far as input is not whether anyone thinks I should or should not get a diagnosis, but, as per the title, the age of diagnosis with Asperger's.

[Anonymous]

But that really depends in how severe the symptoms are. The more red flags, the earlier the diagnosis (though with Asperger's typically not under 4) The less flags, the more "wait and see and intervene" will happen. Spectrum diagnosis (regardless of which one) are given if a child shows enough signs that the weaknesses within the spectrum interfere enough with the child's ability to function in a "normal" society/classroom setting. If that is not the case, you typically will not get a diagnosis.

However, if pediatricians/teachers recommend evaluations, you should just go ahead and get them. Nobody can tell you if or when your child will be diagnosed without seeing your child. Age 4 is old enough to start getting on the rollercoaster of seeking the right professional it won't be quick process anyway.

My child is autistic so I do have a network of friends with autistic children, and I honestly don't know of anyone who got the Asperger's diagnosis per se prior to age 6-8. But I do have friends whose kids started out with a PDD-NOS/Autism diagnosis that was later specified as Asperger's.

[Anonymous]

OP, do you suspect Asperger's verus PDD-NOS/Autism because he has no speech delay?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here: Pediatrician agreed that there are enough flags to at least see someone. Of course I am not seeking a label for label's sake.

What I was really hoping for as far as input is not whether anyone thinks I should or should not get a diagnosis, but, as per the title, the age of diagnosis with Asperger's.

PP here...didn't mean to offend, sorry. I just think that specialists are so quick to jump to the spectrum when a child has any aytpical behavior or quirk, and your son's symtpoms sound very mild. It brings up my own issues because I have a child with some quirks and I go back and forth every day wondering if she's on the spectrum, and it's been confusing and a bit overwhelming trying to understand it all.

[Anonymous]

OP here: I know it is tough to go ahead and even get an evaluation done. Some people (I would suspect those with children without any issues) just say "go ahead and do an evaluation," but it has taken me a long time to get there.

Anyway, as for Asperger's vs PDD/Autism, Asperger's is just a hunch based on a good friend whose son has such a diagnosis. Probably not autism because he can engage well with his family and friends that he knows, has no language delay and strong cognitive ability. As for PDD, I don't know. We are just starting the roller coaster as a PP called it. Thanks to all for the input.

BTW, the article posted on the other Asperger's post is quite insightful.

[Anonymous]

I don't know what the official age is for Aspergers but I share your concern about over diagnosis for spectrum issues. My nephew was "diagnosed" with Aspergers at 2 and "grew out of it" by 4.5. The flags for him were speech delay, obsession with trains, a funny face he made that the experts said was a stim, and late social skills. The funny face was something his grandpa showed him how to do, thought it was funny and kept doing it with him all the time. He liked it and kept doing it until he was around 3. He was not in a group environment until age 4 and was home either with SIL or the grandparents. With the diagnosis they stayed away from daycare or earlier preschools. On the trains, these were the main toys he was given so its not surprising he was into them. SIL found a full time preschool for him at 4 and he did incredibly well. The speech therapy probably helped but in hindsight the diagnosis did more harm than good.

My son also has a speech delay but because he has older siblings he is constantly exposed to social play and scores high on social skills. He has trains but a mix of other toys as well so he isn't overly into one thing. I really wonder if he had been the first and not had the same social exposure whether we would be told we were on the spectrum too. Evalution is a very good thing if it leds to therapies that can't hurt and are helpful but there is a range of skill among evaluators out there and IMO too broad a range of flags that they can jump to a diagnosis. There doesn't seem to be any accountability if the diagnosis is off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know what the official age is for Aspergers but I share your concern about over diagnosis for spectrum issues. My nephew was "diagnosed" with Aspergers at 2 and "grew out of it" by 4.5. The flags for him were speech delay, obsession with trains, a funny face he made that the experts said was a stim, and late social skills. The funny face was something his grandpa showed him how to do, thought it was funny and kept doing it with him all the time. He liked it and kept doing it until he was around 3. He was not in a group environment until age 4 and was home either with SIL or the grandparents. With the diagnosis they stayed away from daycare or earlier preschools. On the trains, these were the main toys he was given so its not surprising he was into them. SIL found a full time preschool for him at 4 and he did incredibly well. The speech therapy probably helped but in hindsight the diagnosis did more harm than good.

My son also has a speech delay but because he has older siblings he is constantly exposed to social play and scores high on social skills. He has trains but a mix of other toys as well so he isn't overly into one thing. I really wonder if he had been the first and not had the same social exposure whether we would be told we were on the spectrum too. Evalution is a very good thing if it leds to therapies that can't hurt and are helpful but there is a range of skill among evaluators out there and IMO too broad a range of flags that they can jump to a diagnosis. There doesn't seem to be any accountability if the diagnosis is off.

Not to disqualify your nephew's 'doctors', but it doesn't sound like they knew much about Aspergers. A huge difference b/w aspergers and PDD/Autism is that there is no speech delay. That is one concern I have with the majority of professionals who are diagnosing any of these disorders--they rarely ask to 'see' the whole picture that could explain a lot more.