Diagnosing Aspergers

[Anonymous]

PP here. It is quite fascinating (albeit challenging) how similar they seem to be!! The noise issue was what made us pursue finding a diagnosis as well because we started to have to make too many adjustments for her, and her problems are definitely pervasive. Thank you for posting, and I hope this does not come across as strange, but I do find some comfort in knowing that she is not the only girl presenting with these issues. Good luck to you, too!

[Anonymous]

We have a 3 yo son who was diagnosed in April (2 y, 8 mo) with having very high functioning AS by Dr. Dan Shapiro. I can't say enough good things about Dan, but he isn't cheap. If you see him expect to pay about $1,000, at least, for initial evaluation, school visit, formal report and then follow-up consultations. He is excellent.

To the poster who said he was dead wrong, can you please tell me what he was wrong about? The reason I ask is b/c sometimes my husband and I question his dx. Our son does has some minor AS symptoms, but not most of them. The things that he has are limited play, short attention span, not great interaction with kids (but may be do to short attention span and age - he just turned 3 so this will be a big year for him), and some obsessions which have lessened since we've been working with him. He presents rather normal, as in most people would have no idea that he had AS. They would just think that he's very busy or perhaps has ADHD, which we're thinking, too. He has no sensory issues at all.

To the PP, I feel your pain. This is the hardest thing that I've ever had to deal with in my life. I think about it constantly and grieve daily. But, I keep telling myself that I have to appreciate him for his strengths, and there are a lot of them. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Dan diagnosed my DS with AS after several clinicians told us he was fine, no ASD. It wasn't glaringly obvious but as DS has gotten older it has become more so. I am grateful Dan saw what others missed because it allowed us to get early intervention. I think when your DC is very young and very high functioning it is easy to dismiss the signs. Not saying he is always right but I would give his diagnosis a tremendous amount of weight. And to 21:55, my DS had an explosion of development between the ages of 3 and 4 -- this often happens with kids with AS -- so we did question the diagnosis at the time, but eventually it became clear it was right.

[Anonymous]

To 8:09 - what kind of things became more obvious your DC got older? And...how old is your child now? This is 21:55, btw. How did your child present as a young 3-4 yo? And...where is your child now? A SN program or in a public school with supports? What is your child like now and what kinds of therapies/interventions have you gotten? I so deeply wish that he would just "grow" out of it, but I know that won't happen and it makes me so so sad.

[Anonymous]

I'm wondering if the kids who were diagnosed with AS presented with speech delay at 3-4, or what their speech was like? Also...does AS typically present with cognitive delays?

[Anonymous]

21:55 here: Our son had absolutely no speech or cognitive delays. He actually speaks better than most kids his age - started talking at 15 mo. He was, however, obsessed with doors and had some perseverative behaviors. In addition, seemed a little OCD, but that has almost fully gone away. He has an unbelievable memory, too.

[Anonymous]

8:09 -- between 3 and 4 DS' perseveration over doors and light switches stopped, or rather switched to true special interests. his interaction improved enormously. He made friends. He is in a small mainstream private school and has friends and is happy but definitely has AS.

[Anonymous]

Interesting about the doors and light switches b/c my DS is into those, too. I would love to talk to you more at length if you wouldn't mind. If it's okay could you email me at: [e-mail]. The dx is still so new and fresh for us and part of me feels really lost. Dan has helped with that, but I feel like other parents would be even better. I hope to hear from you. Thanks!