Can a child have ASD and be "very social"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:13:01 again. It does not specify on the IEP, though we did talk about it. They indicated that his hours would be mixed between in-class assistance and pull outs for things like social skills, or small group. I am curious to see how it all pans out when he starts. The teacher at his K came to his private preschool this Spring twice to observe him/talk to his teachers. I do not know if this is the norm, but I really appreciated that they made an effort to get to know him. I think the reason they added having the IEP reconvene after 1 month into school was to see if the way we set it up was working. Fingers crossed.

thanks for the info! hope it all goes smoothly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Getting back to OP's original post, I think the issue is that many, many small boys are obsessed with light switches, DVD buttons and doors. In fact I would go so far as to say that this is almost a developmental stage. It can't be considered a "sign" of ASD. We've all focused in on the notion that the OP's pediatrician has said that the boy can't be social and have ASD, but really, sit back and look at what the so-called symptoms of ASD are here -- they really are not there.

Very true, but when a child is also late in talking, people immediately throw the child under the microscope, and EVERYTHING they do becomes suspect. Hopefully, by pulling the language component out of the new ASD, this will start to get through to people. Many young children also toe walk and flap their arms when excited --- again, not the true markers of autism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Getting back to OP's original post, I think the issue is that many, many small boys are obsessed with light switches, DVD buttons and doors. In fact I would go so far as to say that this is almost a developmental stage. It can't be considered a "sign" of ASD. We've all focused in on the notion that the OP's pediatrician has said that the boy can't be social and have ASD, but really, sit back and look at what the so-called symptoms of ASD are here -- they really are not there.

Very true, but when a child is also late in talking, people immediately throw the child under the microscope, and EVERYTHING they do becomes suspect. Hopefully, by pulling the language component out of the new ASD, this will start to get through to people. Many young children also toe walk and flap their arms when excited --- again, not the true markers of autism.

OP here. Yes! I think I am more focused on the obsession with doors, light switches, etc. because of the speech delay and, less so, the gross motor delays (he's a big kid so there is a lot to move). Anyway, thanks everyone. Happy slightly cooler temperatures!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Getting back to OP's original post, I think the issue is that many, many small boys are obsessed with light switches, DVD buttons and doors. In fact I would go so far as to say that this is almost a developmental stage. It can't be considered a "sign" of ASD. We've all focused in on the notion that the OP's pediatrician has said that the boy can't be social and have ASD, but really, sit back and look at what the so-called symptoms of ASD are here -- they really are not there.

I disagree. My DS was a lot like OP's at that age and he most definitely has AS. Lots of red flags here.

[Anonymous]

I think with regard to being obsessed with light switches, DVD buttons, etc. there is certainly difference between normal curiosity, and an obsession. My thought, OP, if your instinct as a parent is that something is not right, then of course, you can seek out other opinions. A pediatrician is a first place to start, but, there are many experts who might have more expertise in developmental delays than your ped.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son is 16 months old- doesn't walk (but close), no words, doesn't really point, obsessed with doors, light switches, DVD buttons, etc., BUT, he waves and plays peek-a-boo with everyone and has a huge smile for everyone he sees, is very engaging, great eye contact, gives hugs both on his own initiative or upon request. My ped says he can't have an ASD because he is "very social" but there seem to be so many other signs. FWIW, I think my DH could have some type of high functioning autism ...

I haven't read all the responses but OP, your DS sounds alot like my DS at that age, including the love of doors, light switches, etc, but with the great eye contact and peek a boo play, etc. He qualified for EI and has been in therapy ever since (he's now 2y3m). He has no ASD dx, or any other dx, for that matter. Speech therapy and play therapy has really had a great impact on him. It is certainly possible that your DS has just a simple delay, without any particular ASD dx. It is possible to change the trajectory of a kid's development with some intervention and time.
Just a thought. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Getting back to OP's original post, I think the issue is that many, many small boys are obsessed with light switches, DVD buttons and doors. In fact I would go so far as to say that this is almost a developmental stage. It can't be considered a "sign" of ASD. We've all focused in on the notion that the OP's pediatrician has said that the boy can't be social and have ASD, but really, sit back and look at what the so-called symptoms of ASD are here -- they really are not there.

Very true, but when a child is also late in talking, people immediately throw the child under the microscope, and EVERYTHING they do becomes suspect. Hopefully, by pulling the language component out of the new ASD, this will start to get through to people. Many young children also toe walk and flap their arms when excited --- again, not the true markers of autism.

I don't know why you are saying that they are pulling the language component out of the definition of an ASD. The new definition refers to language abnormalities in several ways. Not all kids with ASDs have language delays and not all kids with language delays of an ASD, but language delays are still an important red flag to consider.

I've seen plenty of kids who toe walk who don't have ASDs. I have personally never seen a consistent arm flapper who wasn't on the spectrum. I'm sure they exist, but I don't know any.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Getting back to OP's original post, I think the issue is that many, many small boys are obsessed with light switches, DVD buttons and doors. In fact I would go so far as to say that this is almost a developmental stage. It can't be considered a "sign" of ASD. We've all focused in on the notion that the OP's pediatrician has said that the boy can't be social and have ASD, but really, sit back and look at what the so-called symptoms of ASD are here -- they really are not there.

Very true, but when a child is also late in talking, people immediately throw the child under the microscope, and EVERYTHING they do becomes suspect. Hopefully, by pulling the language component out of the new ASD, this will start to get through to people. Many young children also toe walk and flap their arms when excited --- again, not the true markers of autism.

I don't know why you are saying that they are pulling the language component out of the definition of an ASD. The new definition refers to language abnormalities in several ways. Not all kids with ASDs have language delays and not all kids with language delays of an ASD, but language delays are still an important red flag to consider.

I've seen plenty of kids who toe walk who don't have ASDs. I have personally never seen a consistent arm flapper who wasn't on the spectrum. I'm sure they exist, but I don't know any.

The DSM V is dropping the language component from the new ASD. Social communication deficits (not language) and perseveration remain.

Here is a quote from the APA on the new DSM-V.
"For example, by pulling language impairment out of the diagnostic criteria for autism, we will be able to better describe individuals with autism with or without significant language impairment, as opposed to giving them the same diagnosis. Similarly, the DSM-IV prevents the co-diagnoses of ADHD and autism, or of schizophrenia and autism. But we know that these conditions can co-occur, and DSM 5 will allow for this ability to better capture what is at issue for a given individual than merely "autistic disorder".
http://autism.about.com/od/diagnosingautism/a/Will-New-Diagnostic-Criteria-Mean-My-Child-With-Pdd-Nos-Is-No-Longer-Autistic.htm

. Another poster linked to a John Hopkins link of stereotypies, which is what arm flapping is called without autism.

[Anonymous]

Kids with autism have stereotypies too, trust me. It is a term for the specific activity, not the underlying disorder. Some people incorrectly call it stimming, but the proper term is stereotypy.

Switching the term from language delays to communication delays just makes it more inclusive, which is as it should be. There are plenty of kids with ASDs who can speak but have deficits in communication. But the term communication deficit certainly includes the kids who are non verbal. So I still think its incorrect to say that language delays have been removed, they've just been expanded. And as the mother of a child with an ASD who could speak just fine but had definite communication issues, I can vouch for the fact that speech therapists work with such kids ALL the time.

[Anonymous]

The APA says they've removed the language component because too many people were mislead, assuming that language deficits meant autism. Language delays and disorders can mean many things, and can also stand on their own. But it was a cheap and easy shorthand for lots of undertrained and simply untrained diagnosers, or for everybody's Aunt Sue to do armchair Dxes.

And several field trials have show they are actually narrowing the definition of autism in the DSM-V, and fewer people will qualify.
Many will be moved to other categories that are more in line with what they actually have. Hopefully, this will make the research easier, since autism is just a big dumping ground now.

[Anonymous]

I personally do not know of a single child who was diagnosed with autism solely on the basis of a language delay. Not a one. Nor do I see the condition being overdiagnosed. To the contrary, I see many parents resisting the idea and clinicians offering soft landing diagnoses like SPD, anything, anything to avoid the ASD. I am sure there are kids being misdiagnosed but the far, far greater likelihood is that they are not being diagnosed with an ASD that they do have, or that the diagnosis is delayed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I personally do not know of a single child who was diagnosed with autism solely on the basis of a language delay. Not a one. Nor do I see the condition being overdiagnosed. To the contrary, I see many parents resisting the idea and clinicians offering soft landing diagnoses like SPD, anything, anything to avoid the ASD. I am sure there are kids being misdiagnosed but the far, far greater likelihood is that they are not being diagnosed with an ASD that they do have, or that the diagnosis is delayed.

The APA disagrees with this line of thinking, and is rewriting the DSM-5 accordinglingly.

[Anonymous]

I see a lot of people struggling with what this AS really means and I think we miss how much it part of our general human condition that both enriches and challenges us. I recently listened to a radio program interviewing a parent who had a child with autism and wrote a history of it as a diagnosis. Might be worth listening to, I found it very enlightening

http://being.publicradio.org/programs/2011/autism-and-humanity/kristasjournal.shtml

The Centers for Disease Control report that 1 in 110 children in the U.S. is now diagnosed somewhere on the spectrum of autism. In other words, this is a condition that affects many lives, many families.

General reporting and publicized controversies tend to focus on the physiology and neurology of autism, or on possible causes and cures. As I've followed such stories, I've longed to understand something about the inner world of people with autism and those who love them. I've wanted to hear about autism in terms of spirit, intellect, and human nature. And when I discovered Paul Collins' warm and erudite book Not Even Wrong: A Father's Journey into the Lost History of Autism, I knew I'd found a way in.

During a routine checkup, his beloved son Morgan was diagnosed with autism at the age of two and a half. Paul then went searching for understanding in history and literature. He traced the winding process by which 20th-century physicians finally diagnosed autism after centuries in which it was conflated with very different conditions, such as schizophrenia and Down syndrome. He had previously written about eccentric characters and forgotten inventors in history, and he began to find evidence of autism in some of these figures who had already captured his attention. In his travels, he also experienced how the spectrum of autism quietly reaches into centers of contemporary invention — such as Microsoft.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I personally do not know of a single child who was diagnosed with autism solely on the basis of a language delay. Not a one. Nor do I see the condition being overdiagnosed. To the contrary, I see many parents resisting the idea and clinicians offering soft landing diagnoses like SPD, anything, anything to avoid the ASD. I am sure there are kids being misdiagnosed but the far, far greater likelihood is that they are not being diagnosed with an ASD that they do have, or that the diagnosis is delayed.

The APA disagrees with this line of thinking, and is rewriting the DSM-5 accordinglingly.

The link you provided says nothing about ASDs being under diagnosed. It says, rather, that the new definitions will be more inclusive, not less. And specifically that language impairment is considered but comes under the broader rubric of communication impairment, to "capture" the kids who can speak but have trouble communicating appropriately.

You are projecting a lot here and again it seems like you are working so hard to prove to yourself that your DC doesn't have an ASD, that you are questioning the diagnoses of other children as well. The new definitions will, I believe, bring a lot of clarity specifically because more of what we know is related to ASDs will be covered.

[Anonymous]

And several field trials have show they are actually narrowing the definition of autism in the DSM-V, and fewer people will qualify.
Many will be moved to other categories that are more in line with what they actually have. Hopefully, this will make the research easier, since autism is just a big dumping ground now.

I am an all-new poster. I dearly hope this to be true, solely from a research POV.