What is HFA?

[Anonymous]

Can those whose children are considered HFA explain what HFA looks like? At the age of 5? What delays did you see? What placement did you get?

[Anonymous]

I did not notice anything at age 5. It became more clear in 1st through 4th grade - where it came to a head. He never received any official support in the public schools- not IEP no 504.

[Anonymous]

My child was diagnosed at age 3.5. His ASD was more noticeable at that age because of repetitive motions, inflexibility, fine and gross motor delay and prolonged emotional tantrums.

At age 5, much of that was the same. The tantrums became less frequent. But, he has also been in intense therapies since diagnosis. So, some continuing motor delays but much improved. Some emotional dysregulation, but he calms much quicker.

The one area that has gotten worse is anxiety. But, as I said, he has a lot of therapies and support in school, at home, from doctors and therapists. Even "high functioning" kids may need a lot of support. Some maybe less. It really depends on how the ASD manifests and the particular combination of strengths and weaknesses your child may have.

[Anonymous]

At age 5, my child had very high anxiety, social immaturity and a lot of tantrums. We really were not thinking ASD, we thought we were looking at severe anxiety. We got the diagnosis at age 8.

[Anonymous]

At 5 he was sweet and happy and delightful, obviously smart, already reading fluently and with a spooky good memory, but a bit clumsy and delayed on fine motor stuff like handwriting. The clearest sign was that he did not play with other children, really. Just adults. He had never made a friend. All that improved dramatically over the next few years.

[Anonymous]

At 5yo DS had huge meltdowns, fine motor delays, and few friends his age. He had a very large vocabulary and adults were always impressed talking to him since he was like a little professor. He was diagnosed with Adhd and depression shortly after turning 6. He would tell me "it doesn't feel like there is a place for me in the world". We finally pushed for an ADOS and he was diagnosed at almost 9yo.

[Anonymous]

At 5, DS had tantrums, poor eye contact, and did not talk much. He could read at 8th grade level, as long as it was non-fiction. He loved non-fiction TV (Jeff Corwin, especially) but had limited attention for anything that was fictional or fantasy. He was terrific at math and science. He had amazing visual-spatial skills and did Legoes and puzzles way above his age level. Better with animals than people. He did not transition easily from one activity to another. He was pretty rigid in his routine. He had sensory issues and disliked loud noises or over-stimulation (Magic Kingdom at Disney World was a disaster. He hated it.)

At 14, he is an 8th grader in all honors classes in 8th grade. He has friends and extra-curricular activities. He goes to parties. He has a girl that he texts with. His verbal skills and social skills are much improved and are appropriate for his age level. He is a little odd, but not in any way that makes him stand out as "that autistic kid."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My child was diagnosed at age 3.5. His ASD was more noticeable at that age because of repetitive motions, inflexibility, fine and gross motor delay and prolonged emotional tantrums.

At age 5, much of that was the same. The tantrums became less frequent. But, he has also been in intense therapies since diagnosis. So, some continuing motor delays but much improved. Some emotional dysregulation, but he calms much quicker.

The one area that has gotten worse is anxiety. But, as I said, he has a lot of therapies and support in school, at home, from doctors and therapists. Even "high functioning" kids may need a lot of support. Some maybe less. It really depends on how the ASD manifests and the particular combination of strengths and weaknesses your child may have.

This was us also. My DS was diagnosed at exactly 3 years old as having severe ASD. 2 years later and intense therapy and doctors and therapist refer to his autism as high functioning. Every kiddo with autism is different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At age 5, my child had very high anxiety, social immaturity and a lot of tantrums. We really were not thinking ASD, we thought we were looking at severe anxiety. We got the diagnosis at age 8.

My DS is 6 and this describes him. I heard ASD suggested for the first time recently and while I don't think it fits, it makes more sense than ADHD. I'm not sure if we should keep waiting or consider getting an evaluation now. Would an earlier diagnosis have been helpful for you?

[Anonymous]

If a child has some speech at 5, but not conversational (more memorized phrases) but can read and write at a 1st grade level. Is that moderate ASD? Lots of people say HFa or low functioning, but not many people describe their kids as having moderate ASD.