Reply to 13 year old DS with aspergers-like symptoms- pros and cons of diagnosis?

Forum Index » Kids With Special Needs and Disabilities

Reply to "13 year old DS with aspergers-like symptoms- pros and cons of diagnosis?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I beg to differ with PPs. I don't really see the point. Your son sounds like a wonderful, successful and well-adjusted kid who is very introverted.
If he's genuinely lonely (a good question from PP) and not just alone which some kids prefer to be, I would save my money and put him into a social skills group. You don't need a diagnosis for that. Google PEERS and Dr. David Black.
Also, I know the diagnosis is very well accepted these days but there are still drawbacks and you don't know how he'll react to it. [/quote]

Although a social skills group is a good idea regardless, I think an evaluation is a good idea b/c so many kids on the spectrum have co-morbidities like anxiety or depression.  Often these things rear up in puberty.  Plus, if he has difficulty expressing his feelings this may be related to pragmatics vs. anxiety.  Inattentive ADHD may also be at play at hindering eye contact.  Bottom line is that the older he gets the more important it will be for him to be able to communicate his thoughts and feelings to others as well as holding appropriate eye contact with future employers, co-workers, significant others, etc.  It would be good to know what's what.

Don't beat yourself up, OP.  It sounds like your kid's been getting along in life just fine, however the older he gets the more challenging the world becomes.  It's best that he has the skills to handle this.  If he's on the spectrum, then it might be practice, practice, practice eye contact.  If he has anxiety or ADHD, medication may be an option.  It's hard to aim for a target if you don't know what the target is.

Start with a social skills group, OP like Dr. Black's or Ivymount's.  Hopefully things like eye contact and his ability to express himself will improve.  [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics