Reply to Does the academic giftedness that comes with autism outweigh the social struggles?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I'm asking because our 3yo DS was just diagnosed with autism. While part of me is worried that he won't fit in socially when he goes to school, another part of me is relieved that he will undoubtedly excel effortlessly, as autism tends to come with academic giftedness. He'll probably graduate high school in the top 1% of his class and go to a T20 college. I know I can't change the fact that he has autism, but I still can't help wondering if his academic and financial success will make his social challenges worth-it.[/quote]

I haven't read all the responses, but I think that is good you are trying to look at the positives that may come from your child's disability! We often hear SO MANY negatives, that it can be helpful to try and explore the positives :)

Autism Spectrum Disorder is just that - a wide spectrum.  Medically, there is "Level 1 - low support needs, level 2- moderate support needs, level 3- high support needs".  While SOME autistic individuals ARE gifted cognitively, ASD is also often co-occurring with an intellectual disability, ADHD, anxiety, or a specific learning disability.  Some autistic individuals are non-verbal, while others are highly verbal and develop the ability to "mask" to try and blend into social situations (which is exhausting).  Some questions for you to consider (you don't need to answer here) is:

- Who diagnosed Autism? Has he/she had a full psychological and autism evaluation? The "gold star" for assessing Autism is the ADOS/ADI - it's a two part process where the child undergoes a structured autism interview and the parent completes an autism interview.  Were you able to find out some cognitive results? Adaptive functioning? Speech? Those are important pieces, but I will also add that cognitive testing is not super accurate at 3 years old, so you would want to get them re-evaluated within 3 years.

-If your child has not undergone a thorough evaluation, where you can get a good baseline understanding of where their strengths and needs are right now, I would start there either privately or through your local school system.

- I would review what services are recommended through whatever testing was done and get your child on all the "wait-lists" for Occupational Therapy, Speech therapy, ABA therapy, and join a parenting support group to learn more and connect with other parents.  Your child may not need all of those services, but those are often the ones that are initially explored.

I have an autistic child (level 1) who also has ADHD and is mildly gifted "AuDHD".  My child is now in 5th grade and while [b]they are getting straight As in school,[/b] their disability impacts them A LOT and it's been a really hard journey.  They have struggled so much behaviorally at school and home, they are often bored at school and are not challenged in a way that works for them, they have struggled so, so, so much with friendships and sibling/family interactions and we are constantly trying to support them with their mental health; they are at super high risk for serious mental health concerns as they begin to navigate adolescence.  They have the POTENTIAL for incredible success, but getting there is a really, hard path.  [b]I honestly think my child who has ADHD and a specific learning disability, but is NOT gifted or autistic, will have a much easier path getting through school and getting into a college/career than my older child.[/b]

I really encourage you to dive into the supports that you can and ALWAYS celebrate your child's wonderful strengths, but it's a journey and best taken one step at a time. [/quote]

What makes you think your older child will stop excelling in school?[/quote]

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