OP: Dr. Dan Shapiro and the psychologist hired by DS's school, the team at Children's Hospital Autism Spectrum Disorders Clinic all came up with AS for DS. All the diagnosis are from this year. I don't have a problem with the diagnosis: DS is just like his dad but less rigid and with fewer sensory issues. Our family on both sides is like this so... Despite all the issues, everyone went to elite boarding prep schools and graduated from Ivy colleges and grad schools without any interventions. For DS, I want to make life a little easier and I'm very happy that he has a diagnosis and an IEP and supports at school.

1254: what is scaffolding of social support, exactly. For a kid who may need more "support" socially in early grades, how does that work: a grownup hangs out during playtime and guidees the child?

OP, who diagnosed your DS with AS? He sounds similar to my DD (and even higher functioning) but KKI would not give her ASD diagnosis due to all of her "strengths" similar to those of your DS.

Anonymous wrote:Not to be dumb, but what is perservative play? And scaffolding? These are terms i have heard professionals use, and I dont actually know what it means. Google didnt work on this.

From my limited knowledge... Perservative play refers to obsessions or "special interests." For instance, my AS son loves elevators. He likes to ride them, view videos on Yourtube, pretend to ride in them (closets in our house), etc. They are not necessarily "bad" per se but can be limiting b/c AS kids prefer to do them ALL THE TIME rather than try different types of play.

Scaffolding is when a person such as an adult consciously or unconsciously provide supports during social interactions. Peers especially young children won't do this.

OP again: So far, we don't see problems with "flexibility, problem solving, a higher level more abstract way of thinking" with DS and weren't seeking interventions for these issues. Granted he is 4. Also, how do you measure improvements in these things? For us, floortime and it's goals were too abstract and not what we were looking for. I'm sure it can help others just not us.