Re: Possible Asperger's?

[Guest guest]

Hi Alison,

As I was reading your post, the first thought that popped into my mind

was Asperger's Syndrome. I am a special ed teacher & work with many

students who are diagnosed with this. All of the things you listed are

associated with this developmental disorder. What you should know is

that Asperger's kids typically have normal intelligence. A key thing

that you didn't mention with Asperger's kids is that they have

difficulty with things such as idioms (taking things literally) and

humor (may not get a joke). Do you see any of these things with Jake?

He may be too young to see this kind of thing yet.

Kim C.

I have not posted in a very long time. A few things have been going

on with Jake lately that are concerning us. He is 5 years old and

getting ready to begin kindergarten in the fall. We are having

serious concerns about him being able to adapt to a full size general

ed class. He will still have an IEP for OT, PT and some behav.

concerns. He is just finishing up his third year in a sp. ed.

preschool program. While his cognitive abilities are fine, he has

trouble with staying focused and on task. We have suspected ADD for a

while and go back to a new neurologist to reopen the subject next

month. In the meantime his preschool teacher suggested some

socialization therapy. He is a very social child, but seems more

comfortable with adults instead of kids. He still parallel plays.

Other kids sort of don't " get him " as he is obsessed with trains and

only really wants to speak about them. It is almost like other

" normal " kids don't really take him seriously. It breaks my heart.

It is hard for me to really type exactly what I mean here, other than

something is off. He is also very poor at making eye contact. When

we " force " him to look us in the eye, it is though it is painful for

him. I began to call some places that offer socialization therapy and

after getting into a conversation with one of the therapist, she asked

if we have ever looked into Asberger's Sydrome. Of course, it was

only a short conversation and by no means was she diagnosing him she

just wanted to throw it out there. So of course I began to research

it and Jake does seem to display some of the symptoms.

Anyone out there with similar concerns or opinions???

Alison (Jake, 5, RSS, gh, g-tube zantac, periactin, zyrtec)