What does Asperger's LOOK like?

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I'd like to know what your child with Asperger's is like. It is one

thing to read, but another to know what it looks like so to speak.

The clips on the Autismspeaks site are great but I don't know what an

older child with a higher functioning ASD acts like.

My daughter is 6 1/2. While I could mention other things, my main

concern is that she's been into dogs for several years. For a long

time she acted like a puppy by barking instead of talking, though she

could talk. That was accompanied by crawling and holding her hands in

fists and pawing at things. To this day she points with her hands in

fists as well. When things get overwhelming for her, she no longer

barks, but still does hold her hands as " paws " with her arms bent at

the elbows. This is usually accompanied by also turning her head up

and to the side. At her 6th birthday she crawled around pawing the

floor and shoved presents under the couch. She will also walk very

stiff-legged. And hand/arm flapping. Do these sound like things a

kid with an ASD would do? It just seems beyond normal shy behavior,

as her doctor thought when I brought this up 2-3 years ago.

Also, what kind of help does your child get at school? I'm asking for

my daughter, but also a student I'm going to have this year.

Thank you!