Doesn't qualify for an Asperger's diagnosis

[Guest guest]

Hi Everyone,

My daughter did a neuropsych evaluation over the course of a few months. We got

the feedback on Friday. According to their testing, she doesn't qualify for an

Asperger's diagnosis. They said this because she WANTS to be around people (she

just reacts in strange ways that puts them off), she makes eye contact, she does

the give and take conversation (to some degree...if she's not interested in what

you're talking about, she will throw out some random thought to bring the

conversation back to her interest).

What it did conclude was that she has serious sensory issues that affect her

impulsivity, concentration, motor skills, etc. They said that the deficit

between visual and auditory learning was HUGE (she recalls more of what she

hears than what she sees). She didn't quite meet the mark for a non-verbal

learning disability, which means the school is probably going to poo-poo any

type of extra help (although time management and organization are major

problems). They did say that if she tested in the higher age group, she would

have qualified. So that tells me that she definitely has it! It was just a

matter of numbers, but the deficits shown were drastic.

The good news is that she may be easier to help. We are fortunate enough to be

going back to Colorado Soon. Denver is only a little over an hour away, and it

is home to the STAR (sensory therapies and research) Center, which offers an

intensive treatment program that could possibly do in 30 days what years and

years of occupational therapy may achieve. We are a military family and we are

trying to get our tour in Yuma, AZ cut by a year so we can get back to Colorado

and start this treatment! Maybe with that, her impulsivity, lack of focus,

handwriting, social skills, inability to plan and organize, and inability to

track time will improve.

She's never had meltdowns - tantrum type ones anyway - her 'meltdowns' manifest

in a way that makes her look like a raving lunatic. When she is stressed, she

will laugh, make obnoxious noises, throw herself on the ground, chew, or spin in

tight circles for hours. As much as I convinced myself that she had Asperger's,

she just doesn't meet the criteria. I am actually relieved, but of course, this

means the school will continue to not recognize her needs.

What I was getting at here is for those of you without a diagnosis, check out

the sensory processing disorder message board. That may be more fitting for your

kids than Asperger's. Hopefully, SPD will be added to the new DSM as a valid

diagnosis in itself.

Best of luck to you all.

Andie