My son may have Aspergers.. Do the symptoms fit?

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I am new to the group as you may know. My son is 14 and we think he may have AS.

Some of the things he does point to AS, however some things that a child with AS

does he does not do.. So I am confused.

Some of the things that he does are defilitely quirky. When he makes his

breakfast in the AM, he gets one item at a time. He will get the cereal and

place it on the table, then the bowl, spoon and so on. when he is done, he will

go in reverse. He never looks forward when he walks. He is always looking at his

feet. He is doing well in school all subjects he has an A or B. I have looked

over his english homework many times and his sentence structure is lacking, his

spelling is poor and soo is his handwriting. He has very little interests and

pretty much the only thing he will do when he does not have homework is read.

Reading may not sound so bad, but the books he has been reading, I kid you not

he has read them at least 5 times if not more. If he watches TV he pretty much

only watches cartoon and when he is watching them he has a grin on his face but

at the time there is nothing funny going on in the cartoon. When you talk to him

he rarely makes eye contact. If someone from chruchj comes up to him to shake

his hand and say hello he looks at the floor.. He talks very monotone and showd

no real inflection unless he is really mad, then he yells. Both my wife and I

are constantly telling him to speak up as we cannot hear him. He always wants to

know what is going on and when. Even though he wants to know everything, he does

not seem to have a concept of time. Like he does not seem to realize that 17

minutes is longer then 10 minutes. The same applies to money. He wanted to buy a

book that cost 5 dollars. However he said he could not get the book because he

only had 10.

I know that AS kids tend to be organised in some areas. With my son I cannot

seem to see where he is organised? Is this always the case? Something else is he

doe not seem to learn from his mistakes. In other words. If he does something

and gets in trouble for it. A fewq days later he will go back and do the same

thing like it never even happened the first time..

I am sorry for rambling. I am just so tired and frustrated and I don't know

where to turn and how to help him and what should I do when these things come

up..

Thanks for taking the time to read this

Mike

[Guest guest]

Hi Mike,

Sorry that yo are so tired... I am not an expert, but would think that not

looking at people and having very narrow interests and repetitive reading of the

same books or repetitive watching of the same videos are the signs... Have you

evaluated him or are planning to? I just evaluated my 5yo son and if nothing

else, at least it put to rest my constant wondering, just like yours, about what

was that " off-ness " that my son has had? If nothing else, at least now I can

come to terms that it is what it is, and start reading books that were

recommended to me after the evaluation, to at least get some knowledge and

advise of dealing with ASD.

-salty

>

> Hi,

>

> I am new to the group as you may know. My son is 14 and we think he may have

AS. Some of the things he does point to AS, however some things that a child

with AS does he does not do.. So I am confused.

>

> Some of the things that he does are defilitely quirky. When he makes his

breakfast in the AM, he gets one item at a time. He will get the cereal and

place it on the table, then the bowl, spoon and so on. when he is done, he will

go in reverse. He never looks forward when he walks. He is always looking at his

feet. He is doing well in school all subjects he has an A or B. I have looked

over his english homework many times and his sentence structure is lacking, his

spelling is poor and soo is his handwriting. He has very little interests and

pretty much the only thing he will do when he does not have homework is read.

Reading may not sound so bad, but the books he has been reading, I kid you not

he has read them at least 5 times if not more. If he watches TV he pretty much

only watches cartoon and when he is watching them he has a grin on his face but

at the time there is nothing funny going on in the cartoon. When you talk to him

he rarely makes eye contact. If someone from chruchj comes up to him to shake

his hand and say hello he looks at the floor.. He talks very monotone and showd

no real inflection unless he is really mad, then he yells. Both my wife and I

are constantly telling him to speak up as we cannot hear him. He always wants to

know what is going on and when. Even though he wants to know everything, he does

not seem to have a concept of time. Like he does not seem to realize that 17

minutes is longer then 10 minutes. The same applies to money. He wanted to buy a

book that cost 5 dollars. However he said he could not get the book because he

only had 10.

>

> I know that AS kids tend to be organised in some areas. With my son I cannot

seem to see where he is organised? Is this always the case? Something else is he

doe not seem to learn from his mistakes. In other words. If he does something

and gets in trouble for it. A fewq days later he will go back and do the same

thing like it never even happened the first time..

>

> I am sorry for rambling. I am just so tired and frustrated and I don't know

where to turn and how to help him and what should I do when these things come

up..

>

> Thanks for taking the time to read this

>

> Mike

>

[Guest guest]

Does he have anxiety? Any issues with sensory overload loud noises,

too much movement?

How does he do on writing and organizing papers for school.

I am puzzled how he is doing well in middle school is it a small

school? And I am puzzled how he gets good grades if his writing

is so poor?

Does he have any friends?

It could be that his IQ tests scores may show a child with

exceptional reasoning skills but deficits in planning

and organizing. If he has a slow processing speed

he may take things one step at a time even getting

his cereal bowl.

My daughter has a high reasoning score and it didn't

seem she could have any deficits. But when she was

tested there were very clear cut deficits in many areas.

I took the path of paying for a private neuropsychological

evaluation to help me figure out my daughter's problems.

If there are no deficts in thinking at all that is a really

blessing but it would be puzzling.

Pam

>

> Hi,

>

> I am new to the group as you may know. My son is 14 and we think he may have

AS. Some of the things he does point to AS, however some things that a child

with AS does he does not do.. So I am confused.

>

> Some of the things that he does are defilitely quirky. When he makes his

breakfast in the AM, he gets one item at a time. He will get the cereal and

place it on the table, then the bowl, spoon and so on. when he is done, he will

go in reverse. He never looks forward when he walks. He is always looking at his

feet. He is doing well in school all subjects he has an A or B. I have looked

over his english homework many times and his sentence structure is lacking, his

spelling is poor and soo is his handwriting. He has very little interests and

pretty much the only thing he will do when he does not have homework is read.

Reading may not sound so bad, but the books he has been reading, I kid you not

he has read them at least 5 times if not more. If he watches TV he pretty much

only watches cartoon and when he is watching them he has a grin on his face but

at the time there is nothing funny going on in the cartoon. When you talk to him

he rarely makes eye contact. If someone from chruchj comes up to him to shake

his hand and say hello he looks at the floor.. He talks very monotone and showd

no real inflection unless he is really mad, then he yells. Both my wife and I

are constantly telling him to speak up as we cannot hear him. He always wants to

know what is going on and when. Even though he wants to know everything, he does

not seem to have a concept of time. Like he does not seem to realize that 17

minutes is longer then 10 minutes. The same applies to money. He wanted to buy a

book that cost 5 dollars. However he said he could not get the book because he

only had 10.

>

> I know that AS kids tend to be organised in some areas. With my son I cannot

seem to see where he is organised? Is this always the case? Something else is he

doe not seem to learn from his mistakes. In other words. If he does something

and gets in trouble for it. A fewq days later he will go back and do the same

thing like it never even happened the first time..

>

> I am sorry for rambling. I am just so tired and frustrated and I don't know

where to turn and how to help him and what should I do when these things come

up..

>

> Thanks for taking the time to read this

>

> Mike

>

[Guest guest]

I had an ARD meeting at my son's school today and mentioned my interest in getting Dylan a neuropsychological test to learn more about his executive functioning challenges and the SCORES teacher (liaison teacher for kids w/ autism at my son's middle school) was not clear exactly what I was talking about. Is there a name of a well-known neuropsychological test that might be more well-known? I'm not certain of the level of knowledge the SCORES teacher has, but I was a little concerned she was not familiar. She did say she would check with the district's autism specialist to find out more.

"Over-optimism is waiting for you ship to come in when you haven't sent one out."

From: Pamela <susanonderko@...> Sent: Mon, March 29, 2010 1:25:09 PMSubject: ( ) Re: My son may have Aspergers.. Do the symptoms fit?

Does he have anxiety? Any issues with sensory overload loud noises,too much movement? How does he do on writing and organizing papers for school.I am puzzled how he is doing well in middle school is it a smallschool? And I am puzzled how he gets good grades if his writing is so poor? Does he have any friends? It could be that his IQ tests scores may show a child with exceptional reasoning skills but deficits in planning and organizing. If he has a slow processing speed he may take things one step at a time even getting his cereal bowl.My daughter has a high reasoning score and it didn'tseem she could have any deficits. But when she wastested there were very clear cut deficits in many areas.I took the path of paying for a private neuropsychologicalevaluation to help me figure out my daughter's problems.If there are no deficts in thinking at all that is a

reallyblessing but it would be puzzling. Pam >> Hi,> > I am new to the group as you may know. My son is 14 and we think he may have AS. Some of the things he does point to AS, however some things that a child with AS does he does not do.. So I am confused.> > Some of the things that he does are defilitely quirky. When he makes his breakfast in the AM, he gets one item at a time. He will get the cereal and place it on the table, then the bowl, spoon and so on. when he is done, he will go in reverse. He never looks forward when he walks. He is always looking at his feet. He is doing well in school all subjects he has an A or B. I have looked over his english homework many times and

his sentence structure is lacking, his spelling is poor and soo is his handwriting. He has very little interests and pretty much the only thing he will do when he does not have homework is read. Reading may not sound so bad, but the books he has been reading, I kid you not he has read them at least 5 times if not more. If he watches TV he pretty much only watches cartoon and when he is watching them he has a grin on his face but at the time there is nothing funny going on in the cartoon. When you talk to him he rarely makes eye contact. If someone from chruchj comes up to him to shake his hand and say hello he looks at the floor.. He talks very monotone and showd no real inflection unless he is really mad, then he yells. Both my wife and I are constantly telling him to speak up as we cannot hear him. He always wants to know what is going on and when. Even though he wants to know everything, he does not seem to have a concept of time. Like he does not

seem to realize that 17 minutes is longer then 10 minutes. The same applies to money. He wanted to buy a book that cost 5 dollars. However he said he could not get the book because he only had 10.> > I know that AS kids tend to be organised in some areas. With my son I cannot seem to see where he is organised? Is this always the case? Something else is he doe not seem to learn from his mistakes. In other words. If he does something and gets in trouble for it. A fewq days later he will go back and do the same thing like it never even happened the first time..> > I am sorry for rambling. I am just so tired and frustrated and I don't know where to turn and how to help him and what should I do when these things come up..> > Thanks for taking the time to read this> > Mike>

[Guest guest]

I understand completely! I agree with the others that it's worth getting a

neuropsych test or go to a developmental pediatrician. My son has mild

Aspergers, but doesn't have all of the typical symptoms either. I see a lot of

signs in your description though. He may have other issues in addition to

Aspergers, so an eval is worth it, so you can figure out what's what and start

an action plan to address any deficits. Good luck!

> >

> > Hi,

> >

> > I am new to the group as you may know. My son is 14 and we think he may have

AS. Some of the things he does point to AS, however some things that a child

with AS does he does not do.. So I am confused.

> >

> > Some of the things that he does are defilitely quirky. When he makes his

breakfast in the AM, he gets one item at a time. He will get the cereal and

place it on the table, then the bowl, spoon and so on. when he is done, he will

go in reverse. He never looks forward when he walks. He is always looking at his

feet. He is doing well in school all subjects he has an A or B. I have looked

over his english homework many times and his sentence structure is lacking, his

spelling is poor and soo is his handwriting. He has very little interests and

pretty much the only thing he will do when he does not have homework is read.

Reading may not sound so bad, but the books he has been reading, I kid you not

he has read them at least 5 times if not more. If he watches TV he pretty much

only watches cartoon and when he is watching them he has a grin on his face but

at the time there is nothing funny going on in the cartoon. When you talk to him

he rarely makes eye

> contact. If someone from chruchj comes up to him to shake his hand and say

hello he looks at the floor.. He talks very monotone and showd no real

inflection unless he is really mad, then he yells. Both my wife and I are

constantly telling him to speak up as we cannot hear him. He always wants to

know what is going on and when. Even though he wants to know everything, he does

not seem to have a concept of time. Like he does not seem to realize that 17

minutes is longer then 10 minutes. The same applies to money. He wanted to buy a

book that cost 5 dollars. However he said he could not get the book because he

only had 10.

> >

> > I know that AS kids tend to be organised in some areas. With my son I cannot

seem to see where he is organised? Is this always the case? Something else is he

doe not seem to learn from his mistakes. In other words. If he does something

and gets in trouble for it. A fewq days later he will go back and do the same

thing like it never even happened the first time..

> >

> > I am sorry for rambling. I am just so tired and frustrated and I don't know

where to turn and how to help him and what should I do when these things come

up..

> >

> > Thanks for taking the time to read this

> >

> > Mike

> >

>

[Guest guest]

I seems like this is a lack of knowledge on the part of the teacher. As I

understand neuropsycological testing is a comprehensive battery of test that

pinpoint deficits in processing etc. It includes questionaires that parents and

teachers fill out as well as tests administered by a psycologist. It is not

something that can be done by the school it is done typically by child

developement centers or neurologist.

Vickie

> >

> > Hi,

> >

> > I am new to the group as you may know. My son is 14 and we think he may have

AS. Some of the things he does point to AS, however some things that a child

with AS does he does not do.. So I am confused.

> >

> > Some of the things that he does are defilitely quirky. When he makes his

breakfast in the AM, he gets one item at a time. He will get the cereal and

place it on the table, then the bowl, spoon and so on. when he is done, he will

go in reverse. He never looks forward when he walks. He is always looking at his

feet. He is doing well in school all subjects he has an A or B. I have looked

over his english homework many times and his sentence structure is lacking, his

spelling is poor and soo is his handwriting. He has very little interests and

pretty much the only thing he will do when he does not have homework is read.

Reading may not sound so bad, but the books he has been reading, I kid you not

he has read them at least 5 times if not more. If he watches TV he pretty much

only watches cartoon and when he is watching them he has a grin on his face but

at the time there is nothing funny going on in the cartoon. When you talk to him

he rarely makes eye

> contact. If someone from chruchj comes up to him to shake his hand and say

hello he looks at the floor.. He talks very monotone and showd no real

inflection unless he is really mad, then he yells. Both my wife and I are

constantly telling him to speak up as we cannot hear him. He always wants to

know what is going on and when. Even though he wants to know everything, he does

not seem to have a concept of time. Like he does not seem to realize that 17

minutes is longer then 10 minutes. The same applies to money. He wanted to buy a

book that cost 5 dollars. However he said he could not get the book because he

only had 10.

> >

> > I know that AS kids tend to be organised in some areas. With my son I cannot

seem to see where he is organised? Is this always the case? Something else is he

doe not seem to learn from his mistakes. In other words. If he does something

and gets in trouble for it. A fewq days later he will go back and do the same

thing like it never even happened the first time..

> >

> > I am sorry for rambling. I am just so tired and frustrated and I don't know

where to turn and how to help him and what should I do when these things come

up..

> >

> > Thanks for taking the time to read this

> >

> > Mike

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Pam,

My son Evan does not really show any anxiety toward anything. He does seem to

have a sensory overload from loud noises. He has never liked them. As far as

writing and organising, he is not organized at all and his handwritten work

leaves a lot to be desired. His sentence structure and penmanship are definitely

not up to par. I am not sure what the teacher is grading when he grades Evan's

papers. I have discussed Evan's papers with the teacher on many occasions and he

does not seem too concerned.. The phycologist on the other hand is concerned.

As far as " friends " I really only know of one or two. When he talks about kids

at school, I am thinking he is calling people he talks to his friends. When he

talks about them and says " my friend " did such n such. I think they are more of

an aquaintence (sp) than a friend.

Evan does not have any reasoning skills and if you are talking to him and you

make a comparison he is totally lost. Like if I was talking to him about hygiene

for example. He wanted to take a shower before going to the beach and I said to

him that does not make any sense. It is kind of like brushing your teeth before

eating Oreos. (this is just an example I thought up) When I make a comparison

like that, he does not see the connection at all. Also he cannot follow written

directions. I find that if they are broken down into small pieces (sections)

then he has a better chance of understanding what he needs to do. If the

directions show a picture of part A and a picture of part B and how to put them

together, he cannot do it.. One year he got Legos for Christmas. they cam with

instructions on how to put the robot or whatever it was together. He could not

do it.. My nephew had it together in no time at all.

Nothing seems to phase him. He misplaced his wallet last week. I asked him about

it and he said he was not sure where it was and he did say that he had money in

it. He showed no real concern that it was missing. If it was me that lost it,

like everyone else on this message board we would tear the house apart looking

for it.

Mike

> >

> > Hi,

> >

> > I am new to the group as you may know. My son is 14 and we think he may have

AS. Some of the things he does point to AS, however some things that a child

with AS does he does not do.. So I am confused.

> >

> > Some of the things that he does are defilitely quirky. When he makes his

breakfast in the AM, he gets one item at a time. He will get the cereal and

place it on the table, then the bowl, spoon and so on. when he is done, he will

go in reverse. He never looks forward when he walks. He is always looking at his

feet. He is doing well in school all subjects he has an A or B. I have looked

over his english homework many times and his sentence structure is lacking, his

spelling is poor and soo is his handwriting. He has very little interests and

pretty much the only thing he will do when he does not have homework is read.

Reading may not sound so bad, but the books he has been reading, I kid you not

he has read them at least 5 times if not more. If he watches TV he pretty much

only watches cartoon and when he is watching them he has a grin on his face but

at the time there is nothing funny going on in the cartoon. When you talk to him

he rarely makes eye contact. If someone from chruchj comes up to him to shake

his hand and say hello he looks at the floor.. He talks very monotone and showd

no real inflection unless he is really mad, then he yells. Both my wife and I

are constantly telling him to speak up as we cannot hear him. He always wants to

know what is going on and when. Even though he wants to know everything, he does

not seem to have a concept of time. Like he does not seem to realize that 17

minutes is longer then 10 minutes. The same applies to money. He wanted to buy a

book that cost 5 dollars. However he said he could not get the book because he

only had 10.

> >

> > I know that AS kids tend to be organised in some areas. With my son I cannot

seem to see where he is organised? Is this always the case? Something else is he

doe not seem to learn from his mistakes. In other words. If he does something

and gets in trouble for it. A fewq days later he will go back and do the same

thing like it never even happened the first time..

> >

> > I am sorry for rambling. I am just so tired and frustrated and I don't know

where to turn and how to help him and what should I do when these things come

up..

> >

> > Thanks for taking the time to read this

> >

> > Mike

> >

>

[Guest guest]

You ask for a neuropyschological evaluation to be done

by a neuropyschologist. The specific tests may vary from

one neuropyschologist to the next but they all involved

tests with standardized scores.

Here is a web site that may be helpful. There is alot of information

at this site by the Yale Child Study Center. Look at the

section on " pyschological assessment " .

I had an impossible time getting my district to do this test.

We paid for it privately. The information was so critical because

my daughter had so many deficits in processing speed, working

memory they could not keep saying she was too bright for

special services. We showed with the results of the test

that yes her reasoning skills were above average but other areas of thinking

were not.

http://www.med.yale.edu/chldstdy/autism/asdiagnosis.html

Pam

> >

> > Hi,

> >

> > I am new to the group as you may know. My son is 14 and we think he may have

AS. Some of the things he does point to AS, however some things that a child

with AS does he does not do.. So I am confused.

> >

> > Some of the things that he does are defilitely quirky. When he makes his

breakfast in the AM, he gets one item at a time. He will get the cereal and

place it on the table, then the bowl, spoon and so on. when he is done, he will

go in reverse. He never looks forward when he walks. He is always looking at his

feet. He is doing well in school all subjects he has an A or B. I have looked

over his english homework many times and his sentence structure is lacking, his

spelling is poor and soo is his handwriting. He has very little interests and

pretty much the only thing he will do when he does not have homework is read.

Reading may not sound so bad, but the books he has been reading, I kid you not

he has read them at least 5 times if not more. If he watches TV he pretty much

only watches cartoon and when he is watching them he has a grin on his face but

at the time there is nothing funny going on in the cartoon. When you talk to him

he rarely makes eye

> contact. If someone from chruchj comes up to him to shake his hand and say

hello he looks at the floor.. He talks very monotone and showd no real

inflection unless he is really mad, then he yells. Both my wife and I are

constantly telling him to speak up as we cannot hear him. He always wants to

know what is going on and when. Even though he wants to know everything, he does

not seem to have a concept of time. Like he does not seem to realize that 17

minutes is longer then 10 minutes. The same applies to money. He wanted to buy a

book that cost 5 dollars. However he said he could not get the book because he

only had 10.

> >

> > I know that AS kids tend to be organised in some areas. With my son I cannot

seem to see where he is organised? Is this always the case? Something else is he

doe not seem to learn from his mistakes. In other words. If he does something

and gets in trouble for it. A fewq days later he will go back and do the same

thing like it never even happened the first time..

> >

> > I am sorry for rambling. I am just so tired and frustrated and I don't know

where to turn and how to help him and what should I do when these things come

up..

> >

> > Thanks for taking the time to read this

> >

> > Mike

> >

>

[Guest guest]

With Executive functioning, you usually "connect the dots." We had a test done once that helped lead me to better understand EF deficits - "Test of Problem Solving" My ds really did poorly on this one. And at the end, he was in tears because he imagined the scenario too vividly and got upset when he did not know what he would do.

I did see a really nice article on EF that went through how a EF deficit affects a child in daily school work. I would probably use this as a guide to note the areas my child was delayed in. On the regular testing that schools do, you can often find this information within the subtests or with regular observation of daily work --><<http://www.greatschools.org/LD/identifying/executive-function-lens-to-view-your-child.gs?content=1017 & page=1>>

I saw this too --> <<http://crrg.wustl.edu/documents/EFPT%20-Test%20Booklet.pdf >>

And a fact sheet from LD online --> <<http://www.ldonline.org/article/24880>>

Roxanna

Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.

( ) Re: My son may have Aspergers.. Do the symptoms fit?

Does he have anxiety? Any issues with sensory overload loud noises,

too much movement?

How does he do on writing and organizing papers for school.

I am puzzled how he is doing well in middle school is it a small

school? And I am puzzled how he gets good grades if his writing

is so poor?

Does he have any friends?

It could be that his IQ tests scores may show a child with

exceptional reasoning skills but deficits in planning

and organizing. If he has a slow processing speed

he may take things one step at a time even getting

his cereal bowl.

My daughter has a high reasoning score and it didn't

seem she could have any deficits. But when she was

tested there were very clear cut deficits in many areas.

I took the path of paying for a private neuropsychological

evaluation to help me figure out my daughter's problems.

If there are no deficts in thinking at all that is a

really

blessing but it would be puzzling.

Pam

>

> Hi,

>

> I am new to the group as you may know. My son is 14 and we think he may have AS. Some of the things he does point to AS, however some things that a child with AS does he does not do.. So I am confused.

>

> Some of the things that he does are defilitely quirky. When he makes his breakfast in the AM, he gets one item at a time. He will get the cereal and place it on the table, then the bowl, spoon and so on. when he is done, he will go in reverse. He never looks forward when he walks. He is always looking at his feet. He is doing well in school all subjects he has an A or B. I have looked over his english homework many times and

his sentence structure is lacking, his spelling is poor and soo is his handwriting. He has very little interests and pretty much the only thing he will do when he does not have homework is read. Reading may not sound so bad, but the books he has been reading, I kid you not he has read them at least 5 times if not more. If he watches TV he pretty much only watches cartoon and when he is watching them he has a grin on his face but at the time there is nothing funny going on in the cartoon. When you talk to him he rarely makes eye contact. If someone from chruchj comes up to him to shake his hand and say hello he looks at the floor.. He talks very monotone and showd no real inflection unless he is really mad, then he yells. Both my wife and I are constantly telling him to speak up as we cannot hear him. He always wants to know what is going on and when. Even though he wants to know everything, he does not seem to have a concept of time. Like he does not

seem to realize that 17 minutes is longer then 10 minutes. The same applies to money. He wanted to buy a book that cost 5 dollars. However he said he could not get the book because he only had 10.

>

> I know that AS kids tend to be organised in some areas. With my son I cannot seem to see where he is organised? Is this always the case? Something else is he doe not seem to learn from his mistakes. In other words. If he does something and gets in trouble for it. A fewq days later he will go back and do the same thing like it never even happened the first time..

>

> I am sorry for rambling. I am just so tired and frustrated and I don't know where to turn and how to help him and what should I do when these things come up..

>

> Thanks for taking the time to read this

>

> Mike

>

[Guest guest]

Hi, Mike.

I'm by no means an expert on AS but from what I understand AS is a

disorder and not an "exact disease" or other with fixed definitions.

There is a diagnostic definition of AS where a person matches most of

the symptoms but they don't need to match all symptoms. It is basically

grouping individuals with certain behaviors and giving it a label. As

you probably know there is no blood test, etc. for AS.

An autism specialist told me a label can be helpful for treatment,

getting services from school, and discussions but ultimately what's

most important is effective treatments. So I wouldn't get too hung up

on the various autism labels -- just see if it looks like he is in the

spectrum and if so, work on a treatment plan/techniques tailored for

him.

Many aspie's can do well in math and reading but, as others have said,

many lack in executive functioning.

You said, "nothing seems to phase him". Has he always been like that?

If not is it possible he is depressed, as many teenagers can be, as

well as another diagnosis? I can only imagine the stress of going

through middle school and having an autism disorder.

Maybe you can help build-up his social network with other kids that are

either supportive or like-minded. Also consider reaching out to local

parent groups to network, exchange ideas, and have support.

Can your medical provider or insurance help you narrow down the areas

for evaluation?

-Noel

On 3/24/2010 10:55 AM, Mike N wrote:

Hi,

I am new to the group as you may know. My son is 14 and we think he may

have AS. Some of the things he does point to AS, however some things

that a child with AS does he does not do.. So I am confused.

Some of the things that he does are defilitely quirky. When he makes

his breakfast in the AM, he gets one item at a time. He will get the

cereal and place it on the table, then the bowl, spoon and so on. when

he is done, he will go in reverse. He never looks forward when he

walks. He is always looking at his feet. He is doing well in school all

subjects he has an A or B. I have looked over his english homework many

times and his sentence structure is lacking, his spelling is poor and

soo is his handwriting. He has very little interests and pretty much

the only thing he will do when he does not have homework is read.

Reading may not sound so bad, but the books he has been reading, I kid

you not he has read them at least 5 times if not more. If he watches TV

he pretty much only watches cartoon and when he is watching them he has

a grin on his face but at the time there is nothing funny going on in

the cartoon. When you talk to him he rarely makes eye contact. If

someone from chruchj comes up to him to shake his hand and say hello he

looks at the floor.. He talks very monotone and showd no real

inflection unless he is really mad, then he yells. Both my wife and I

are constantly telling him to speak up as we cannot hear him. He always

wants to know what is going on and when. Even though he wants to know

everything, he does not seem to have a concept of time. Like he does

not seem to realize that 17 minutes is longer then 10 minutes. The same

applies to money. He wanted to buy a book that cost 5 dollars. However

he said he could not get the book because he only had 10.

I know that AS kids tend to be organised in some areas. With my son I

cannot seem to see where he is organised? Is this always the case?

Something else is he doe not seem to learn from his mistakes. In other

words. If he does something and gets in trouble for it. A fewq days

later he will go back and do the same thing like it never even happened

the first time..

I am sorry for rambling. I am just so tired and frustrated and I don't

know where to turn and how to help him and what should I do when these

things come up..

Thanks for taking the time to read this

Mike