8 year old son being assessed for ASD- help needed.

[rmls09]

Hi, I'm new to this so I hope I'm doing the right thing starting a new thread.
My 8 year old son was diagnosed with ADHD two years ago but after a recent reassessment it has been decided that he does not fit the full criteria (the form filled in by his teacher didn't meet the criteria but the home did). His paediatrician has now organised an assessment for ASD as she believes he shows some of the traits of this.
I have read up about ASD but tbh I'm having difficulty applying the diagnostic suggestions to real life sitiuations/examples. I noticed on another thread on here ('can Mummy's of ASD kids help me') that copying of adverts and large chunks of word for word copying from programmes is mentioned as a trait. My son does this constantly. He also has trouble socialising,he has few friends and it seems he is unable to respond to people and social situations appropriatly. He talks constantly (and loudly) as if he is voicing everything that enters into his mind and often repeats the same question or statement over and over. He also has obsessions, the ongoing one being Thomas the tank (and trains in general) and more recently the playground craze of collecting gogo's. He is at mainstream school and academically is doing well. There is loads more I could describe but would end up rambling for ages ( like I kind of have already ).
I was just wondering if anyone could give me any other real life example so I can see if I recognise any that apply to my son and also whether the talking constantly is relatated to ASD?
Thanks in advance for your help.

[daisysue2]

Have you looked on the NAS website they have lots of information. My daughter is ASD 9 in mainstream school and loves gogos too. A great definition I had recently was from a NAS groups meeting saying how the spectrum works. That it's Social & Emotional, Language & Communications and Imagination, they call it the triad of impairment. Some children may have problems in one or all three areas. In each of those areas there may be a rating of one to ten and some children will hit ones in all three and others a ten in one and twos in the rest. Typically Aspergers children have different Language and Communication problems than say High Functioning or Autistic children ie no speech delay but they do tend to talk at you and about the subject they are interested in.

Real life examples of my daughter are she has lots of friends but is not a great friend as she doesn't know how to nurture a friendship. So she doesn't have the back and forth that other girls have she tends to get on better with boys. But ASD girls are very different from boys so I won't give you too many examples of my daughter as she will probably seem quite normal in comparison to boys it's when you compare her to other girls her own age that she is different. I'm sure there are lots of mums with Aspergers sons who can give you some great examples of real life behavior.

[rmls09]

I had a brief look at the NAS website just after his appointment but was a bit overwhelmed by it all so will have another look now I'm feeling less emotional.
It's interesting that your daughter gets on better with boys as my son tends to get on better with girls. Boys seem to pick on him because he believes anything he's told. The latest is that some of the lads in his class said they would get him a playstation and he believed them and because he never forgets anything he keeps mentioning it...thus providing more ammunition for them.
Thanks so much for your reply, it's really nice to know there are other people who are having the same experiences.

[daisysue2]

The playstation thing makes me laugh just like my daughter. She is always getting into trouble as the cool girls have told her to do things and she thinks they are being friendly... duh. It's an everyday learning process for her as she just doesn't get it. My friends 9 year old Aspergers boy also gets on much better with the girls as they are kind to him while the boys can be a bit rough the girls mother him. ASD friendly org is another helpful site. Also my daughter was originally diagnosed ADHD at age 6. Good luck and remember a sense of humour will be your best weapon I dine out on stories of my daughters latest escapades.

[rmls09]

Lol, so do I. You have to laugh, he's just so daft sometimes .
My son also thinks they are being friendly and just doesn't seem to understand that it's not he case...I'm dreading the teenage years !!

[rmls09]

Hi again, just wondering if anyone else has any advice?
I've also noticed that flapping is mentioned alot as an indicator of ASD. My son tends to flap when he is excited and this is accompanied by jumping up and down, going sort of stiff and making a funny exhaling noise. He also flaps his arms when he is struggling to finish a sentence. He's always done it but I hadn't noticed until recenly just how different this type of behaviour is from that of his peers. Does this sound familiar to anyone?

I seem to be spending lots of time analysing him at the moment and some days I'm conviced he is on the ASD spectrum (especially when I see him with other children his age)and other days I'm not so sure. I feel a bit like I'm/the family is in limbo.

[troutpout]

He does sound like he fits the profile tbh

Everything you said rang bells with me (either directly with my ds...or with other children i have come across with asd)

does he have any fears/phobias or unusual sensitivites (noise/taste/textures)?

[ICANDOTHAT]

My sons doc told me that many children initially dx with ADHD, go on to be dx with ASD .... my son is 6 and dx ADHD and I too analyse every single thing he does and says - which I know I must stop as it puts stress on me and him. Whenever he comes out with some weird comment, I think "oh shit, here it comes" Today he said to me "Mummy, when I see someone ugly, I imagine I am eating them up" WTF!! Are kids just weird, or is it the 'dx' ??

[cheapskatemum]

rmls09, I too think your DS fits the profile of a child with AS. In the teenage years, other children tend to see those with AS as "nerds" and "geeks". I'm sure you're doing all you can to help him to socialise. Having a friend , or friends, with AS may not be such a bad thing. Could you start up a junior trainspotting club?

[angelicfolk]

Hello there, my son was diagnosed as having moderate ASD when he was 2 1/2 he is now 5 and at a special needs school that he loves. He has quite significant language delay although he can recite enormous chunks of text he has memorised from stories and TV and he loves to sing. He flaps alot when he is excited, goes really close up to look at things (people, toys, tv) looks at things from several angles, lines up his toys, walks on tip toes. He has very sensitive hearing and wear ear defenders quite alot, most of the time he seems to be in a day dream but will interact alot more now than he used to. He does'nt like to make eye contact and does'nt sleep very well, averages about 4 hours a night. Lots and lots of other things but I don't want to clog up the thread. I have recently finished the Early Bird course at my sons school and it was really helpful having other parents to share experiences with.

hth
Karen x

[rmls09]

Hiya everyone, thanks so much for your replies!

'troutpout' - As far as textures and odd phobias go, I haven't noticed anything specific but tbh I'm so used to him being a bit'odd' that a lot of it passes me by.

'angelicfolk' - my son also has really sensitive hearing and he does stand really close to the TV and also people when he talks to them - he tilts his head at an awkward angle sometimes too...
He also lines his toys up too rather than play with them...we have often had a massive line of toy cars running bumper to bumper round the house...whilst he pushes them round one at a time.

'cheapskatemum' - I think it would be a great idea for him to have a friend with AS...I don't know anyone with a child with AS but hopefully the hospital will have some information about support groups in my area where we could meet people.

We went to my friends daughters 4th birthday party today and it was interesting watching him interact with the other children ... normally with children his own age his lack of social skills are quite obvious but it wasn't today because most of the children were younger so were not as aware of his oddness uniqueness

ooh and 'ICANDOTHAT' - I reckon it's 50/50, part normal child, part dx...but maybe I'm being over optimistic

Thanks again everyone