Tell me about your little boys with Asperger's syndrome, please

[SmugColditz]

Or your little girls, I only make the distinction because I have a boys.

Ds1's teacher has said she's taught a child just like him who has Asperger's, but says let's wait and see.

What sort of things do you want to know? My DD hasn'tt been diagnosed with AS but she has NF1 which has a lot of AS traits. So I might not be much help then

LOL

well, what triggered the suspicion of Asperger's, and how, when you put a class full of children together, would you spot the one with Aspergers~?

I would guess it could be some or all or none of the following (from what I know of AS)

fear of new things and changes in routines
liking of routines
hypersensitivity .. particularly light and sound
motor clumsiness
difficulties in interactions with peers and teachers
unique interests
high intelligence particularly in areas of interest

just found this school.familyeducation.com/learning-disabilities/behavior/56316.html

many traits of AS are traits of small children tbh

In a classroom I think a lack of understanding that you should be doing the same stuff as your classmates can be quite key. And also a difficulty distinguishing fact from reality (which surprises people because of the whole 'lack of imagination' thing).

Well I work with children with As but not in main stream. The most notable things about DD are - obsessions with certain things (Thomas, Scooby, Harry P, Dr Who) she knows everything about these. Socially immature, when younger, found it hard to join in, it had to be her way or nothing. She doesn't look anyone in the eye when talking to them. Starts conversations at the top of the stairs and expects us to know what she's on about. She bright but messy, bad spatial awareness. Overly emotionally, but reacts inapproiately to situations. For example last year I got a call to say DH had been in a motorbike accident, I called DD and told her she responded with 'cool', this was because she was watching Dr Who and that was her entire focus. HTH. I do know more about Austism as I work in a unit for children with severe Autism, so might be able to answer some questions. But I'm sure there are much more knowlegable people on here.

Sorry crap spelling!

Ds1

Insistently talkative

Gets told by the other children to go away, get out of my face, stop talking etc

can't find his own partner in class and can't hang on to one he is paired with

Follows children playing a game without any understanding of what they are playing, decides they aren't letting him play and wanders off feeling miserable (have seen this happen with heartbreaking frequency)

Has good reading and numeracy skills

Interupts conversations and then despite being told to wait, shush, quiet a sec etc, carries on

Makes squeaky yapping noises (I don't know why, he seems to do it when he doesn't understand what the other kids are doing)

he flaps. I've tried not to see it and have wondered if it's just a game thing, but he does flap when he gets worked up. Other people have pointed this out.

I am hoping he will grow out of all this. But it's his teacher who mentioned Aspergert's, not me.

But then, I read that list, and he is five. I don't know how appropriate that is for a five year old. Clearly not for a 12 year old, but he'#s five, he's only 2 years out of nappies.

I work in a school with a resource for children with ASD (it was originally opened as an Asperger's resource, but the head now believes that 'label' is not always helpful, so we now refer to Autistic Spectrum Disorders. It's been open 12 years, with at first 2 & later 3 children in each year years,so we've had almost 30 children(only 2 were girls) and no two have been the same. However, you can see traits in one that a previous pupil had, and you can also see these traits in NT children - it may be the multiplicity of traits that causes them problems, or their inability to cope with them.

Sensory difficulties are very common,and can make things a lot worse - for example, a child with ASD may be able to cope with changes to routine in a quiet calm place, but not in a noisy classroom (and sometimes the noise can be one that an NT child wouldn't even notice, such as the fan on a whiteboard projector.)

Spatial awareness is another - standing too close to people, not knowing the boundaries. I'm a TA working with AS pupils (& others) at secondary. Working in groups is a killer for one of my pupils - as you say can't find anyone who wants to work with him, gets really upset if he wants to work with someone & they don't want to work with him, but then 'takes over' what they are both supposed to be doing.
Some of the things you list do sound AS-ish

He's ok with noise, to an extent, but he never stops frigging touching things.

My 6yo son has Asperger's. (I see the consultant at the end of the month to get a dx for myself).

DS is obsessed with trains, mostly Thomas, but will also watch any programmes involving trains. He likes "Swiss Railway Journeys" for instance

He has a number of fears, he is scared of stickers being stuck on him, scared of masks. He is very visual, so he sees things as they appear, not as they actually are.

He likes routine, if the routine changes he questions why.

He likes to know how things are made, and will take a screwdriver to his toys just to see what they are like inside

He likes eating green foods (so eats his veg!) and wearing green clothes

He is very logical, although his logic sometimes lacks thought. Like playing hide and seek with his sister, hid under her duvet in her bed, but drew a big "X marks the spot" to show where he was, on her duvet (I could totally relate to this ).

If he wants to do something he will become totally absorbed in it, he loves Maths and Computers. If he doesn't want to do it, its REALLY hard to budge him

He struggles with loud noises, and large groups. By choice he'll play on his own rather than socialise. This is the first year he's wanted a birthday party, but he wants it at home, and everyone can look at his maps (he loves maps). I'm still working out how to handle this...

He has other sensory issues, absolutely HATES getting his hair wet and water on his face. Similarly dislikes the feel of certain clothes.

He is not very co-ordinated, nearly 7 and cannot ride a bike, even with stabilisers. Mind you, he doesn't want to either.

IMHO Most computer depts are stuffed full of people with Asperger's, if they only knew it...

HTH

My mum is convinced he has it, but she is also convinced ds2 (aged two) is gay, so I filter her as appropriate

tick maps
tick logic
tick maths
tick computers
constant questions, more than other children his age

but it's a question of extent, isn't it? Most children like some of those things to some extent.

I don't know, I think he needs another assessment and CAMHS have left me hanging with no answers at all.

DD1 was identified as being a bit different to her peer group in reception. She's been closely monitored by the SEN team at school for nearly five years now. It is very hard to pinpoint what, if anything, is going on with very small children because the range of normal is so wide at that age and it's very hard to engage them in meaningful diagnostic activities.
As it turns out, it looks as though she is on the attention deficit spectrum which shares a number of symptoms with the autistic spectrum.
The main thing is to keep pressing the school. If they have brought something up, it is their duty to follow it through. Has your ds been referred to the school's SEN team?

Not all people with Asperger's flap, I don't and my DS doesn't.

What a strange thing for your mother to say!

I would say the main reason they are saying this is due to social skills.

Its worth looking into, but please don't beat yourself up about it. I'm not the only mum on here with Asperger's.

DD is ok in groups. She's 10 now and seems to know if it's not going her way to step away instead of freaking out. She hates certain textures and eats the same type of food all the time. She has never told a lie and is very logical. I'm a person who sticks to a routine anyway, but she likes to know exactly where we are going and at what time.
The main things that you said that seem ASish are the flapping and squeaking. DD has got much better as she's got older and I've never got a AS dx for her.

Yes, most PEOPLE are like this to a certain extent, with one or more of the traits. I was told if my son ticked 6 or more traits, when he was assessed, he would be diagnosed as having it, but it is very imprecise. Which is why a referral to a paedriatrician (probably through the SENCO at school, but the GP can also refer) is the sensible way to go.

The earlier it is picked up, the easier it will be for him, because he can LEARN the skills he needs, he can learn to socialise.

Absolutely agree with MBS, whatever is going on, as long as your ds learns coping strategies to manage things, he'll be OK.

The sensory problems can be in any area - we have a questionnaire for parents to identify problems in 7 areas - the 5 'usual' senses plus ?propriocentric? sense (necessary for muscle coordination and body position) and the ?vestibular? sense (necessary for balance, posture, and the body?s orientation in space).
When the results are analysed, we put them in a visual form - this is a normal adult, this is an adult with inner ear damage (actually me) and this is a child from the resource.
(The key has only shown up on the last one of those for some reason)

hi there, jsut to say this might be worth posting in special needs too - there are lots of friendly people on there, some who have AS themselves, or dc's with AS.

Ds2 is 5yrs old and has AS.

He has no concept of personal space and will get much too close to other children. At pre-school they had to intervene when he kept getting so close to one particular child that she was starting to get upset about it.

He is always on the move and has to be doing something all the time. He doesn't even sit still to watch television and will usually be busy hanging upside down, jumping off the furniture or standing on his head against the wall.

He has some sensory problems. He dislikes the feel of clothes on his skin, can't cope with loud noise, and dislikes too much light.

He is very bright, particularly in maths and science. When he speaks he sounds more like an old-fashioned absent-minded professor than a 5yr-old boy.

He can be happy and smiling one moment and a screaming ball of fury hurling himself to the ground the next.

He has a very limited diet.