Son going through SN ass but very clever, what can it be?

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We have always been told our son is 'behind' in his social skills, he started reception in Sept and after 4 days was reduced to half days with 1-1 support, this was increased to full days just before Xmas as he turned 5 in Dec - he is being assessed now but only had 1 app so far - as he was missing so much school we put him into a tuition centre which is only 2 hours a week, we had our first parent meeting with the tutor to be told that he is 2 years ahead with his maths and english, doing the work of a yr2 child!!! I know this is great but confused as we thought he may have ADHD or Autism - he needs constant stimulation, he cannot sit for 1 min he needs to read, be on the computer or watch a cartooon etc etc Anyone experienced this?? :) x

My DS has Asperger's. He also has 9 GCSEs and is heading towards 4 A levels.
I don't understand the question you are asking, are you confused because your son might be both on the spectrum and intelligent?

there is an American term, I believe, dually exceptional, describe children with SN such as Autism etc who are academically gifted. Children with SN sometimes are academically advanced. Also children with Autism can sometimes have hyperlexia, so almost like they can instinctively read/decode without being taught, so that can in a way give a headstart at the start of school (but can be a problem if language comprehension isn't as good as reading ability).

My child's current diagnosis is ASD traits (suspect this may change in run up to secondary...). He seems to be above average with academic work, but like your lad, needs a lot of visual stimulation. Is your lad physically v active as well, out of interest, as you might find a mini indoor trampoline v helpful to channel that, good exercise too

Sorry, yeah I am just at the stage where I would like to know what we are dealing with but appreciate that the assessment can take months - he is very active he cannot walk constantly runs, we cant take him to the shops as he just runs away and will not stay by you - but his concentration can be good if something grips him!! If he picks up something like a wire, he needs to swing it, his eye contact is not great, he doesnt like loud noises and just getting him to do things takes ages but on the other side his speech is great, he has a great imagination and is affectionate!!

Indoor trampoline is a good idea or a treadmill ha ha :)

The main thing is not to focus on any one dx, but understand that a lot of DCs that have SNs and SENs can be academic.
I know of children with many different dxs - autistic spectrum, aspergers, dyspraxia, ADD, ADHD, sensory processing issues etc, that are much higher academically than in other aspects of development.

I have heard the Aspergers brain described as Swiss Cheese. The holes are the social and sensory areas that AS children struggle with. My 11 year old has been consistantly at least two years ahead academically since he started school, but still can't cross a road on his own and struggles with buttons. Great intelligence can come in all sorts of packages, something society doesn't always recognise!!

Sounds a lot like DS1. He has a dual diagnosis of ASD and ADHD.

Thanx for your comments it is appreciated - I just feel that until something is diagnosed, everyone is concentrating on his 'behaviour' rather than focusing on his positive skills -
This process and waiting can be heartbreaking - in his first week of school I overheard a little girl telling her dad 'Thats the naughty boy' I had to hold back the tears and seeing the kids in his swimming lessons move up but at the end of each session I get told that 'he has been doing his own thing and wont join in'
I like to think i am a positive person but it hard for people to appreciate how difficult it is sometimes. Anyway my DH has taken him out for an hour so I can chill :) x

Check out the National Association of gifted children website. There is a page on there about dual or multiple intelligences. It makes very interesting reading.

I also have a Dd with Asd who is well above average in many academic areas but cannot follow 2 instructions and who struggles to understand why talking at someone about crisp flavours for 20 minutes is not socially acceptable

You are right about the assessment process being too slow but there is nothing stopping you and the school putting some strategies into place to support him. Even if he turns out not to be on the spectrum if the strategies work it doesnt matter, they cant do any harm.

Good luck

PolterGoose - Thats a lovely comment from the other mother, its nice that people take the time to tell you and you must be so proud :)

My little one loves the solar system and can tell you about the planets and space and all he wanted for Xmas was a telescope which is an unusual gift to buy a child who has just turned 5 but we will encourage whatever he is into and let his imagination run wild.

Since he was 'terrible two's' everyone kept telling me he will grow out of it, just wait till he starts school etc etc but although he is not getting better you do learn to control each new situation - i'm glad to hear that things will genuinely get better. Thanks for your post x

Ineedmorepatience - I love your name, I was always told if I was any more laid back I would fall until I had my son bless him, now I think where has all my patience gone ha ha

I have just been on that website and it is very interesting, I have an appointment with the school in a couple of weeks and will mention this.

Within 2 days the school had to put strategies in place ie visual timetable, an egg timer as he cant switch from one subject to another without prior warning and a mat as he wanted to sit in the same place etc - I must admit the school have been magic but he even needs 1-1 at lunchtime!! :) x

I've got two DSs, both diagnosed with ASD, both batting well above their average academically. It does get better, I remember DS1 being described as naughty when he was in year 1 just pre diagnosis. He was on the lowest achieving table, basically being written off. Then he came up dually as having a really high IQ and ASD, things were put in place to calm him at school and by the end of year two his reading and comprehension levels were that of a secondary school pupil. He's now mostly on level 4 scores (apart from handwriting which continues to be a problem) in year 4, despite being one of the youngest in his year.

My other son had pretty much the same thing - got to school still not toilet trained despite years of our best efforts. Couldn't write his name by the end of reception. Was diagnosed with ASD and dyspraxia, has had help and support and is now rapidly overtaking his classmates and set to be similar to my eldest.

Purely from a subjective point of view their attention gets much better and as they do well at things they seem to become more motivated to do more. They are slowly learning social rules, and I feel confident (except at 3am sometimes ) that they can both have good lives and go to uni, have families etc. Having said that, they are totally disorganised and literally can't tie their own shoelaces, but we're working on ways to get round that.

Have you tried the NAGC website, they have somewhere on there ways of telling the difference between someone on the spectrum and someone who's got "high learning potential", but they do often seem to come together.

I totally recognise the change pre and post kids btw, I used to be laid back too, but as they get better at coping with the world (and the world at coping with them) I am slowly starting to get back to being myself again!