Asperger's?

[Tinkerbell36]

Hi - we have thought for a while that our son may have Asperger's - he's now 10yrs old. He has stimmed since very young and still does daily - jumping, flapping and using his mouth. He doesn't do it at school or in public but will a lot at home. His teacher has told he now hums a lot at school and i wonder if this is connected? He has always been obsessional about certain topics - he can tell you football scores from matches years ago and who scored; he knows historic dates like you wouldn't believe; all the flags of the world. Cars were always lined up and coded; obsessed with football cards and lines them up in teams for hours He becomes obsessed with TV shows and will watch them over and over again for months. His handwriting isn't great (never has been) and his teacher tells me all his stories are factual and written from his perspective. He does have friends but can be a bit in your face and doesn't always know when to stop. He also has a massive sense of justice/ fairness, etc. and will go into total melt down if he perceives something to be unfair or wrong. He also gets v anxious about forgetting things for school and likes to plan which we do together and has helped him.

He will start secondary school next year and we're wondering if we might be at the stage where a diagnosis could help him and get him the right support?

Yes, definitely go to the GP and ask for a referral.

The NHS has a waitlist of 18 months to 2 years in many areas, so you've left it a bit late to get anything put into place for him transitioning to secondary.

Due to the tremendous change in secondary vs primary education, you may like to have a private diagnosis done whilst you're waiting for the NHS one.

How to etc. www.autism.org.uk/about/diagnosis.aspx

Sounds very much like AS to me. My daughter likes noises - it's like a verbal stim.

Mine is still little but I would definitely think a diagnosis would help with support at secondary.

Good luck

It would be ASD diagnosis now not Asperger's.

The wait for an NHS assessment is long. Ds has recently been diagnosed age 15 and it took 15 months from referral to diagnosis. I would definitely start the process now. Blank is right the change between primary and secondary is huge, especially for those young people that have gone undiagnosed. Ds went into secondary unsupported and it's been very hard going. Although if your Ds's prospective school are aware of the situation they could start to offer support even without a diagnosis.

Good luck, I wish we had pursued a diagnosis before secondary so you are doing the right thing.

Yes it would be a good idea. The transition from primary to secondary can be hugely stressful.

Just had a private diagnosis the summer for my year 6 DS. His current school are denying his diagnosis despite a high ADOiS score but it's been really useful to know when looking at secondary schools and talking to the sencos of the potential schools. We will have to start EHCP process at secondary due to lack of support by his current school in even believing his diagnosis. They have put things in place for him but in a very half hearted way and DS is still experiencing high levels of anxiety.

That is disgraceful @suffolkexplorer . How dare the school deny his diagnosis? Who the hell do they think they are?

I would put in an official complaint. Your poor boy.

We have contemplated an official complaint but our focus at the moment is finding the right school for DS. His current school expressed disdain when we mentioned More House saying DS should go to mainstream secondary.

suffolk when we first approached Ds's senco the middle of last year she told us there were no concerns. We weren't happy with that and when she questioned his teachers they said there were issues. Interestingly the school have had a massive turnaround and now they all agree he is obviously autistic. He has his diagnosis now too. Ds's primary school completely ignored his significant difficulties with communication and interaction. Ds is quiet, well behaved and reaching most of his academic milestones. It's easy for schools to say everything is fine. Being undiagnosed at secondary school is just awful though, Ds's mental health has really suffered.

It's the quiet and meeting academic milestone children that are missing out in being diagnosed. My boy doesn't stim, lines things up and has friends but his ADOS score is at the very top end of HFA. He also has ADD but again it's not obvious but he misses questions in tests, constantly fidgets but very quietly but as he isn't hyperactive it's quite hidden. Ritalin has been amazing not a complete cure all but really helps with school. Without a diagnosis he would have fallen apart in secondary school and hopefully we can stop this happening.

I have got an appointment for our son to see a psychologist in January and have also had a few meetings with his teacher. She has said his school issues are - anxiety, difficulty sitting still; humming/singing; calling out random words; movements of his face; poor fine motor skills; resistant to feedback on work; difficulty listening and following instructions; a need to know what is happening and when. We now have 5 mins at bedtime for him to talk about his worries and that seems to help him get to sleep.

We also made a list: obsessions; anxiety; need to plan; very sensitive; hard on himself; amazing memory for facts, dates, etc.; sensitive to noise; stiming; can’t cope with loosing (melt down).

Does this sound familiar to anyone?

My son has aspergers. I would call for an appt. It helps you best support them and in reality nothing changes about them other than your ability to help him.