chatty, articulate girl with asp anyone please?

[catkinq]

Does anyone else have a girl like this - I just wnat to know that I'm not alone. She is 9, v bright and comes across as v chatty, articulate - makes lots of sophisticated but v witty jokes etc. The problem is that this is her only way of relating to anyone - whether she is talking to her head teacher or her baby brother she is identical - ie jokes that go way above her brothers (and her classmates) heads - so no friends her own age - and a style that is inappropriate for anyone in authority (so gets in trouble in school for not showing respect). She has a host of other issues (diet, obsessions, zero emphathy) but we are struggling to get the school to take us seriously as they see a chatty little thing that talks rather too much but is interesting - so not too bad (whereas her class mates see someone who's jokes they do not get). She is similar to the "little adult" in the friendship book but because she reads so much (at least a book or two a day) and rememebrs it ALL, she doesn't sound stilted as she repeats many phrases from literature which actualy make her speech v good.

I was a bit like that a school- being a reader in my comp was enough to mark me out - they used to ask me if I'd swallowed a dictionary! And I used to talk politics with my three year old brother when i was thirteen.

I was quite lonely at at school but did a lot better at uni and work. I'm quite nt really!

Can you find her a club with similar little girls - a reading group for example? Even if it's online.

She sounds quite fab actually

Yes I have dd almost seven who is just as you describe diagnosed with autism at age two.
She has had huge input and so made tremendous progress but whilst she has been taught to play, taught to be kind, taught to have fun, make conversation etc there is no getting away from the fact that it isn't natural and she stands out like a sore thumb.
She too reads obsessively, speaks beautifully and has very sophisticated speech patterns. She has friends but doesn't really relate to them. Tends to be school ma'am like to her peers and mothers the younger ones and treats all adults as more on her level.
Dd has a statement and so gets lots of support with her social skills because academically she is very bright.
No real advice though just to let you know I have one very similar.

This could have been a description of me at the same age. Will come back to this thread later to write more when dd isn't pestering for cbeebies website and ds doesn't need a feed.

Yes, you could be describing my dd1 (6) , in fact dd1 never stops chatting and will chat away to anyone. Today i had to take her to the GP and even though she is ill and could hardly stand she managed to chat away with the nurse for 20 minutes (poor nurse, she only asked dd one question and got a run down of dd's life). Dd1 gets on really well at school, the teachers love her but i think some of her friends get a bit fed up with the continues chit chat and un-funny jokes.

I was like this, dd is too though she's only 3.7.
My experience is:

I was very chatty at school, almost as if I had no natural off switch or volume control and I could tend to talk in a monologue. I was a voracious reader, still read lots, but of odd books like Agatha Christie when I was 11ish. I did very well academically and school was pretty good for me socially tbh, I'm sure that not everyone enjoyed my company but I always had good friends and still do.
I'm very aware that my social and communication skills have changed and developed over time, I have learnt rather than having innate skills. As an adult I've progressed really well in my career as a doctor, I often feel like I'm acting a role when communicating, rather than doing what comes naturally, but colleagues and patients have always been complimentary so I guess that I'm acting well .
I've been with dp for 8ish years now and we have two dc, I've explained to dp that I think I may have Aspergers. I'm not sure if it affects our relationship tbh as it is how it is iyswim.
I feel that life is easier for me as an adult than it was as a child.
I've never had a formal diagnosis btw, so I suppose I may not meet criteria, but from all that I've read I would be surprised if I didn't.

I will be very interested to see how my dd develops, everyone thinks that she is marvellous atm and comments on her great vocab etc but I do wonder....I'm very aware that there is a current view that ASD in general and Aspergers in particular is being underdiagnosed in girls because the hide their difficulties better and learn from the behaviour of others.

I'm not sure what professionals would advise you, or me , you could approach your GP for referral to CAMHS if you wanted a diagnostic assessment which in turn may get her help in school even if it is just raising the awareness of the issue with her teachers. I'm going to wait to see how my dd manages in reception before deciding about asking for an assessment of her by CAMHS as atm I'm not conviced that a label would help her but as your dd is older you may feel differently.

Well, if that wasn't just a "Me, me me" monologue I don't know what is !