Suki

Thank you all - may well check back regarding the issues he does have. Suki

Hello I posted a couple of times a few weeks back as we were awaiting an assessment on my 7 year old son for possible ASD following concerns the school and myself had. He has always been a bit, shall we say, "quirky" and I've been concerned about him on and off since he was 2 as I feel he has always had some autistic traits. However, there was also a lot to suggest he does not have ASD as his communication and social skills are actually very good so I was struggling to see how he fitted the criteria. Anyway, we have just had a very thorough 2 hour assessment at our CDC and they have said that he does not meet the criteria for ASD. The doctor asked us loads of questions dating from birth, chatted to him a lot, watched him play and got him to do various tests and exercises. She then took us through the "ASD checklist" which looked very similar to the DSM 1V criteria. Like me, she struggled to tick any. She put a couple of question marks around "obsessions" and "inflexible routines", based on some comments made by the school that neither of us actually agreed with, but even so he came nowhere near to meeting the criteria for further assessment. It's what I suspected but it's good to have a doctor confirm that I wasn't missing anything! She agreed that his verbal and non verbal communication were good and she had no concerns around his social skills. She also ruled out ADHD which surprised me as he is very hyper and has poor attention. However, his Connors scores were not particularly high. My score was higher than the schools, but still not high enough! However, she agreed that he definitely has issues, particularly sensory issues which could explain a lot of his behaviour. This agreed with an assessment done by the ASD team at his school a couple of months back. She wants him assessed by an OT for Sensory Processing Disorder. Our GP actually had already requested this based on the school report but nothing appears to have been done, presumably as they were awaiting the outcome of this appointment. She also says its possible that he could have a learning disability, possibly dyslexia. His handwriting is very poor which the school blamed on poor fine motor skills but she said these skills are actually not that bad as he is good at fiddley work such as building lego. She noticed some problem with processing what was in his head to the paper which could be an indicator but would need an Ed Pysch to assess him (if we can ever get one of course!). She also noted that he is pretty immature for his age which could be a result of sensory or learning difficulties or a mild developmental delay as he was slightly late in reaching some of his milestones as a baby (from what we could remember anyway!). So, all in all very positive and at least we have some answers. I'm meeting with his school to see if there's anything else they can do to help, though I suspect from what I've been told that we have little chance of getting an Ed Psych involved as there will clearly be more deserving cases for their time, so we may be looking to go the private route for his possible learning problems. Thank you to every one who responded to my previous posts. This will be my last post on here as I clearly don't belong now given that my son is definitely not ASD. I'm off to search for some SPD, dyslexia, learning difficulty forums now......any suggestions??? Good luck to you all. Suki

No offence taken. I can see why you say that as I’ve often thought it myself and until recently had convinced myself he was just a very individual, if rather quirky character! There are also some rather quirky, some may say eccentric, individuals in my family including my late dad so I presumed he had just inherited some of his personality traits. I have often wondered if my dad or his brother were kids today whether they would be diagnosed with something, although not sure what the point would be as they both led happy and productive lives. You asked what I was actually worried about. I know you’ve seen my post on the meet & greet page, but to clarify: Very poor attention span, he can hardly read or write which is the main reason the school are now taking action. Very hyperactive, can’t sit still for a moment, reading to him is a joke and behaviour can be challenging to say the least! Always fiddling, messing about. Until recently, I just thought he was a lively child, but now he’s 7 it’s more obvious he has a problem and the gap is appearing between him and his peers. The above 2 are what makes me think he might have ADHD However, he also has a number of sensory issues, mainly noise and light/dark. The woman who assessed him at school said he had “major issues with sensory integration” and he is on the waiting list to see OT. It is this that makes me think he might have SPD. Obviously, I know that many autistic children have SPD but it’s not a core deficit (as I have recently discovered) and you can have SPD and not have ASD. Aggressive towards his sister, is very fond of her but seems to be unable to stop prodding, pinching and “overhugging” her. I’m actually now wondering if this is a sensory thing too?? He has never joined in with team games or at parties which, as you say, may just be that he doesn’t like that sort of thing. He actually says he likes being an individual and gets annoyed when I question him about not joining in and says “oh blah blah” and changes the subject. However, not only does he not join in, he behaves very strangely by humming and playing imaginary games by himself. This really worried me and my first thought was ASD. I was taken aside by one of the leaders at Beavers as they do a lot of that kind of thing there. Once I said he was undergoing assessment for ASD she said another leader had actually asked if he was autistic (that parent also has an ASD child). However, having learnt about his sensory issues, I wonder if that may actually be the cause rather than any problem with social interaction. He joins in totally with gentler activities or ones he is interested in such as arts & crafts and does interact normally one on one. He is very obsessed with cars and anything electrical and mechanical. However, I really don’t know if his interest is “abnormal” and, as you say, that is very subjective. The humming and other silly noises which is causing disruption in class. The school say he often “seeks out a repetitive routine” When pressed, the only examples they can give me is that he insists on placing his water bottle away from the others and sitting on the carpet with all his stuff at the end of the day when they’re supposed to leave them on the table. However, he often forgets his water bottle, leaving it either at home or school so can’t be that fussed about it. Going back a couple of years, he did get upset if I parked the car in a different place on the drive or moved things around his room, but not anymore. These days I can’t say he does anything routine driven or repetitive at home so I do wonder if they’re just trying to make the cap fit with this one?!? Has little in common with the boys in his class and mainly plays with the girls or alone. I believe he is generally liked in class and is not bullied and comes across as sociable & confident. He gets on well with his 6 year old cousin who is also not a typical boy and also prefers playing role play type games with girls. However, there’s no concern about him as he’s doing well at school and doesn’t show any of the other traits my son does. This is not the first time concern has been raised about him. When he was 2 and in private nursery they had him observed due to his lack of speech and the fact he didn’t interact with the other kids, preferring to play alone with cars. Report was inconclusive, his speech and interaction improved and he left the nursery soon after. He went on to preschool, then school nursery and although he was one of the naughtier kids with issues listening and sitting on the carpet, they weren’t unduly concerned (and I did ask). Reception and the behaviour team were called in after he thumped a class mate and was generally very badly behaved and disruptive. They said it could be a “parenting issue” and were reluctant to take it further without more evidence. Year 1 and his behaviour improved at school and he was taken off the SEN list. Year 2 and his new teacher expressed concern and got the ball rolling….. I listed reasons why I think he’s not autistic on my other post and the lady who saw him in school said there was a lot to suggest he isn’t, although stressed that she wasn’t qualified to diagnose and a lot more evaluation would be required. Having said all that, I do think he definitely has significant issues that need addressing so really don’t think I’m worrying over nothing. Initially, the only explanation I could think of was autism but I’ve since discovered that other conditions can produce similar symptoms and I am struggling to see that he fits the diagnostic criteria for ASD. However, only an expert will be able to tell me for sure so for now I’ll have to play the waiting game…………..

Thanks Baddad, that makes sense. Incidentally, when he did start talking it was (and still is) totally *normal* for his age. In fact he is a very articulate and expressive little boy. I shall add the information about his speech development to the ongoing Word Document I've started which lists all my concerns, observations and, of course, positives. I shall be printing it off and taking it along to our CDC appointment, whenever we eventually get one! I actually just added some evidence of his understanding of sarcasm; he got his shorts wet (missed the toilet!), he took them off and threw them across floor exclaiming "oh great!" Challenging him, I said "what's so great about that?". He looked at me, rolled his eyes, and said "I was being SARCASTIC!". On days like that I wonder how he can possibly have ASD. Then, on another day, he could be off on his own humming and playing with an imaginary car while his peers are playing football and I start worrying again. However, he's told me himself its because he can't stand the noise and hates games like that (quote: "boys don't have to play football mummy, it's not the law you know"). I just wish I could get some answers as all this speculating is driving me crazy, which I guess is what forums like this are for! Thanks. Suki

In the context of diagnosing ASD....... My son had no recognisable words at 2 years 3 months so our health visitor referred him for a speech therapy assessment. The speech therapist said he had a mild expressive language delay, although he was actually saying more than we actually realised. She didn't consider any further action was required as she could see that speech was developing normally. He was also found to have mild glue ear. Sure enough, within weeks of that appointment his speech came on in leaps and bounds. All I remember is that by 2 years 9 months when his sibling was born he was speaking well and about normal for his age and went on to become a real chatterbox. He is now 7 and has no speech problems whatsoever. Just curious really. We are embarking on the long road to diagnosis, although I'm struggling to see how he meets the criteria for AS as, as far as I can tell, he doesn't meet the key criteria of issues with communication and social interaction, although he does have a lot of other AS traits, particularly the sensory related ones. However, my mum said "ah, but he did have a speech delay". But, did he?? I'm feeling he's more likely to have ADHD and/or SPD but of course I'm no expert and will just have to wait, ho hum. Thanks

Thank you all for your replies. I did have a brief look at Dyspraxia but, correct me if I'm wrong, isn't motor skills a big problem with this? My son has very good motor skills (apart from his pencil grip issues), has no problems with PE and rides a bike & scooter really well. He can also kick a ball really well with his dad, just a shame he feels unable to join in proper football games. Baddad, I know what you mean about the criteria being subjective. The 2 criteria I half ticked were the one you mentioned about restricted patterns of interest due to his car obsession and the inflexible adherence to routines based on what his teacher said about the water bottle etc. However, although he is very obsessed with cars, I wouldn't call it restrictive as the interest is very broad. In fact, he loves all vehicles and plays imaginative games with them. The interest extends to anything mechanical, electrical, science based, techy, computers etc. Not surprising as his dad is an engineer and has similar interests! The thing with the water bottle etc is certainly a bit strange but I haven't really noticed him doing anything like this at home,although he can get a bit funny if I disturb things in his room, but most kids would wouldn't they? He is generally very flexible in where we go and what we do and not routine driven. In fact, I know a mildly autistic boy who insists on being home at a certain time to what a certain TV prog a la Rainman. My son would never do anything like that. There is no way I could tick anything in A & B no matter how hard I tried to find *something*. I have to say I do know quite a few autistic children, most of them mild, which shows how common it is to get an ASD diagnosis. I do struggle to see how some of them would meet all that criteria although, to be fair, I don't know them like I know my son so there could well be things I don't see. After reading your replies, if my son does get an ASD diagnosis based on this criteria I will definitely be disputing it! I see the point about the fussy eating and sleeping etc. My daughter is also a fussy eater (probably worse than my son) but because I have no concerns about her I don't analyse everything little thing she does like I do with him. Having said all that, he definitely does have significant problems and his differences between him and his peers are getting more obvious the older he gets. Its just a case of finding out what it is and getting him proper help. I will keep you posted but I have a horrible feeling it will take a very long time to get to the bottom of this. Oh, as we speak I have a "summer fair" set up in my lounge complete with bouncy castle and some "cool cars on display on stands", actually they're DVD boxes but who cares lol, the kid has a great imagination!!

Hello This is my first post. We're in the process of trying to find out what's going on with our 7 year old son. So far, his school have just had him observed by a member of the ASD team and our GP has referred us to our local Child Development Centre. The CDC asked his school and myself to complete a bunch of forms, including the Connors ADHD questionnaire and detailed questionnaires regarding communication and social interaction. The forms have been sent back so now we're just waiting for an appointment. While I've been waiting I've spent a lot of time googling, speculating, worrying...... Inevitably, I stumbled across the DSM 1V criteria for diagnosing autism. I have to say that I am struggling to apply even a couple of the criteria to my son, let alone 6!! My question is, do they always use this criteria to diagnose autism, even the mildest, highest functioning cases? My son definitely has a lot of autistic type traits but not, it appears, the core deficits of problems with communication and social interaction. So, does that mean he cannot possibly be autistic?? I would not be at all be surprised if my son has ADHD and/or Sensory Processing Disorder, he ticks nearly every box on the Connors questionnaire, the term "motor driven" describes him perfectly! He has always been like this but it has become a lot more noticeable over the last year as most of his peers have matured and he now sticks out like a sore thumb! I had never heard of SPD until the school assessment concluded that he had "major issues with sensory integration" and recommended he be assessed by an OT. I googled it and, again, he ticks a lot of boxes. It was a revelation as previously the only explanation I could think of for his behaviour was autism. He definitely has issues with noise, light/dark, and sometimes touch eg. hates having his hair cut, goes mad when I try to tuck his shirt in etc. However, if his desire to do something is greater than his fear of the noise etc he will overcome it and go into the noisiest soft play centre or swimming pool! Apparently, this isn't unusual though. When pressed, the lady from the ASD team said there was a lot to suggest my son isn't autistic eg. he presents as very happy and sociable and interacts well with his peers, but obviously she wouldn't commit herself! However, aside from the sensory stuff and the ADHD-like behaviour which is causing him to be very behind with his school work, particularly literacy & numeracy, the school and myself are worried about the following: he has poor fine motor skills which means his handwriting is appalling. he hums, makes car and other silly noises most of the time and seems unaware he is doing it. He never joins in with large group activities such as football or games at parties. Not only does he not join in at all, he behaves very strangely by humming and playing with a car (or imaginary car). He tells me he doesn't join in as he can't stand the noise and is scared of getting hurt, so presumably this is a sensory issue rather than not wanting to interact with the other children? He sometimes comes inside at playtime as he can't stand the noise. At school I've been told he seeks out some repetitive routines that he is reluctant to break such as placing his water bottle away from the other children's and sitting on the carpet with his coat & bags at the end of the day when the teacher always tells them to leave them on the table. I'm not aware of him having any rituals like this at home. He mainly plays with girls. The teacher thinks this is a problem but presumably its because the girls play the more gentle, role play type games he enjoys. He is totally obsessed with cars & anything mechanical. Insists on taking a car to play with wherever he goes "in case its boring". This can include walking down the street and waiting while I drop his sister off at ballet which takes about 5 minutes!! Very fussy with food. Trouble sleeping. Will often play noisily in his room till 11pm. Diarreah since he was a baby which we've never found a reason for. On the plus side: He comes across as a friendly, happy child. Although he has trouble with big group activities as explained above, he interacts well one on one and in small groups and will join in enthusiastically with activities he enjoys such as art, cookery, making things. He has several close long standing friendships, although they are mainly with girls. He has great imaginative play which he normally plays with his sister. I'm actually thinking of selling their ideas to Disney Pixar! Play often involves cars, but can also be things as varied as putting on a show or camping using my clothes airers and blankets! He is very interested in the world around him, asks lots of questions,loves going on holiday and seeing new things. Extremely articulate and interesting to talk to. No problems with speech at all. Shows good understanding, gets sarcasm, humour etc. Loves haring his enjoyment of things with me. Keeps showing me what he's playing, and telling me the latest "hillarious" thing to happen in Mr Bean or Scooby Doo etc. No gross motor skill problems, good swimmer and cyclist. Not routine driven (apart from the things noticed by his teacher). Sorry for my ramblings,but if you've managed to get this far I would be grateful for your views and experiences! Suki