Is it really aspergers? Or what?

[della]

I need help with this as I certainly can't get it from the health services here. Some aspects of my son's character definitely fit the asperger description and don't seem to be symptoms of anything else. His problems with contact especially seems to be classic asperger. When I told him the characteristics of aspergers he accepted that it was him.

 

But I wonder if it is this because other things are missing. He isn't obssessive, he doesn't at all have routines. Also he doesn't seem to have special interests on which he is really focused.

He is, on the other hand, having problems with school work. It seems to be a problem of concentration.

 

I'm hoping he will get to see a psychiatrist who specialises in autism. But I don't have much faith in the professionals here and wonder if it is something other than aspergers whether it will be found and diagnosed.

 

The other things doctors have said - psychosis and depression are wrong.

 

Anyone got any ideas or similar experiences?

[JsMum]

Hi I was thinking maybe could it be AS with an addition other difficulty such as ADD such as Attention deficit disorder, as ADD have difficulty staying on task, and concentrating also could there be some issues with reading or processing the information he is concentration on so Dyslexia.

 

My son has ADHD and Dyslexia and is been assessed for ASD he has very few routines, and obsessions too, though he has them as they are related to his sensory difficulties, touch, sound, smell, ect...

 

I am under the impression that AS the obessions are mild because when its severe they can be AS with OCD but this is what I have read not from what I know personally.

 

I am still learning too.

 

JsMum

[butterfingersbimbo]

yeah its a difficult one isnt it, your son may have two different sets of problems, with one being more dominant than the other....does that make sense? hope you dont have to wait long for him to get a proper assessment. i would mention to them that you want all the avenues exploring....but they will probably do this anyway.

[della]

Yes I could see that maybe he might not have obssessions, but the being very focused on special subjects - that sounds like an essential part of aspergers. Or at least from what I've learned.

 

He's an avid reader - loves fantasy stuff for teenagers and has always read loads so I don't think it's dyslexia. ADD? I don't know about that. He certainly has no problems with attention when he's reading his books.

 

He isn't very handicapped, but he doesn't fit in at school - I've always had lots of worried calls from teachers when he starts a new school. And more worrying, he has this problem with getting the work done.

I wonder what sort of help would be useful to him if he could get some.

 

What is ASD?

[bramblebrae]

autistic spectrum disorder -kind of all encompassing diagnosis includes aspergers classic autism and also i believ semantic pragmatic language difficulties.

 

my son has this diagnosis though during assessment APlD and aspergers where talked about. Clinical Pyschologist who diagnosed said it was best to leave it as ASD as things change over time adn she thought aspergers would get less acknowledgement from benefits school etc She jsut summed it up as he was on the autistic spectrum nearer the higher end?! Bit vague really but I think it's becoming more common.

 

Lorraine

[bramblebrae]

Also meant to say my son is 7 he has what I call mini obessions. Overall he loves toys adn always wants a new one but over time he's jumped form thunderbirds to batman to doctor who and power rangers with a bit of transformers thrown in oh yes and of course thomas the tank engine lol. He reads books alot and is very advanced at reading and it is a great tool for calming him down. He will read anything at all including my dads readers digest magazines. He's not really into the routine thing but i think thats becasue of me and he would learn better at home and we would both be more organised if we did have some routine but other than school times being fixed we kind of take things as they come which usually involves sitting watching dvd's oh reminds me the current thing is james bond we jsut got through all 20 films! waiting for new one in novemeber, or playing board games as it takes our fancy neither of us are very motivated to go out much though I am trying to improve this sometimes.

 

lorraine

[della]

Another thing that does my head in completely because I don't understand.

 

Home here, when we're just family he could pass for any other 15 yr old. In fact he is really interesting and talks to me more than his brother and sisters. Eg he asks how my week has been.

 

But when he came back last weekend I asked how his drum lesson had been and he was very enthusiatic, told me all the projects his teacher has for his this term. Well I just phoned his drum teacher about something else and he said he had to stop the lesson last week as my son couldn't or wouldn't play.

 

On the other hand he has no problem telling me when he IS upset - he phoned in tears last week because he couldn't do the work.

 

I DON'T UNDERSTAND.

[barefoot wend]

Della

 

My son is 15 next month with a diagnosis of AS since the age of 6. Like your son, when he is at home, he hardly shows any problems at all with communication and comes across as a totally NT teenager - this is because he feels comfortable and secure at home and does not suffer from anxiety.

 

When we go out he is completely different - he never initiates a conversation, barely says a word and his eye contact becomes far worse.

 

He doesn't have what I would call major obsessions either but I know there are things that he is very, very interested in - like Terry Pratchett books and Richard Dawkins. He spends alot of time on particular sites like Wikipedia. He doesn't come across as particularly obsessional but his interests are stronger than my other 3 children. In those areas where he has a strong interest there is absolutely no sign of a lack of concentration -quite the opposite.

 

He also doesn't have particularly noticeable routines to an outsider. However, left to his own devices he does set up his own day patterns and preferences - for example, he would find it very odd if I were to offer him something other than cereal for breakfast and, whereas, my other children would probably say 'OK' my AS son would not - having cereal for breakfast would be a kind of rule not to be broken.

 

He is also a real fidget when not involoved in something that interests him and it takes alot of effort to keep him on track. Subjects that don't interest him he finds very hard to apply himself. He has a dx of Attention Deficit (probably without the hyperactive add on). The psychiatrist said that he will be able to maintain long periods of concentration in those subjects which interest him because his brain can make the neural jumps necessary through using adrenaline rather then the normal pathways used. When he is not interested the neural jumps are inhibited as their is no pathway for them due to a lack of adrenaline - or something like that.

 

Further, my son has a dx of anxiety, moodswings and depression to further cloud the problems of AS.

 

What I'm trying to say is there can be more than one actual dx and this can confuse the underlying signs.

 

Barefoot

[della]

Thanks barefoot. You have helped clarify things a lot.

 

Your son sounds as if he's got similar interests to mine. He has become interested in stuff his bigger brother never did, certain periods of history, a particular painter (who paints lots of dragons)

The thing about adrenaline is fascinating. They are interested in some things to that extent.

[butterfingersbimbo]

barefoot has said really well what i was trying to say! el can really concentrate on things she is very interested in, its hyper-focus and i believe its common with both ASD and ADHD. also social skills problems occur with both conditions....