Is it Aspergers?

[V1971]

My son is 3.5 and was diagnosed as being in the spectrum in Sept 2006. He displays all the signs of Aspergers (Difficulties with change; Prefer routine; Obsessive habits; Poor social skills; Difficulty reading nonverbal cues (body language); Bothered by sounds; Light sensitive; Tactile sensitivities; Prefer soft clothing; Cannot tolerate labels in clothes; Fussy eater).

 

However, he is not clumsy or un-coordinated and he has speech delay. He has however been able to spell words since he was 18 months.

 

His Ped hasn't given him a label because he is too young, but his therapists seem to think he is High Functioning, which leds me to believe he may be AS?

 

Back to my original question, is it possible to be Aspergers but have little speech?

[bikergal]

Hi, I'm not sure about the answer to your final question but my dd (13) has a diagnosis of atypical autism and pdd. It is my understanding that if there is speech delay a diagnosis of Asperger's will not be given as this is part of the diagnostic criteria for AS. If there is speech delay a diagnosis of HFA will most likely be given; this is my understanding of it and from reading up on the internet. My dd had speech delay and this was one of the reasons given at the time for not giving her a diagnosis of AS.

 

Hopefully someone else with some more knowledge will come along soon

[V1971]

Thank you Bikergal, that was what I though as well.

 

I am curious to see what others think.

[pingu]

Back to my original question, is it possible to be Aspergers but have little speech?

 

Hi there. (welcome)

 

My lad certainly had very little speech at the same age, he didnt start saying words (ones that you could understand at least) until he was 5 1/2. And he was diagnosed as "AS"

 

Hope this helps.

 

shaz

[V1971]

Very interesting, thank you!

[cmuir]

Hi

 

My son is 5 and has been diagnosed with an Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Although you can have a conversation with my son (trusting he's in the mood!), several specialists think he may have some difficulty understanding language. Have to say, to me this wasn't at all obvious - I've hadn't considered that this may be a problem. His consultant is certain her has Aspergers, but is holding off changing formal diagnosis of an ASD to AS because she wants him to have further assessments by a SALT and receive help if required. I guess the answer to your question is that it is generally not thought that an child with AS can has language difficulties (at least that's what I've been advised by my son's consultant).

 

Best wishes.

 

Caroline.

Edited January 8, 2007 by cmuir

[baddad]

Hi V1971 -

Technically, Biker girl hit the nail on the head - one of the major 'differences' between an AS/ASD diagnosis being the matter of age appropriate speech acquisition...

Having said that, the boundaries have become increasingly ill defined (As Tony Attwood (I think) said - the only difference between AS and ASD is the spelling!), and as often as not the actual term applied seems to have more to do with who's making the diagnosis than with the minor differences detailed in the diagnostic criteria...

There's this sort of idea that people with AS are more 'able' or intelligent than those with an ASD diagnosis, but this has more to do with the individuals Kanner and Asperger researched than with any real distinction, at the 'High Functioning' (another misnomer!) end of the spectrum it really is mainly academic...

I know Donna Williams has a couple of articles on her website about the differences SHE perceives between herself (Autism) and her husband (Asperger)...

 

donna's website

 

You'll probably find other articles useful too!

 

L&P

 

BD

[MichelleW]

As far as I'm aware AS and HFA overlap depending on who you see and what their opinion is. The criteria for diagnoses is usually that AS is the name given when there is no speech or language delay - but AS and HFA are still included under the "umbrella" of ASD. J was assessed at 2 and a half with specific speech and language disorder, but quote "was not autistic as he had eye contact". At 4 and a half he was diagnosed by a different consultant as AS despite having had delayed speech and language, and a few weeks ago he was diagnosed as moderate autistic/ASD by a third consultant who said that the different "names" shouldn't make any difference. My reply to him was that it does to Social services with regards to help and support.

[V1971]

Thanks everyone, I think you're right in saying that AS and HFA can overlap and that it also depends who is making the diagnosis. Our Ped sees us every 6 months, hopefully she'll have a better idea next time.

 

MichelleW - my son makes great eye contact, yet he was diagnosed as being in the autistic spectrum.

 

Baddad - thanks for the link, I'll have a look!

[MichelleW]

I just happened to be unfortunate the first time to get a paed who didn't believe you could be autistic and manage eye contact. To be fair to her though, she only saw him for about 30 mins! But i knew better and got him seen again! Sometimes you have to be persistant and believe in youself!

[V1971]

I know what you mean, my son was only seen for about 30 mins too, although I was there for over 2 hours. Good on you for sticking to your guns. Mothers always know best {HUGS}

[Stephanie]

My son was diagnosed HFA at 3 years 11 months because he had language difficulties (not a delay so much as inappropriate language structure) and because he could read from a really young age and was highly intelligent for his age. He had good eye contact.

 

Now he is nearly 6 I am still struggling with the HFA/AS thing, I don't think he meets all the criteria for AS or all the criteria for Autism but is in a shady area inbetween of being half and half.

 

When you contact a lot of schools, if you tell them your child is HFA it doesn't mean a lot, whereas they "think" they know what AS is. Sometimes they will hear the words High Functioning and say "oh Aspergers". Some people prefer the term Aspergers because it doesn't include the word "autism" like HFA does.

 

I have heard that if your child has a speech delay, they are diagnosed as HFA and it would be very difficult to ever get a diagnosis of Aspergers in the future.

 

It must be very difficult for those of you who have had mixed "labels" given to your children, the professionals say it doesn't matter what the medical term is but I think to parents, it does matter. We need to ensure we are reading the right books, getting the right help etc. and how can we do that if we don't know exactly where on the spectrum our children are.

 

I'm labelling my son "individual" and being done with all the other stuff for now.

[SusanF]

My son had delayed langauge and at 4 was given a semantic pragmatic disorder label "but not on the autistic spectrum". His language shot ahead in his first year at school & was well ahead of his age by the time he was 6. At 8 he was given a 'traits of Aspergers, traits of dyspraxia, traits of higher level language weakness' label; and at 9 this turned into a straight Asperger's label!

 

I suspect that not every child necesarily ticks every box correctly?

 

Susan F

[Devon mum]

Hi

I was told 5 years ago with DS1 that he could not have AS as he did not have normal speech development due to his having developed a stammer at the start of school, but then with DD I'm told it is to do with learning difficulties.

 

My DD was Dx'd in October 06 as ASD but on a progressive Dx to find out if she actually has any learning difficulties as this will apparently decide if she ends up with a Dx of AS or HFA.

 

My DD is slow to use words, she can talk fine and often too much but just you try to get her to ask for something first time using the right words instead of clues and gestures.

Her use of language seems to depend on her situation and how in control she wants to be, she can babble on and on, scream, shout and make up words then ask what they mean only to go into screaming ab-dabs when we tell her the words have no meaning as she just made it up. But when she wants something she will often decide to get it for herself rather than ask for it by name.

 

Seems to depend on who you speak to some of the time.

[mummy]

Reading various books including Tony Attwood's has led me to the understanding that HFA and AS are the same thing just different names. (I think it tends to be more described as HFA in the States)

My son was Dx AS at the age of 11 having been mis-diagnosed as dyspraxic at the age of 2 and a half.

He could read at 3 and a half although his speech was very difficult to understand. (he had no speech OR communication til 2years and had speech therapy til 4)

He is now 13 and a half, speaks well although his Rs aren't clear, is doing well at mainstream high school and has several friends.

He still struggles understanding the unspoken word, and has poor social skills. He also has a severe dislike of being touched. he finds the unstructured concept of project and essay work difficult but is in top sets for English language, maths and geography.

 

As an aside I work at a special school and there are 2 children in my year six class who are severely autistic, 1 with little spoken language at all but they both have GOOD eye contact. - It can be learnt!!

[jlp]

We have a diagnosis of ASD / Aspergers because it is 'unclear whether G had a speech delay at an early age'.