How autistic is your kid?

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I am in no way wanting to banter - I actually started this post in recognition of the fact that the approach I need to take with my son would be an overkill used on other kids, and as such my advice to other parents on WP threads may not be suitable. I had imagined it would be a pretty straightford thread, a kind of "introduction" thread.


But I think it is incredibly important to recognise the enormous spread there is - from a political point of view, too. I believe in raising public awareness of autism, but preferably in a nuanced way. Take the autism rights vs. cure autism discussions that pop up all the time: as I see it, both have valid points, it's great to be proud of autism if you are a well-functioning aspie, at the same time, families with profoundly autistic, low functioning, or really difficult children think autism is devastating.

I am not trying to debate either, I was attempting to point out that saying "more autistic" unless you are speaking literally meaning "More reserved from the world" (literally autistic means "attending to one's self") Somebody who has frequent interactive meltdowns, for instance is not "more autistic" than say a non-verbal person who is peacful and calm, because the non-verbal is more introverted and therefore "more autistic" in a literal sense.

But when you talk about Autistic in the sense of the brain type that puts you on the spectrum, you are speaking widely about a group of people, and not about the quality of attending to one's self.

When we use language the way it is used in this thread with "More Autistic" referring to "containing more of the negative traits associated with Autism" the language disrespects those who are autistic, low or high functioning. Somebody is an Autistic or they are not. No matter the number or magnitude of their neurological/behavioral differences from neurotypical people. Referring to Autism in a way that assumes every trait associated with Autism is a bad one de-humanizes Autistics.

I mean is an African American person "more black" if they listen to Rap music, if they get sent to prison? Not at all. Is a cubist abstract artist "more artistic" than say a realist landscape artist?

I am sorry if I came off as harsh, that is not my intention. I just want you to understand that there are people who embrace every aspect of Autism. Something more like "more Autism related challenges" would be more apropriate and would honor the parts of ourselves and our children that we value BECAUSE of the Autistic tendancy not in spite of autistic challenges.

It depends on the day

She's 9 and is a "little professor", is argumentative and defiant with us, but a gem at school. She's not social, but gets along well with other kids and goes with the flow, preferring to play organized sports games with her friends. When she's not in school, she has no desire to see friends, preferring to just play with her animals(real and stuffed) and siblings. She has moderate sensory issues and anxiety and doesn't have noticeable stims to those who don't know her well. She fits in pretty well in the NT world and most people would never know she has HFA. Those who know her well sure know something's "off" with her. LOL! Well, those relatives who aren't AS too and in denial about themselves and her. LOL!

Katrine, I wanted to point out that you can indeed quantify how Autistic a person is. On every diagnostic test done on my kid, there were quantifiers and degrees of Autism based on a battey of things. Then, when kids move on to having the diagnosis reassessed, there's another group of quantifiers. So, there's nothing wrong with asking how Autistic a person is or how deeply effected someone is. I find these medical diagnosis more accurate in defining the severity of Autism because the acronyms HFA, LFA don't really tell much. There are parents who say their kids are HFA, but the kid is non-verbal and some parents don't consider anyone who's non-verbal HFA. See what I mean? Yet, we all use the acronyms because it's easier.

To answer your original question, my kid is HFA, gifted. He's Autistic, not Asperger. Despite him being gifted, it has taken a mountain of intervention to get him mainstreamed.

Thanks - could you tell the others, please

My son has Asperger's. He's very verbal and very observant. His IQ is in the normal range (97). He does very well academically and is a bit advanced in math. He has obsessive interests, and can get quite agitated when he is asked to do something that is not in his routine or comfort zone. His main sensory issue seems to be a problem with yelling/loud noises. He's not very social with other children, prefering to play alone, but he likes to talk with adults. He is in a public elementary school and splits his time between an Autism Support class and the mainstream class with an aide.

"always tested very well and read aloud very well, so none of the educators, or my parents really figured out my difficulty with reading. Once we switched to lecture format vs book work format I excelled in school... Most teachers attempt to explain long enough for me to get it, then expect the book to reinforce it, but I would just use their lectures alone to do all the work. "

My son to a tee and some of me too. I could pick up on the gist very well and know how to respond, do well on tests. I could always write well so I aced my subjects--did better on essay type tests and not so good on multiple choice. My son, however, does very well with comprehension, multiple choice and has superior skills in that area. He may have a photographic memory and this is how he recalls text. I have some attentional issues and don't always retain what I read. I get the gist and miss the details. He seems to get more of it--details and gist.

He gets support due to his inattentiveness. He tells me, though, that he can think about multiple things and attend to the task (school work). He thinks of his interests most of the day and picks up enough to remain at grade level.

Tortuga, I had similar troubles with reading/writing when little (grade 1); enough so that I had to be held back a grade (I repeated grade 2), queue various professional visits to determine what was "wrong" with me; IQ tested in "high", diagnosis was, 'he didn't want to do it, lazy.' I was always good with math.... My mother and teachers spent a lot of time with me, and I eventually learnt to read/write. I caught up extremely quickly over the period of a year. I also had a delay in the acquisition of speech (basic receptive and extremely basic expressive speech until 5). Our cognitive pattern is far more fragmented than "normal" people, good in one thing, bad in another.

Speaking of myself, I was the peaceful and rarely verbal child (my mother said I didn't talk much at all), well-behaved and passive; my only meltdowns/tantrums were in relation to being separated from my mother.

Great topic!! ! You tell me
My son tiptoe walks, hits himself, bites himself. He dislikes affection, seems self centred, has little empathy. Delayed in speech and laungage, take us literally, loves routine. Is obessed about things and will go on and on about them (buses at the moment).
There are more things but it is late

Alice, you have a very valid point, I am just looking for answers. I have been told that my son is autistic and also that he is aspergers. To me he is the same boy he always was and I love him no matter what. To me it is not a competition, I jsut want to know one way or the other so I know the best way to help him.
No one is more or less human as anyone else.