Parents w/ low functioning kids - what skills to focus on ?

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I agree there is confusion here, it really depends who you ask. The old Aspergers diagnosis in DSM IV required no social communication deficits. This therefore means that children who can speak (like my daughter) from the age of 10 months but only started limited communication much later were diagnosed with autism. Then you have children who start using words much later but have no communication skills and finally those who are completely non-verbal. Even children who are non-verbal can be divided up. Some are not interested in communicating at all (classic Kanner's autism) but I have come across many children who are mute but try very hard to communicate using gibberish or some form of noise in order to communicate.


She started prentend play from 3-4. Her latest project is completely simulating gameshows from TV in a simulated stage with money and contestants and compare etc.

CyberDad,

So when you say that she was non-verbal until age 5, you mean that she was not communicating socially, although she could speak / talk ?

There's a lot of research in developmental psychology that indicate the human brain continually re-wires itself and that developmental changes occur right up to 30 yrs of age.

By 10 months old she was saying words and by 18 months she could read books (without necessarily comprehending meaning). She was extremely hyperlexic and obsessed with numbers and letters to the point she could say the alphabet backwards by 2 yrs old. Despite all this she did not actually start social communication till she was 5. Unfortunately she is largely driven (as are many NT kids) by her own needs (i.e. I want this, I don't like that) rather than initiating conversation or asking questions. Now that she's 7.5 yrs old she has started talking about things like holidays or video games etc but the conversations are quite brief usually. On occaisons she will get very interested in something and then (out of the blue) use quite complex sentences. I think the necessary ingredients are all there, she also has a normal vocabluary for a child her age.

I would actually think that the brain changes constantly until the end of life - which is why it is considered "plastic".

That aside, though, so much scientific literature really stress on that magical "window of opportunity" for language to develop. The first to make such a hypothesis was Jean Itard, based on his work with with Victor of Aveyron, and this has been re-emphasized by Maria Montessori and all who followed her. I just don't know who or what to believe, anymore.

Anyway, I am more worried at this point of time over his level of cognitive functioning. I just don't know if my son has a "normal IQ", which is my biggest concern. He does not seem to understand so much, and presents more like a baby than a preschooler. He will do stuff for you (play with toys, complete a simple puzzle etc) but only for a reward, not because he wants to play with them. His only play is rough housing and playground play - not cognitive or pretend or social play. I am worried sick about this child.

See, so I cannot compare my son with your daughter. He, too, was obsessed with numbers and alphabets at age 2, but abruptly stopped stimming on them about 3 months past his 2nd birthday. Since then, there is NOTHING.

I just don't know if he even has an IQ ?

Each child is different and yes my daughter was unable (and still unable) to do an IQ test. Has your son been assessed through non-verbal intelligence test such as Raven's matrices? these will give the psychologist a good idea of his cognitive skills even if he is non-verbal. Once you know what he is capable of then you can plan the types of therapy and how intensive they should be.

He has neither the attention span nor the inclination to take these tests. We have tried and failed. I am kinda just frustrated at this point of time. I just need to slog on and hope that there is light at the end of this tunnel, eventually.

Is he on medication for attention? my daughter is on ritalin and it does help with her task concentration (mainly reduced distractions).