Does my kid have AS?

Post Reply New Topic

I stumbled onto an article about AS a couple weeks after my child's pre-k teacher pointed out to me that she was having problems with him. She told me and then showed me a picture of him watching and standing away from the rest of his classmates who were working together building blocks. She mentioned that it took him a very long time to complete art projects. He spends a long time just sitting before doing his work. He doesn't interact with the other children in his class. Learning of this was a surprise to me because at home he plays with his sister and father and me. With his family he seems like a kid without disabilities. But after reading the AS article and upon reflection, outside of his family within the last year he does seem to be less outgoing then when he was 3. So do children with AS behave the same in all social situations? Are they born with AS? He sometimes plays with other children if they initiate play. He has told me that he's different than the other kids in his class but I can't get him to elaborate. He has good memory and has just recently developed an interest in geography so he has memorized all the United States and their capital. He wants to make friends at school but he's having a very hard time. I've noticed that his facial expression changes when he is around his classmates. Very serious and not very happy. When I pick him up after school his face lights up and he snaps out of a trance, he's talkative and bubbling over with school news. Could he have AS? If he does, what should I do now? I'm concerned, worried and I don't know what to do.

Welcome to WP!

Is it possible something else is going on? Some of the symptoms do sound like they might be related to autism, but they could also be attributed to bullying/ something traumatic happening at home. I think you should definitely keep autism on your radar, but be sure to look into other possibilities. To me it sounds like he's just not integrating well, or having trouble adjusting to school, or even being teased.

Yes he could. But don't worry, AS can be very positive.



- Start informing yourself. Read about autism spectrum disorders. This website is a great place to get information. Browse the parents forums, and you'll see that you are not alone and there are many parents who have gone through similar experiences...and survived! Find a good book on autism spectrum disorders. There is a thread in this forum with some recommended reading.
- Be patient. It may take time to get all of your questions answered to your satisfaction.
- Visit your son's classroom and see for yourself how he behaves with peers.
- Start keeping a journal about your son, in which you write down your observations and thoughts about what's going on. Keep track of questions that come up.
- Maintain good relationships with, and keep the lines of communication open with teachers and school staff, they can be a very important source of information.
- Be on the lookout for signs that your son is being bullied in school, and be prepared to intervene if or when necessary.
- If you begin to think your son might be on the spectrum, find a pediatrician knowledgable about autism and start asking questions.



Its normal to feel concern and worry, and I suggest you use these feelings to motivate yourself to get informed. When you're not sure what to do next when faced with uncertainty, educating yourself about the issues is a great way to buy time and it couldn't hurt.

Good luck

He might simply be gifted and have a low tolerance for the childish actions of his peers. Or he could be gifted and have AS. The line between these in the preschool age is very hard to determine. I grew up in a time when AS wasn't known about, so everybody just thought I was gifted. Nowadays, the AS would have been spotted in my preschool years. I think one good question would be if he has any special interests. 90% of those with Asperger's, especially young children, have some obsessive interest.
-OddDuckNash99-

While it's possible that he's on the spectrum, it's very possible that he isn't. "Bubbling over with school news" isn't a very autistic-like behavior, in my experience, unless school is a special interest. Pay attention to what he's talking about when you pick him up - is it really school news, or is it about the dinosaurs in the play bin (for instance)? If he's telling you a lot about the specifics of his day, and what different kids are doing, that's not very autistic-like. If he's telling you about a particular toy or game, it might be.

Since the teacher has pointed out some issues, see if she can be more specific - what kinds of problems does he have interacting? Is it, as another poster suggested, that your son is intellectually more advanced than the other kids, and they don't "get" each other? Or is there something else going on?

You need a lot more information, and you need to see a professional in order to get an answer to your question.

If you have any concerns, talk to his dr. And definitely read as much as you can.

Also, talking about school, like another poster said, isn't very autistic-like. What exactly is he telling you? About something he is interested in or about what other kids are doing? My son and daughter this year can come home and tell me many things that happened in school on a given day. This is the first year i get to hear what other kids are doing. My daughter just started school, K, my son is in 5th and has AS. So you can see how long i have had to wait to finally hear about his day!

I am not saying he doesn't have AS as every child on on the spectrum is different.


GL

I agree about what he's bubbly about when talking about school. I'm an Aspie, and I would talk my mother's ear off after I'd get home from school, but it was usually about what happened in class, in terms of what I learned. I certainly wasn't relaying the social interaction with peers. Rather, I wanted to tell her all about the tests I took, the papers I was handed back, what discussions I participated in during English class, etc.
-OddDuckNash99-

Welcome to the Wrong Planet neighborhood, lcmalker. If you wish, you probably could have your son checked out by your county's Mental Health Services. Look in the government pages in your phone book under "County Government" for the Mental Health Services nearest you. If they cannot help you there, but I think they should be able to, perhaps they'll be able to put you in touch with another organization that can. Here's wishing you and your son all the best.

I would have loved to hear even that from my son. When he got home, he'd go right into talking about his video games. I'd ask him what he did in certain subjects or if he had art or music and he'd just say he didn't know.

You've gotten some good information from other posters so I will try to address some different areas.

No. They are profoundly affected by environment (sensory) and familiarity. Situations that they are used to, or that they have planned for and which play out as expected, and that don't have any sensory problems, will be comfortable, and they should do well. Other situations may trigger different defensive patterns.

Now, with high functioning kids, this can flip as the child gets older and learns to "act" at school, etc., so as to be more or less accepted. But holding his real self at bay is stressful, and the stress will get released once in a safe and comfortable environment, ie home.



Must of us believe that, yes, they are born as they are. Some environmental factors, however, may act as triggers and make certain aspects rise to the surface when they might not have otherwise. With or without environmental triggers, periods of stalling or regression seem to be very normal for ASD children.



It is a difficult concept to verbalize. Most ASD kids eventually figure it out, that they are different, but they don't know why. Your son seems to be on the young side for picking that up, but that would be something an ASD child might observe and express. I don't know, however, how many non-ASD children may also feel the same; my NT daughter has never said anything similar, despite having her own social issues, but she is just one child.



At this age, I would start with his future school district or county office of education. They have a vested interest in identifying and working with their future special needs kids before they start public school. We had a free observation done by a county psychologist when my son was 4. She did not pick up on the ASD, but she did pick up on his sensory issues, and was very supportive to talk with. Because he wasn't more extreme, she suggested waiting to see what happened in K, and we agreed with that since there were issues with the preschool that could have been affecting him negatively. That was 8 years ago, however, and they are much more tuned in to ASD's now. Either way, its free, and its easy (or was for us), which makes it an easy place to start. If you aren't having more issues than you've described, you have a little time, so take advantage of that to progress in a low stress manner. Keep enjoying your son just as he is. It sounds like he's been a happy toddler at home, so you're doing something right, and there will be plenty of time for the world to force its visions onto him as he grows up; why make that be today if it doesn't have to be?