Would you send this child for evaluation?

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Hi all, I've been lurking this board for awhile and finally joined. Seems you have a very nice community here. I'd appreciate your thoughts. I'm posting about a ready to go into HS child, what do you think?



Mother takes 16 month old baby to dr because child is not walking yet and is told baby is late bloomer and as long as speech development is normal not to worry. Mother frightened after observing kid moving every part of body while lying in bed and babbling and is told child dreaming while awake, very common. Kid now a toddler and walking normal with exception of slighlyt uneven gait attributed to uneven legs. Kid likes electronic game Simon Says, Memory Cards, Chinese Checkers and Speed Reading Machine. Parents do not own a computer. Appears to have difficulty tying shoes and zipping zippers but is good at catch and tag. Kid likes puppet plays and going to the zoo. Kid is terrified of loud noises and bright lights but is fearless in physical activities. Kid refuses to wear anything not made out of cotton and does not like being physically affectionate. Kid displays happiness and sadness normally but angry/emotional outbursts are pronounced. Kid is not spoiled and understands work-reward system. Kid wants to make friends but often plays alone because accused of being weird or wild. Kid is afraid to go to school because other kids are mean. Kid would rather go the library then play with other kids. Kid enjoys petshops and brings home stray cats and dogs. Kid also enjoys building and fixing things around the house. Kid likes it when called smart by teachers but angry when called clumsy. Kid loves to read and scores exceptionally high on all standardized reading tests. School reccomends IQ test for giftedness even though student struggles in mathmatics. Score is 129. Student loses ability to see in nondominant eye. Inability to see blackboard is suggested to be cause for mediocre grades and inability to study. Student still scores exceptionally high in reading and written language skills but mathmatics deficits are more pronounced. This kid is going to High School in September.

Father never diagnosed but displays strong Asperger's tendencies, IQ in 170 plus range. Mother unremarkable. ADHD diagnosis and/or giftedness in siblings and first cousins.

Should this child go for learning disabilities evaluation before applying to HS? What else are they going to want to know about the child? What would they be looking for? I'll post more later on, I did'nt want to make this post 900 pages. Thanks everyone.

Hi Dunlop! I would definitely send this child for an Asperger's evaluation. You've described issues with sensory sensitivities, reactiveness, social relationships, and motor coordination. I think it would be best to evaluate now before going to HS. Transition to HS could be a challenging time and if the diagnosis is confirmed support for the transition and coping strategies for the child will be needed.

I agree it would be worth doing. Our son had a lot of issues and I kept asking and asking and being told it is boy behavior and he will do it when he is ready--kids develop differently. Guess what? The first meeting with a psychologist that knew something about autism knew right away our child had something was not right and could not believe all of it was written off for one excuse or another. Our son would do a lot of things you mentioned and the one that always caught me was when he had Christmas gifts or birthday gifts he would slowly open them and then stack them neatly--never wanted to plan with any of them. He always would do what adults did and had no interest in child things.

Cole has had issues with math but I don't understand why one day he gets so frustated and gives up and the next he sits down and figures it out on his own. He has taught himself how to do math for the most part. Another thing I see in him is that he will learn a new skill and then forget it and scream that he has never done it before. I have to show him he has and he screams he did not. Later he can sit down and work because he knows how to do it. I don't believe in meds but we did find one by accident that has really helped him for focusing but not so much on the hyperactive/impulsive behavior. Having a diagnosis would help a great deal with understanding the differences between him and others his age. Cole has been hurt so badly by others that didn't understand and know that we know what we are dealing with is doing some better.

It would be a good idea to get it looked at... Whatever you find, the kid will be the same kid before any diagnoses as after, and you'll just find out more about him/her. That can only help.

Since my son's diagnoses he's getting much more support in school than before. Highschool is much noisier and distracting than primary school, and it would have helped us immensely if the wheels had started moving before he got there. So, I would go for it.

Remember that aspergers, if understood, need not be a disability. In fact, when my son was being evaluated the doctor told him that she saw it not as a disability but a neurological difference. She said the world would be a lot flatter without different people to leaven it.

So, look at it that way, and do what you can to find out more about your child's unique way of looking at the world.

Thank you for your responses. I can add a few physical things also. The mother states the baby was a colic baby and refused to be breast fed. The loss of use of vision in the nondominent eye was suspected to be from measles(yes, measles) at the age of eight. Glasses make her child dizzy and contacts are uncomfortable. It can be corrected with lasix. The dominent eye has 20/20 vision and auditory test perfect. Mother also claims child suffers from IBD (colitis) and gluten intolerance along with chronic strep throat. Mother is disturbed that child is a "tomboy" and prefers boy games and toys. She thinks other girls will like her more if she particpates in more feminine socially acceptable behavior. There is a family history of alcoholism and bipolar disorder.

I would tell the mother not to worry so much about whether other girls like her. Yes, the girl might be more accepted if she was a different person, and played games that society says girls should play... but then she wouldn't be her Mum's little Tomboy, would she? I've known many tomboys, NT and Aspie, and they all grew up fine. Other girls will outgrow their preferred games at some point, and your friend's daughter will figure out her own ways to be feminine. If she doesn't play with Barbie now, it doesn't mean that she's not a proper girl, just that she has her own brain, and finds those "female" games uninteresting. You can't force someone to change their nature. To force someone to be "feminine" or "masculine" in a set way, according to what others think, is unacceptable. These notions are only constructs anyway, and I can't think of anything more miserable than forcing a child to fit into moulds that are too small.

For the record, when I was a kid, I was often mistaken for a boy, because I climbed trees, kicked ball, and sat looking through telescopes at birds and stars. When my brother and I played Mummy and Daddy, he was always the Mummy, I was always the Daddy. But I still grew up, got married, had a child. And my brother is married with two daughters... despite his "female" games as a boy. Similarly, my son had a baby doll that he carried around with him, pretended to breast feed, changed her nappy, all that stuff... and yet he's very obviously interested in girls, since he's developing an interest in one in particular.

Everybody is half male and half female anyway. You have one female, one male parent. What's wrong with modelling yourself on the opposite gender for a while when you're growing up? It's far more natural than you'd think.

Dunlop, I am just curious--Did she have her measles vaccination? I am only asking because I am trying to decide whether or not to vaccinate my son for measles.

In general, vaccinate. Measles can kill, and it's not uncommon that it causes brain damage in kids who survive. In the case of a kid who's got a weak immune system (you know, steroids, HIV, chemotherapy) it may or may not be a good idea. Physically healthy kids, though, yeah, vaccinate. I've been trying to tell that to my own mom for ages--my little sister is unvaccinated and autistic, and I really hope she doesn't catch something dangerous; but my mom is stuck on the idea that vaccines have an infinitesimal risk associated with them and therefore must be avoided. Yeah, Mom, but the diseases they vaccinate against are way more risky...

Unfortunately, many doctors say wait and see. I do know that now they are requiring pediatricians to evaluate at 12 months and 18 months for autism in NY. I'm not sure that it is nationwide but my son displayed a lot of those same issues and is diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder. He is 9. I would absoulately get an evaluation. Asperger Syndrome wasn't even lised as a disablity until 1994.

Thank you all very much. This child going to HS was me 25 years ago. I'm trying to figure this all out one step at a time that's why I posted the way I did. It was Kennedy's book, The ADHD/Autism connection that made me go uh-ohhhhhh! I think the biggest problem is that when I was in school they simply were not looking for it. We were/are the weird, but "god, they are smart, family in my neighborhood. It's all there in varying degrees in different family members. There are few NT's floating around too. One thing, that seems to be discussed alot on this board is would you change it? I would change not knowing. IMHO, that's the disability. (and yes, I went through hell in school, still have meltdowns, emotional disconnect problems and so on)

Angelbear, I got the measles vaccine before I was 1 year of age, which they now say is ineffective, hence my getting the measles. I think the kids today have to get one before 1 year and a booster after but I'm not sure. They also thought that's why I got the amblyopia which I no longer believe to be the case.

I'll post a hello on the "Introduce yourself" page. Nice to meet you all!

Dunlop-I am sorry that you have struggled for so long. But, hopefully, now you will be able to start getting some answers. Welcome to Wrong Planet!

My son was diagnosed in 2008 just after his 19th birthday. And that was only after I read something about a lady in NZ who has written a book about Aspergers, and contacted her because my son displayed so many of the traits she mentioned.

He is still trying to come to terms with this diagnosis, makes jokes about it, but pretty much hides away from the world and only comes out when he feels like it. Finding the perfect job for him is really difficult because he has the brains but not the co-ordination. Trying to get him to get a job through a mentoring group called Workbridge is also difficult because I cant get him there to meet with anyone!! And they wont come out to meet with my son at home!! So I must admit I dont have that much faith in their services.

He is slowly getting his head around the diagnosis but it is taking a lot of time. If he had been diagnosed earlier things would have been a lot easier for him going through school and we would have had more support from the teachers and other agencies - which we do not get now.

Don't put it off.