10 year old daughter may be an aspie

Post Reply New Topic

My ten-year old daughter Nica is going to a Pediatric Neurologist/developmental specialist, who is supposed to be the best in our city for helping autism spectrum kids.

Nica is currently diagnosed with Receptive and Expressive Language Processing Disorder. Her speech therapist also says that there is evidence of Auditory Processing Disorder, and that goes hand in hand with the Language Processing. She has been diagnosed ADHD in the past, but ADHD meds don't work for her, they make her moodier. The speech therapist agrees with my observations about sensory issues and gross motor skills delay. She has a normal IQ, but was a late reader, and struggles in some areas academically.

As a toddler and preschooler, she was very ritualistic. She was terribly upset and threw tantrums if things didn't happen in her ritualistic manner. This included our schedule, especially our night time routine. QUESTION: Do older Aspie's hide their rituals? I don't observe the behavior in her now that I used to where this is concerned. I do remember as a child having certain rituals when it came to walking, eating, or timing myself that I never told anyone about.

She has so many sensory issues that I could write a book. I won't have any trouble explaining this one to the docs. I figured out her sensory issues when she was very young.

QUESTION: How about stimming? I am trying to identify her stimming behaviors and can't. Is stimming a coping mechanism? Maybe she hasn't caught on? Ok, I know she likes to swing, it was one of the few things that could calm her as a baby, but that is not something you can just do for yourself when you need to. How about wiggling? She can't sit still at all, and she can't focus. How do I watch for and identify what are her stimming behaviors?

She has the Aspie empath tendancies discussed in another thread. She also has the empathy for inanimate objects. She is immature for her age, and plays better with younger children. When she was littler she played only with boys, because she was to rambunctious for girls. Her gross motor skills are a little delayed for her age, she was a late bike rider, has never figured out how to tie shoes, etc. She has a facial tic. She has a terrible temper, and explodes a few times a day, at least. Imagine throwing a couple of fighting cats into a tub of water, and that gives you a picture of Nica at her worst moments.

ANOTHER QUESTION: How are aspie girls different than boys? I know that more boys are identified as aspies, but maybe the diagnostic criteria are still catching up.

The bottom line is that I want to have as clear and accurate information as possible when I talk to this doctor. I appreciate if you have read this far, and I appreciate any insights you have to offer.

Aspies can have OCD or OCD like behaviors - I don't have a formal diagnosis of AS but have been diagnosed as OCD. People with OCD can hide or mask their compulsions. Some are very visible (like I'm a handwasher) but there are plenty of other little things I do that no one knows about because either they are not aware of it or because it can just be a mental compulsion. I have often thought when I hear other parents say they have helped their kid succeed in stopping stims or OCD type behavior that the kid has probably replaced it with something else to avoid notice.




NT people stim - like jingling keys or tapping a pencil. The difference though is that people on the spectrum may not be so subtle (lol) do other kinds of stims that may look weird to others - like my son loves to spin or twirl around. That bothers some people but I am not one to try and stop the stimming behavior because it is often necessary for the person with AS. You can show them how to do more quiet stims for in school - like jiggling their foot. Stims can be vocal also.




I tend to think the criteria is just catching up and that there are more girls on the spectrum that are undiagnosed. But I think this has more to do with stereotypes than changes in diagnostic criteria. Since ASDs have been associatd with boys than that may influence doctors thinking when they see a girl and look for other explanantions for her behvaior. Also - I think doctors tend to think of women as being more anxious and depressed than men. So, some of this may be just trying to make the patients fit the stereotypes than actually looking at the causes of the behaviors. Of course there has been alot more information available to doctors now about ASDs and more and more girls ARE being diagnosed. That is not to say however that it still legitamately something that effects more males than females.

it can be hard to identify a stim in a high functioning induvidual. it can even be internal like needing to think something, look somewhere ect.