Testing and diagnoses question...

Post Reply New Topic

My son is 5 years old and has always had some form of visual and mental traits of Autism or Asperger's. So, he has now started kindergarten and I am receiving the usual head butting from the school system and his teachers. After screaming and hollering, I have finally gotten the school system to agree to test him. Here is my problem, they agreed to the testing but have told me that they can only test for autism and not asperger's. My question is, does anyone know how different the testing is between the two??? I have done lots of reading and it would seem that CARS is the accepted testing method for autism. When researching the testing for asperger's, I have found that there are several different testing procedures, all with varying levels of determination and definitive outcomes. After all my research, I honestly feel that he displays more asperger traits than autistic traits. Am I being to literal? Is asperger's generally lumped in by society with autism? Any help that anyone can provide, would be greatly appreciated.

THANKS!

I just got an Aspergers diagnosis for my son, today (as a matter of fact), from a privately hired psychologist. My son is 8 years old and we have had "issues" with behavior since pre-school. No one at the schools ever thought autism, everyone thought ADHD. Problems persisted and I took him to several social service agencies when he was a toddler. I got nothing other than a traumatized child from too-much "testing." At 4 we took my son to a psychiatrist - he was diagnosed with severe ADHD.

By kindergarten his teacher was convinced the ADHD could not be helped by behavior management alone. She asked if I would consider a visit to the pediatrician. (ADHD, say the schools, can be solved with a visit to the pediatrician and a prescription!) No diagnosis needed. We did that - and it helped, but certain behavior issues remained.

This year... 2nd grade. At the parent teacher conference the teacher tells me my son's behavior is very "asperger-like." She cannot teach the class as he constantly asks her to slow down the pace so he can understand everything she is saying. He has trouble with worksheets because if he gets stuck on a question, he cannot move on to the next one until that particular question is finished.... What to do... I could have insisted that the school test - but after "head-butting" in the past, I decided to pay out-of-pocket for a more humane approach and a more comprehensive diagnosis.

I suspect that if your child has Aspergers, it will be too subtle for the schools testing to show that. He may not meet their standard. The school has an interest in NOT discerning mild cases of autism, such as Aspergers. The schools interest is financial.

If you can afford it - I would suggest an independent analysis. You'll learn more about your child and how to help them, and you can use your diagnosis to get him the help he needs.

I agree. Depending on his level of functioning it is probably unlikely that they will extend services to your son. You need to start now logging everything at school he has troubles with. You could possibly request a 504 Plan for him. Depending on how your school is, instigating an Eval for him at the school will do nothing but drive you insane and get him no services. Try focusing on the things that will get him some supports, such as 504. Go to www.wrightslaw.com to learn about a 504 Plan. As far as testing for Asperger's, ask for the GADS questionaire, ask for testing on his Executive Functioning, and they will probably do the ADOS, which if they do then that opens the door for you to get a school paid evaluation as part of an IEE after their testing is complete. Be aware however, that an IE which shows Asperger's still might not force the school to extend services.

My son is only 5, so I am still relatively new to dealing with the school system. However, my son entered the public school system at 3 yrs old and received services based on "significant developmental delay". When he was 4, the school wanted to test him to see if he fell on the autism spectrum. After the testing, they did not give him a diagnosis, but they determined that he did have behaviors that were "indicative of an autism spectrum disorder, possibly Asperger's and most likely ADHD" I am not an expert, but that seems silly to me that they cannot test for Asperger's. Asperger's IS AUTISM.

On a side note, I had already taken him at 2.5 yrs of age to a developmental pediatrician who diagnosed him as PDD-NOS/possible Asperger's. As time goes on, he does seem to display many Asperger's traits, but I think he is more in the High Functioning Autistic range. Either way, it really does not matter because it is all on the autism spectrum and these children experience many of the same struggles.

I would push the school a little harder, but if they won't budge, I would definitely take him to a private doctor.

Good luck and Welcome to Wrong Planet!

what the school probably means is that they dont differentiate between the autism spectrum disorders when they do an evaluation. my sons school didnt, its either autism spectrum disorder or its not. so they will evaluate him for an asd, and you will get a yes or no to that, but they probably wont say which asd it is.

asperger's is autism, so yeah they are together, but its not either/or and there is no lumping in. if he has asperger's he has autism. so the testing for autism spectrum disorder covers asperger's. it sounds like you yourself are differentiating between asperger's and classic autism (also referred to as Kanner's autism), which are both autism spectrum disorders. the use of the sole word autism can be confusing, depending on whether you mean classic autism or the entire range of asd.

the testing is going to be pretty much the same. there is also asperger's specific tests, such as the GADS (gilliams aspergers disorder scale) but you are probably better off with things geared towards the entire autism spectrum or a combinaiton of broad and narrow testing. they rarely do just one test anyway, its usually several to cover all the bases.

islandmother's suggestion for private diagnostic testing is a good one, we did that as well. however, to get services in school, the school will have to do their evaluation, so you may as well continue with that path too.

in a couple more years, none of this will matter as the individual autism diagnoses are being done away with, and there will be just one spectrum disorder that everyone will be diagnosed under. a true spectrum with hopefully really individualized evaluation and treatment, and none of the automatic assumptions people have when they hear LFA, HFA, Asperger's, etc.

To my knowledge, a school cannot diagnose autism, or any other condition for that matter. Only a MD, child psychologist, or possibly another medical professional can. The purpose for an evaluation through the school district is to decide if additional supports, via an IEP or a 504 are, in fact, needed. These supports, if needed, should be provided regardless of whether or not an official diagnosis exists, but it is usually much easier to make a case for needed services if there is a diagnosis. On the other hand, a child with an ASD diagnosis may actually not need additional services through the school.

Each child and each case is unique. It is more important to focus on the specific needs of your child (speech, OT, PT, social skills, etc.) and ensure those specific needs are being addressed. Determine what your concerns are and talk about them with your teacher and the district. It can end up being a battle, or it could end up being a very positive experience. Let them do whatever test they usually do, and see how it goes. Schools are not always evil institutions out to save a buck. They often do want to do what's best for their students, with exceptions, of course.

My son has recently graduated from his IEP and no longer receives services, even though he has a medical diagnosis of asperger's. There happens to be a student in his class with classic autism and sometimes they let my son join in for social skills therapy as there is already an aide in the classroom. This has been sufficient and he doesn't seem to need any other services so for now, we're just rolling with it. It is possible for a child with AS to be ok in school, and even excel, without additional services. It is also possible for that same child to struggle tremendously the very next year. IMO, it's most important to form a team approach with your child's teacher, and communicate openly and frequently with him or her. Good luck!

Thank you to all for your answers and support! I didn't realize that asperger's fell into the autism scale. In reference to the school can not diagnose comment, I live in a very large district, the 13th largest in the country actually, and the people that do there testing are all licensed psychologists and the hire occupational therapists as aides. I have looked into private testing, however there is only one place that does testing in the area and my insurance won't pay for it. The testing ranges anywhere from 5K-7K dollars, and i just can't afford that. Plus in the back of my mind I have this belief that if the school system wont do it, why do i pay outrageously high taxes???

Thanks again for all the support and helpful info.

Brian

WIth our district, they would not diagnose under any circumstances. They assess and then advise what the student qualifies for. So what they said was, we see these things that are impacting DS, these things are often associated with AS or ASDs.

This is what the reposrt said when they qualified him for services:

Autism means a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evident before age three that adversely affects a child's educational performance. Other characteristics often associated with autism are engagement in repetitive/ritualistic activities and stereotyped movements or peculiar motoric mannerisms, extreme resistance to environmental controls or change in daily routines, and unusual responses to sensory experiences. The term does not apply if a child's educational performance is adversely affected primarily because the child has an emotional disturbance.

After reviewing all current assessment information and private assessments made available, in addition to observing Student, working with him, interviewing his mother, and consulting with other specialists, it is this examiner’s opinion that he does demonstrate impairments in social interaction, pragmatics, sensory regulation. While such characteristics are commonly associated with children with Autism spectrum disorders, Student is often much more engaging and socially appropriate than what is typical of high function children with Asperger’s disorder. Thus the expression is mild, and it could be said that his sullen mood aloof demeanor and executive functioning deficits are more obvious and pervasively impacting him, however such deficits are also commonly associated with Spectrum Disorders.

Wow, I can't believe the private testing cost that much! That is outrageous! I would definitely pursue the school path.

I probably can't add anything new to the already wonderful discussion going on in this thread, but as I read what you've written, a question pops into my mind: Are you hoping for a diagnosis of Asperger's rather than autism because autism sounds scary, and Asperger's sounds less scary?

If so, let me encourage you with this: My 7 y.o. received a straight up diagnosis of autism when he was 3. E Later, everyone who worked with him said, "This looks more like Asperger's"...but it didn't really matter, because as long as the I made sure the people working with him saw him as an individual, saw HIS needs, and supported him in ways that addressed those specific needs, he was in good hands no matter what his chart said.

The diagnosis is just a key that unlocks the door to support. My son is high-functioning, super smart, has no problems academically...the other night as I was walking past him he said, "Mom," waited for me to turn and look at him and said, " I love you." Hmmm...not what comes to mind when you see the word "autistic". And when he was little I had reason to doubt he would ever say an intelligible sentence or interact with anyone.

We had him re-assessed when he was 6 by a very respected autism clinic in our area and their diagnosis was still straight up autism, even after many of the "autism red flags" had diminished on their own. Whatever. They could call him a three-toed alien for all I care, as long as I have access to the support he needs at different points in our journey.