confused about Asperger

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My daughter (6) has been diagnosed with AS about a year ago but we have some doubts. She definitely has some of the symptoms but other stuff is different. The usual relationship problems with other kids. No sign of any special interest. She talks gibberish to herself constantly and runs about the place but rarely talks to us or anybody else, unless she wants something. We do not think she is losing the power of speech but she does not want to talk and her speech is not developing. She is anything but "verbose". She used to befairly normal until about age 4 - at least we did not suspect anything though she was "moody". She can read reasonably OK when she puts her mind to it. Colouring is a chore but homework otherwise OK. Talks gibberish to herself for hours in bed at night - the psy who diagnosed AS said this was stress related but we are not convinced - she has fits when stressed.
Has anybody with an older child seen behaviour like this?

AS kids don't necessarily fit the whole AS criteria. The gibberish sounds like it's possibly her way of stimming, in which case it would probably be related to stress from environmental factors. My son sometimes does this sort of thing, or repeats phrases for the sake of it.

Have you done any internet searches on how AS is seen in females? I was at a course recently and they said that the original AS criteria was developed from a study of boys, which is why boys are diagnosed more frequently than girls. This could mean that if you are comparing your daughter to what are predominantly boys' AS traits, then there may be some inadequacies. They said that girls differences are more subtle and will not necessarily be picked up the same. Special interests are often horses, dogs, cats and books. It may pay to look into this area, as you may find some helpful info. It is a reasonably new line of inquiry, but I think there will be a lot more research come out about AS girls in the next few years.

My mother says I meet the criteria when stressed.

Some girls don't have a special interest.

Can she talk to you on the rare instances when she tries to? If so, as the other poster said, the gibberish may be a stim.

Honestly, based on your description, does not sound Aspergers. It seems more like the person diagnosing it was doing so under the new "if it's different, it's aspergers" fad - rather than, a few short years ago, the "if it's different, it's add".
Your description contrasts with the criteria for girls of that age. In my opinion, Aspergers is very unlikely. It sounds more like a legitimate instance of ADHD, which isn't merely bouncing of Walls in all cases, a form of tourettes - where the speaking gibberish to herself is a tic, never mind the stereotype about random swearing.
It may also be schizophrenia - rare as it is to manifest in girls of that age, not unheard of.
Lastly, general mental retardation, almost unnoticeably, might be the case.
Without physically examining anybody's behaviour, of course, I cannot be certain.
But, my suggestion to you would be to - for now - disregard the Aspergers diagnosis, and focus more on observing what traits she shows/develops, and find whatever best fits to give her appropriate help. Revisit Aspergers only if enough information presents itself so it seems to fit best; remember, it is the latest "fad" diagnosis, so take any decision that it is Aspergers with a grain of salt.

The "no sign of any special interest part" is not Aspergers like at all. People with aspergers usually obsess over their interests, to the point of annoying others around them.

I work in a child development centre, and honestly, this does not sound like aspergers to me.

I would be seeking a second opinion. It does not sound like ADHD, it might be a developmental delay.. you do not note if her speech/language is normal when she does speak or if it is delayed. If she is not talking much, no doubt it will become delayed eventually through lack of practice. A cognitive delay is possible.

Seriously.. I think you have a case of mis-diagnosis and would strongly suggest that you seek a second opinion.

big time misdiagnosis.

The criteria doesn't specify that you need to have "everything" - read it very carefully. Also, a lot of the criteria is subject to interpretation.

The usual relationship problems with other kids.
That's a trait.

No sign of any special interest.
Sometimes it's not very evident... for instance, our youngest looks like he has no special interest and yet he's fixated on the dog... not all dogs, just ours.

She talks gibberish to herself constantly
This is verbal stimming - my AS son does this too.

but rarely talks to us or anybody else, unless she wants something.
My AS son used to be like this but it changed in the last year or two - now he doesn't stop talking - he's 8.

She is anything but "verbose".
She used to befairly normal until about age 4 - at least we did not suspect anything though she was "moody".
Unless you've seen them before, the signs of AS are very difficult for new parents to spot before age 4 or 5.

Talks gibberish to herself for hours in bed at night - the psy who diagnosed AS said this was stress related but we are not convinced
My son doesn't sleep much - he's on Ritalin now (which has a sleep side-effect) but he didn't sleep much even before that. An he just lies in bed talking or making noises.
Since Stimming is a calming technique for aspies... like rocking and flapping - and since making noises is stimming, it's conceivable that it's stress related. But then again, since stimming is something that feels good to the aspie, she may just be making noises because she likes the sound or because she likes the feel of sound in her throat.

With the things that were described, it is impossible to give a diagnosis of any kind on the net. I am a strong believer in parents gut feelings about their children and there is no harm done in seeking a second opinion.
Girls are generally more subtle than boys ( which is what makes it harder to diagnose ) this does not sound subtle to me. My guess would be that she may be a little further along the spectrum than originally thought, or there is something else going on. Either way it's worth getting checked imho.

I find the special interests thing misleading. I'm a girl with AS, diagnosed at 12, and I've never had the ONE special interest. However, i get intensely focussed on things, often music, or art, or acting, or something completely random like something that happened to me during the day. If she talks about the same thing over and over obsessively, like say even about a cupcake she liked, or an everyday topic or thing, but (as my mum says to me) can't seem to switch topics, and continually returns to the same topic, that's probably a sign of "special interests". I think the cause of the "special interests" phenomenon is the tendency of aspergers people to get intensely focussed on singular things, which doesn't necessarily mean they can't switch between things.

Quite right too. It's possible to get enough information to support an informal diagnosis of an adult over the net (aspie quizzes) but certainly not for a young child. However if you already have a diagnosis, sometimes you need help to understand why it's a diagnosis. I'd agree that the conditions you've highlighted are quite strong for an aspie female and that there could be an alternative condition.



It's misleading to think that there is one overriding special interest.

There are two types of special interests, permanent and temporary.
Permanent special interests often appear in childhood and stay with the person more or less for life. They wax and wane according to the presence of other interests and according to environmental factors. I was hooked on Dr Who when I was four - and I still am... but there were a few years in the middle when I wasn't likely to have a fit about missing it. I got hooked on computers aged about 12 and I'm still hooked on them.

I've been through phases of special interests about other things eg: cocktail making - which lasted for a really intense 2.5 years then disappeared as quickly as it started.

I don't think that aspies have to have both permanent and special interests... sometimes they may only have one...

Some aspies might have no special interests at all - though to be honest, I've never met one who didn't have any... just aspies who didn't immediately recognise things as their special interest.

Actually that's interesting, because sometimes I will find myself repeating phrases if I'm stressed out. Like I was really sick with an upper respiratory illness recently, and I noticed it got worse. Of course that could be in part that I didn't take my Zoloft for about a week, cause I seriously couldn't keep anything down other than chicken soup.

I used to repeat phrases a lot when I was little too. A lot of times I would say something then whisper it one or two more times, or sometimes mouth it. This is known as echolalia from what I understand and is more common in people on the autistic spectrum.