too young to diagnose?

Post Reply New Topic

my son will be four in the summer and, after 18 months of assessment, is being sent forward for a week long assessment at the hepac centre in oxford which works with assessing and diagnosing all sorts of conditions in children.

i have had more than one professional say that they belive my son is displaying signs of aspergers or a similar asd. however another professional told me that she feels children with aspergers shouldn't be diagosed until they are at least seven!! i thought things were easier for someone the earlier they had a diagnosis so why this apparent rule? and if my son is too young for a diagnosis why has his case been forwarded to a diagnostic centre?

anyone got any answers?

i live in the oxford area (UK) if anyone else has had a similar experience i would love to hear their views.

Four year olds are diagnosed with Asperger's. I personally think its a little young, but its the parents' decision.

I think that it is too young, also. I was just thinking of my son. He was an unusual child at 4. He began using words at 9 mo. and then went pretty silent at 1 1/2-2. He could talk, he just didn't. It wasn't like he had to relearn language when he became an unstoppable river of conversation at age 4. But his language was 'wooden', stilted with the emphasis on the wrong syllables and his voume went up and down for no reason; pretty monotone also. I personally believe that an earlier diagnosis wouldn't have done much good for him. I had him evaluated by a local leading child psychologist at 4 1/3 and again at 6. She said that he may be mildly mentally ret*d but that there were many possible diagnosis that he could fall under. She advised that I continue what I was doing (basically, educating him at home with emphasis on his peculiar needs) and bring him back yearly. We didn't bring him back until he was 11 because by around age 8, we had done some research and were certain he had AS. We didn't really see the need for further diagnostics. We weren't sure if having a formal dx would help or hinder him in the future. (stigma) Eventually, by the time he was 10, we realized that he was significantly affected and would probably need assistance if he wanted to attend college and also possibly need assisted living one day. (hopefully not, but it is hard to tell) He was placed in our local school system at age 10 and once they tested him, they were amazed at how 'aptable' and 'flexible' he was and at his grade level work. (I don't know if this was because they thought that homeschooling should have failed with him or not) I do know that most of the other AS kids at the school are much further behind socially than he is and I find this very curious. My theory is that they were thrust into an environment that they were truly unprepared for too early. This would cause further withdrawal in most AS kid. (just my opinion and every child is different)
I have heard two opposing views in the phychiatric profession. One view that I hear from the professionals that I have come into contact with (psychologists, speech therapists, school counselors) is that early treatment really only works well for the kids that are severly affected and pretty much near Autistic. Even then there is no guarantee. The other view that I read about most in literature is that early treatment is the key. I personally believe that it depends on the individual. You know how well your child will respond. I have hit a web site of an AS young woman (forgot the name and the url) and she felt that parents were practically terrorized into getting their kids into early intervention programs. She believed that the so-called "success" of these treatments may have become apparent with maturity without the special interventions. In fact, she felt so strongly about it that she compared these treatments with animal training and urged caution. Yet, Temple Grandin is an advocate of early intervention, though she believes that it doesn't have to be quite as lengthy and rigorous and that parents can administer the therapy well, if they are trained and emotionally equipped; ie. not a slave to their child's tantrums.
I was warned by a child psychologist that the treatments, due to the stress put on the child, could actually prohibit growth. Another criticism is that like animal training, the treatments only modify behavior they do not change the way the person thinks or relates so many underlying issues remain. I am speaking primarily of the Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and another method I believe is CBA or CBT. Obviously, I am not a professional and you should read up on the methods used for Autism Spectrum Disorders and spend a substantial amount of time educating yourself and speaking to other parents who have gone this road before.

I was diagnosed when i was one year old and they were correct about what i had

I think 4 is too young to determine where the person will be on the spectrum but it would not hurt to at least give a diagnosis of ASD with a follow up assessment at age of 7. This way, your son can get the services he needs now without waiting until the doctors can make a determination.

Four is a bit young for the full picture of Aspergers to become obvious, especially since there isn't much research out there on younger AS profiles. So for safety's sake, I think some avoid the dx at that age. However, I do think it's possible for a tentative dx of just a general ASD and then wait it out to see if it turns AS or PDD-NOS (the catchall category).

If you can get the AS dx, I'd say go for it. Just remember it can always be changed if your child ends up fitting a different profile later on. And if you want to seek some kind of intervention, behavioral therapy and modifcation strategies are the ones most often used in the various programs and work on a whole slew of childhood disorders, not just the Autistic Spectrum. So as long as they tailor it to his needs, he should be fine.

When your child enters school, whatever dx he has, you can specify what your son will need as an individual-- since we all needed something different despite that we were all on the Spectrum. Just take the dx, and find the help and accomodations that your son will specifically need, and not what a dx says he needs. Every kid is different.

My son is 6 and they still won't give him an official dx (either Aspie or Autism)...and I don't want one yet. Being dx'ed hasn't helped me, so I don't see the point. He still receives the services and special aides, but is not currently labeled. Being labeled bars you (even in today's progressive times) from government jobs and police work. Unless you see a diminished quality to your child's care---wait it out. Continue to push for every service available, but don't beg for an early dx. You do need to keep in mind that one day your child may want to be a pilot or a politician.

I agree, assess and then assess again when apropriate.

One of the biggest reasons for an early dx here in the US anyway is money. You can't access your insurance or other services without the magic words. No matter what the final dx, if your child needs speech therapy today in the opinion of a professional, then it should be covered. Most insurance companies however operate under a dx system, they allot $$ amounts based on your dx.

Our son is 11, he was formally dx at 10. At 2 1/2 he was dx'd as having apraxia, and obtained speech therapy.

Aside from the speech therapy, and a few accomodations through his IEP (including a writing program for his dysgraphia that I'm not impressed with), he's never had any kind of "therapy" for his AS. Neither has he been put on meds or a special diet. We spent 6 years as parents figuring out what worked for our son, and all things considered we haven't messed up too bad!

As far as his dx affecting his future job choices, I see his sid issues affecting it more. Quite frankly most of the kids I've gotten to know with AS wouldn't opt for military duty or police work. You've got noise issues (firing weapons, he can't stand doors slamming!), clothing issues, scheduling, etc; unless they've gotten past all of the things that could stand in their way - in which case they are free to be re-diagnosed - then it doesn't matter anyway.

Only in the land of the free

*Sorry guys I have to edit this. I am being harassed.

Last edited by agent79 on 17 Mar 2006, 3:29 am, edited 1 time in total.

My older son was diagnosed with a terminal kidney disease - we actually found out about it at the physical just prior to induction into the Marines.

He was PTDQ'd a week later. (permanently and totally disqualified. Don't call us, we won't call you).

Five years later, he's in remission - still has terminal kidney disease - now the Marines and the Army are both holding out open arms to him.

So it is possible to update your dx and do things you thought impossible before.

And you are right, many aspies may do just fine in the military. For kids like mine - for whom tagless tees are the only thing standing between him and total nudity - it's not a likely choice!

*Sorry guys I have to edit this. I am being harassed.

Last edited by agent79 on 17 Mar 2006, 3:28 am, edited 1 time in total.

Agent79, the original poster is from the UK. And thus probably not eligable for the Marine Corp. Being a person with aspergers, gay or trans gender is no bar to entry into the British Military so for her to get a diagnosis of her child at this age would actually be quite beneficial.

Also it is possible for diagnosed at a very young age. Not soon after birth most parents of asperger children begin to notice something is slightly amiss. Infact there was a study conducted in Canada which showed that babies who later in life went on to be diagnosed aspergers had a certain way they tilted there head when lowered in an upright position. I personally would of benefitted from being diagnosed at a younger age then when i was (9) my primary school had to then act after my diagnosis. Before then it was my mothers fault because

a) she was a single parent mother and it was punishment from god (what a catholic teacher actually said to my mother)

b) my head was slightly large so maybe I was hydrocephilic (water on the brain) and ret*d and A) said that was punishment from god as well.

c) They wanted to move me to a special needs school because the school had no idea how to cope with me

One of the problems of this being an international forum is each single country has a completly differnt take on its health care system and the attitudes of the profession. I know we conflict in learning disability and ASD's on alot of issues as raised in other threads and quite frankly highlighting this blatent discrimination of a workforce from government jobs is absolutely appauling and i thank my luck socks that I was born in a country were being diagonsed on the autistic spectrum is no bars to my employment in whatever career i choose to embark on, god bless that I was born into a society with common sense

i am in NEw York USA . my son was diagnosed as ADHD at TWO years old. no medication given. LAst year when he turned 4 he was diagnosed with Aspergers. His IQ was estimated to be higher than 120. he is now in an all new kindergarten class for high functioning AS kids here.
he has both ADHD and AS.
I knew as a parent my kid was diffrent.. he did not walk till 21 months old. at 14 to 18 months old he was reading the alphabet from flash cards..identified colors, shapes, animals and read simple words like 'dog' 'red' and 'stop'. In pre school he was reading short stories to his class..where the 'normal' kids didnt know their alphabet yet. He was not potty trained till age 4. Curentley at 5 1/2 years old, his emotonal age is estimated to be in the 24 month range. his intelectual age is in the 7 to 10 year old range.
by all means please search and keep searching till you can get your child diagnosed. do NOT wait till he is 7..by then he could have had years of help or classes that would only had benefit him. dont rest till you get that diagnosis. I had a hard time too but pushed on. this is what i did and it has paid off for him in the form of a better education and therapy for his needs as well as a specail class to teach him socail skills and emotonal control.
I have AS and was diagnsed 3 years ago.
Good Luck and keep us posted

At 4 years old you may not get a firm diagnosis. The autistic features may be evident, but it's probably too young to be able to tell how the autism will present in later life. A diagnosis of "autistic features" will be enough to get support in school, and will be a stepping stone to a firm diagnosis later.