High functioning Autism and sensory issues

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This is my first post. I am new to this group and new to Austim. My son is 12 years old with a severe learning disability along with sensory issues. My Sons Cousin also has full blown Autism. Do any of you with hugh functioning children deal with sensory issues?

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My sensory issues are Severe-Moderate. It slows down my fine motor skills and sometimes I lose how to sequence movement.

THANK YOU to each of you who have replied. I hope I am replying back properly as I am new to this forum. Thank you to Willard for your reply. It kinda really hit home what you said. My Son is 12 and here is what I am going through.
He does not like change in his room
Still has toddler boarder that I cannot change
Does not like his room cleaned feels things will get broken
Does not like to get baths does not like water on him
Once his fingers get wrinkly from water he will not use them until they are back to normal
Certain shirts are ITCHY
does not like tags or sweat shirt material
does not like to have clothes on period
will not eat left overs
does not like certain looks or textures of food
has a learning disability in school
has had an IEP since K-7
had all pull out classes in elemenrty
lower end IQ score
low pain tolerance
hates to get finger nails cut
sensative to loud noises
all homework and tests done with a tutor
all school work is modified
Can anyone HELP me does this sound like Austism?
Other then that he looks normal and acts normal for the most part. He also cannot handle more then 3 tasks at a time without getting upset.
We have all become a custom to this way of life and the rest of his life style is noraml.
We get tested NEXT week!! !! In denial even thou in my heart I know.
Can anyone who already replied or who has not shed some inside on your thoughts from your exsperience?

Terry21, I am the parent of a high functioning amazing and wonderful child with ASD and an equally wonderful child with a learning disability. I was diagnosed with ASD after my child started showing signs of this.

I am a person, not a label. I see differences between me and others, yes. But to me they seem like they are minor. Every experience I have can be related to by neurotypical people in isolation, though they may not share, don't probably share, the totality of my experience. And at the same time, I understand that what seems to me to be minor isn't minor sometimes in the minds of the people who find me to be unintentionally strange, awkward or disturbing.

Denial isn't always a bad thing, maybe I need some denial to live. Which is hard enough. Don't take what I am saying the wrong way, if your child has autism, that will be very hard, for you, for your child, for your family. And if as a parent you can soak up some of that pain, if your child does have ASD, your child may have a very much easier life than those of us who grew up alone with our struggle.

I hope someone can help your child. If you are asking whether your child has ASD, we can't answer, but what I can tell you is that I understand the need to try to prepare yourself with information, and that is a good thing, and can only help your child. Also, sensory problems are not unique to children with ASD. Children who are stressed as for example by a severe learning disability can start engaging in a lot of rigid, isolating behaviors, can flap and react strongly to sensory stimuli. Try to wait this out. I saw the same kinds of behavior and reactions in my learning disabled child as my child with ASD, they're just not as deep, and they go away when the stress stops.

I hope you get answers, and help with the evaluation. Whatever happens, don't give up. You can help your child through this and you need to and will do just that.

If it waxes and wanes (things always wax and wane, but let's say past a certain point), then there's some chance it might be a type of OCD.

In my own personal view, the Asperger's-Autism Spectrum is some or all of the following:

1) sensory issues (and possibly processing issues as well),

2) intense intellectual or artistic interests,

3) patchy social skills, perhaps even good in some areas,

4) stimming, and

5)  (maybe) meltdowns.  

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DSM-4 is crap.

I just want to put it out there as bluntly as I can.  Being more charitable, it reads like the first pass of a committee.  It's autism from the outside looking in.  It is not autism from the inside looking out.

DSM-4 (and presumably 5) hardly pays attention to sensory issues at all.  It focuses almost entirely on social issues.  It's mainly a fancy way of saying, This client is just not very satisfying to interview.

Most professionals seem to view stimming as a symptom, and this blurs into viewing it as part of the problem.  When actually, stimming is part of the solution.  Stimming helps to deal with sensory issues, as well as helping to maintain concentration, as well as just adding joy to life.  Someone fiddling with a pen as they talk on the phone is stimming.  And professional baseball players stim in a variety of ways.  I know this is an embarrassing topic, but I'd really encourage you to make it a time and place kind of thing.  For example, Temple Grandin was not allowed to stim at the table during lunch, but she was allowed to stim during rest period after lunch.

Wouldn't say I had a huge sensory issue. Loud noises are not nice, but then NT people don't like loud noises either, that's more of a human problem. i do seem to have some kind of noise filtering problem, any kind of small background noise and I am not hearing you at all.

Had lots of eating problems as a child and that was mainly to do with being uncomfortable with putting certain textures in my mouth

Technically, the higher functioning one is, the less affected they are by sensory symptoms.

No, seriously. Read the medical literature (you'll find that people with AS aren't really supposed to have them at all).