I wonder if someone could possibly help. My son whose 7 has in the last couple of days been diagnosed with Aspergers, ADHD, ODD, and something called High End Autism. I am now completely lost and confused, I wish that I could understand more of what is happening to him and how best I could help him. They are now saying that he has to come out of mainstream eduction and go into a specialist school in order for him to gain maximum education. Is there anybody else that could give us some advice and pointers as we start on this long road ahead.

welcome to the addforums!

i'm "happy" for you that your son got his diagnoses so early in life - i was diagnosed with adhd, add and asperger syndrome about 2½ years ago (at age 34), and can't help thinking my life could have been *so* different if i'd "only" been diagnosed as a child...
:(

this is a good place for information:

http://maapservices.org/MAAP_Sub_Find_It_-_About_Autism_Aspergers.htm

/gabriela

Asperger Syndrome <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>

By Rosalyn Lord<o:p></o:p>

Asperger Syndrome is a developmental disorder falling within the autistic spectrum affecting two-way social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and a reluctance to accept change, inflexibility of thought and to have all absorbing narrow areas of interest. Individuals are usually extremely good on rote memory skills (facts, figures, dates, times etc.) many excel in math and science. There is a range of severity of symptoms within the syndrome, the very mildly affected child often goes undiagnosed and may just appear odd or eccentric. <o:p></o:p>

Whilst Asperger Syndrome is much more common than Autism it is still a rare condition and few people, including professionals, will know about it much less have experience of it. It seems to affect more boys than girls. In general terms they find making friends difficult, not understanding the subtle clues needed to do so. They often use language in a slightly odd way and take literal meanings from what is read or heard. They are happiest with routines and a structured environment, finding it difficult to decide what to do they fall back on to their preferred activities. They love praise, winning and being first, but find loosing, imperfection and criticism very difficult to take. Bad behavior often stems from an inability to communicate their frustrations and anxieties. They need love, tenderness, care, patience and understanding. Within this framework they seem to flourish. <o:p></o:p>

Children with Asperger Syndrome are for the most part bright, happy and loving children. If we can help break through to their 'own little world' we can help them to cope a little better in society. They have a need to finish tasks they have started. Strategies can be developed to reduce the stress they experience at such times. Warnings that an activity is to finish in x minutes can help with older children. With younger children attempts to 'save' the task help - videoing a programme, mark in a book etc. <o:p></o:p>

As the children mature some problems will get easier, but like all other children new problems will emerge. Some teenagers can feel the lack of friendships difficult to cope with as they try hard to make friends in their own way but find it hard to keep them. This is not always the case, many have friends who act as 'buddies' for long periods of time. Social skills will have to be taught in an effort for them to find a place in the world ... so take all opportunities to explain situations time and time again ..... and one day.......it may work! <o:p></o:p>

Please bear in mind that booklets such as this do tend to detail all the problems which can be found within a syndrome but that does not mean every child will have all of them. Each child will also have different levels of achievements and difficulties. They are after all just as the others ... individuals! <o:p></o:p>

Is Asperger Syndrome The Same As Autism?<o:p></o:p>

<TABLE class=MsoNormalTable style="WIDTH: 95%; mso-cellspacing: 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm" cellPadding=0 width="95%" border=0><TBODY><TR style="mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes"><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8; PADDING-RIGHT: 0cm; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; PADDING-LEFT: 0cm; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent">The debate on this question still continues, some experts say that Asperger Syndrome should be classified separately, others argue that the core difficulties are the same, only the degree to which they are seen in the children actually makes the difference. One expert - Uta Frith - has referred to Asperger children as 'Having a dash of Autism'. <o:p></o:p>

Autism is often interpreted as a withdrawal from normal life - to live in the persons own fantasy world. This is no longer the real meaning of Autism. The severity of the impairments is much greater than in Asperger Syndrome, and often the child will have little or no language. Learning problems are more common in classic Autism. In Asperger Syndrome speech is usual and intelligence (cognitive ability) is usually average or even above average. <o:p></o:p>

For the moment it is taken that the similarities are enough for both Autism and Asperger Syndrome to be considered within the same 'spectrum' of developmental disorders. Whilst a clear diagnosis is essential, it can change through life. The autistic traits seen in young children can often seem less severe as the child matures and learns strategies to cope with his/her difficulties. <o:p></o:p>

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Key Features
The main areas affected by Asperger Syndrome are: <o:p></o:p>


Social interaction

Communication
<o:p></o:p>
Narrow Interests / Preoccupation's
<o:p></o:p>
Repetitive routines / rituals, inflexibility <o:p></o:p>
Social Interaction <o:p></o:p>

<TABLE class=MsoNormalTable style="WIDTH: 95%; mso-cellspacing: 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm" cellPadding=0 width="95%" border=0><TBODY><TR style="mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes"><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8; PADDING-RIGHT: 0cm; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; PADDING-LEFT: 0cm; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent">Children with Asperger Syndrome have poor social skills. They can not read the social cues and, therefore, they don't give the right social and emotional responses. They can lack the desire to share information and experiences with others. These problems are less noticeable with parents and adults, but it leads to an inability to make age appropriate friends. This in turn can lead to frustration and subsequent behavior problems. They find the world a confusing place. They are often alone, some are happy like this, others are not. They are more noticeably different among peer groups in unstructured settings i.e. playgrounds. Their naivete can cause them to be bullied and teased unless care is taken by assistants or buddies to integrate and help protect them. They can often focus on small details and fail to see the overall picture of what is happening in any situation.<o:p></o:p>

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Communication <o:p></o:p>

<TABLE class=MsoNormalTable style="WIDTH: 95%; mso-cellspacing: 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm" cellPadding=0 width="95%" border=0><TBODY><TR style="mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes"><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8; PADDING-RIGHT: 0cm; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; PADDING-LEFT: 0cm; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent">Both verbal and nonverbal communications pose problems. Spoken language is often not entirely understood, so it should be kept simple, to a level they can understand. Take care to be precise. Metaphor s (non-literal expressions - 'food for thought') and similes (figures of speech - 'as fit as a fiddle') have to be explained as children with Asperger Syndrome tend to make literal and concrete interpretations. Language acquisition - learning to speak - in some cases can be delayed. They make much use of phrases they have memorized, although they may not be used in the right context. A certain amount of translation may be needed in order to understand what they are trying to say. <o:p></o:p>

Spoken language can sometimes be odd, perhaps they don't have the local accent or they are too loud for a situation or overly formal or speak in a monotonous tone. If the child with Asperger Syndrome has a good level of spoken language you must not assume their understanding is at the same level . Some talk incessantly (hyperverbal) often on a topic of interest only to themselves without knowing the boredom of the listener. <o:p></o:p>

Difficulties in using the right words or forming conversations is part of semantic-pragmatic difficulties. They appear often to talk 'at' rather than 'to' you, giving information rather that holding proper conversations. Body language and facial expressions of a child with Asperger Syndrome can appear odd (stiff eye gaze rather than eye contact) and find 'reading' these things in others gives rise to further difficulties. Early age is known as Hyperlexia. Some children have remarkable reading abilities although you should check if they also understand the text. The ability to read fluently without understanding the meaning is known as Hyperlexia. <o:p></o:p>

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Narrow Interests / Pre-occupations<o:p></o:p>

<TABLE class=MsoNormalTable style="WIDTH: 95%; mso-cellspacing: 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm" cellPadding=0 width="95%" border=0><TBODY><TR style="mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes"><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8; PADDING-RIGHT: 0cm; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; PADDING-LEFT: 0cm; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent">One of the hallmarks of Asperger Syndrome is the child's preoccupation (or obsession) with certain topics, often on themes of transport - trains in particular-or computers, dinosaurs, maps etc. These pre-occupations, usually in intellectual areas change over time but not in intensity, and maybe pursued to the exclusion of other activities. <o:p></o:p>

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Repetitive Routines / Inflexibility <o:p></o:p>

<TABLE class=MsoNormalTable style="WIDTH: 95%; mso-cellspacing: 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm" cellPadding=0 width="95%" border=0><TBODY><TR style="mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes"><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8; PADDING-RIGHT: 0cm; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; PADDING-LEFT: 0cm; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent">Children often impose rigid routine on themselves and those around them, from how they want things done, to what they will eat etc. It can be very frustrating for all concerned. Routines will change from time to time, as they mature they are perhaps a little easier to reason with. This inflexibility shows itself in other ways too, giving rise to difficulties with imaginative and creative thinking. The child tends to like the same old thing done in the same old way over and over again!. They often can't see the point of a story or the connection between starting a task and what will be the result. They usually excel at rote memory - learning information without understanding, but it can still be an asset. Attempts should always be made to explain everything in a way they can understand. Don't assume because they parrot information back that they know what they are talking about. <o:p></o:p>

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Education<o:p></o:p>

<TABLE class=MsoNormalTable style="WIDTH: 95%; mso-cellspacing: 1.5pt" cellPadding=0 width="95%" border=0><TBODY><TR style="mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes"><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8; PADDING-RIGHT: 0.75pt; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; PADDING-LEFT: 0.75pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0.75pt; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; PADDING-TOP: 0.75pt; BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent">If the child with Asperger Syndrome is to be educated in a mainstream school it is important that the correct amount of support is made available. In order to get the correct support a Statement of Special Educational Needs should be drawn up from the various advice's supplied by you and the specialists. This procedure, when it begins, can take 6 months and be a very stressful and confusing time - don't be afraid to contact people who can help, this need not be a professional it may just be someone who has done it all before. <o:p></o:p>

It is beneficial if the school of your choice is willing to learn about the difficulties that they and the child will face, some schools are better than other on this score. Looking at several schools will give a better picture of exactly what is available. The support currently offered in mainstream school is by Special Support Assistants (SSA) for a certain number of hours each week based on the child's needs in order to help the child access the curriculum and develop in a social setting. A support teacher with specialist knowledge of Autism should support the child, SSA, teacher and school in understanding and teaching the child. Other professional input may also be required such as speech and language therapy to help develop skills. <o:p></o:p>

The home/school link is vital, a diary can prove invaluable giving two way communication on achievements and problems on a regular basis. <o:p></o:p>

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Helpful Strategies <o:p></o:p>

<TABLE class=MsoNormalTable style="WIDTH: 95%; mso-cellspacing: 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm" cellPadding=0 width="95%" border=0><TBODY><TR style="mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes"><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8; PADDING-RIGHT: 0cm; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; PADDING-LEFT: 0cm; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent">There are many things you can do to help your child better understand the world and in doing so make everyone's lives a little easier. The ideas below are only suggestions which you may or may not find helpful. <o:p></o:p>


Keep all your speech simple - to a level they understand.
<o:p></o:p>
Keep instructions simple ... for complicated jobs use lists or pictures.
<o:p></o:p>
Try to get confirmation that they understand what you are talking about/or asking - don't rely on a stock yes or no - that they like to answer with.
<o:p></o:p>
Explain why they should look at you when you speak to them.... encourage them, give lots of praise for any achievement - especially when they use a social skill without prompting.
<o:p></o:p>
In some young children who appear not to listen - the act of 'singing' your words can have a beneficial effect.
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Limit any choices to two or three items.
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Limit their 'special interest' time to set amounts of time each day if you can.
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Use turn taking activities as much as possible, not only in games but at home too.
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Pre-warn them of any changes, and give warning prompts if you want them to finish a task... 'when you have coloured that in we are going shopping'.
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Try to build in some flexibility in their routine, if they learn early that things do change and often without warning - it can help.
<o:p></o:p>
Don't always expect them to 'act their age'. They are usually immature and you should make some allowances for this.
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Try to identify stress triggers - avoid them if possible - be ready to distract with some alternative 'come and see this...' etc.
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Find a way of coping with behavior problems - perhaps trying to ignore it if it's not too bad or hugging sometimes can help.
<o:p></o:p>
Promises and threats you make will have to be kept - so try not to make them too lightly.
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Teach them some strategies for coping - telling people who are teasing perhaps to 'go away' or to breathe deeply and count to 20 if they feel the urge to cry in public.
<o:p></o:p>
Begin early to teach the difference between private and public places and actions, so that they can develop ways of coping with more complex social rules later in life.
<o:p></o:p>
Let them know that you love them - wart's an' all' - and that you are proud of them. It can be very easy with a child who rarely speaks not to tell them all the things you feel inside. <o:p></o:p>
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Remember, they are children just like the rest, they have their own personalities, abilities, likes and dislikes - they just need extra support, patience and understanding from everyone around them.

("stolen" off http://maapservices.org/MAAP_Sub_Find_It_Publications_Rosalyn_Lord_Article .htm)<o:p></o:p>

I was diagnosed with Autism before the age of 4, and my mother appealed in court so that I could go into mainstream education. I think it is the best thing she ever did for me, because later on it turned out I only had Asperger's Syndrome and that I was capable of fitting in easily with children who didn't have any disorders. Being put among normal children allowed me to learn about how non-AS people work, and I think it gave me a chance to lead my life as I would've done had I not had AS.
Hopefully you have not yet made the decision as to whether your child is to go into specialist or mainstream education. People with ADD and ODD can be highly intelligent people, and with Asperger's Syndrome I exceeded my classmates in test scores and still made many friends. It's not necessary for your child to enter into specialist education, but that is not to say he shouldn't recieve all the help he can get for his disorders.
All I'm saying is: think about it. Granted, your son is going to have a harder time than most other kids, but doubtlessly he will be a bright and imaginitive child and he deserves all the chances he can get.

My son is also 7 and has been diagnosed with "possible Asperger's" or a spectrum disorder, and also ADHD. We took our son out of the public school system because all they had to offer him was a classroom for classic autistic children, which he is not, or a mainstreamed classroom which he could not handle. We did both public and private school for kindergarten to see how he would do and it was clear very early on that public school was not the place for him. We put him in a small Christian school that holds his class size to 15 children. He is now in second grade and loves school. He is at the top of his class academically, but still struggles with the whole friendship thing. We just take it day-by-day. My best advice to you would be to follow your own gut feelings about your child's well-being. No one knows him as well as you. If I had listened to the school system my son would be in a class for classic autistic or learning disabled children, which he is neither. I don't believe he would be reading and doing 3rd or 4th grade math. I pulled him out of the public school system after warnings from them that he would hate school forever and it would all be my fault. They were wrong. They also had told me he would never make it in a regular kindergarten class. He made it all the way through two of them. So you see, they don't know everything. You are the best advocate your child will ever have. Do what feels right to you. Listen to what everyone has to say, but you need to ultimately make the decisions for your child. Only you know what is best for him. All of these other people don't love him like you do and they don't have all the answers. Your love and guidance and support are what he needs most.

Good luck, and don't forget to take care of yourself also.

My son is 10 and has pretty much the same diagnosis as your child. he is in a charter school for adhd and aspergers.We have been experimenting with 6 different drugs inabout 6 years .We are currently hoping to exit the drug rollercoaster and see what happens. he may have outgrown most of thehyperactivity and he is very bright. I have seen more asperger signs in thelast year. It is really scarry. inever sawthis when hewas younger only adhd signs. i often wonder did the drugs in his system Trigger this side? Currently he take straterra in the morning and symbyax at night, thats a new combination drug to help him sleep and deal with frustration. i don't thhink it really helps. he still has terrible peer relationships.The kids get him going and he is so lost. They call him names ,hit him kick him, and he willbeg me to try and play with them tomorrow. it is so sad. My dh wants to move out of our neighborhood to get peice. well i don't know if that will help or not.School is working on a new behavior plan this year it seems to be going well.Thank god for this school. Publicschool was a nightmare.

BTW, did you know Dr. Tony Atwood was giving a seminar in Columbus, Ohio on October 16th? My son'e psychologist says he is "The expert on Asperger's." I bought my ticket last week and am looking forward to hearing what he has to say. I believe he is going to be speaking about helping these kids with their socialization. It is being hosted by "Futue Horizons." I just did an internet search for them and then searched for Tony Atwood and I got all of the info.

Sorry to hear your son is having such a hard time with the other kids. My son has also had kids doing things to get him to "lose it" but his teachers have been very good about running interference for him. They even customized his classmates for him. They made sure his closest friends remained in the same class with him this year and moved the boy that gave him a hard time into the other class.

The biggest problem I have encountered is with a few of the parents. For some reason some of the parents hear Asperger's and they think my child is a physical danger to their child. I have had problems with one woman who is actually a reistered nurse. You would think she would know better than to make generalizations like that, but she doesn't.

Does his school put a stop to the other kids doing these things to your son? I would be in there insisting that it stop immediately. No one deserves to be treated like that by anyone.

Goos luck! Maybe I'll see you at te conference.

Middle School was a nightmare for my son, when he was in Elementary it seems he was more accepted and not thought of as "different" that much. My issue at that time was dealing with the school on creating a structured environment for him in the classrooms.
Aah! Through middle school, after the first few weeks he begged me not to let him go to school, he was terrified! And then asked me if he was retarded.. you can imagine how I was feeling :eek: ! I called the school to let them know that a certain group of boys were bullying my son. I got that "Boys will be boys" line. Since nothing physical happened they could do nothing but warn the boys. It took some time for me to explain to my son, that no he was not, and that some people (not all) can be really mean to anyone at anytime for anything. That he was a better person for not acting like them.
The next few months were quiet, until I got a call from them saying I needed to come down to the school because there was an "incident" that happened". when I get there, my son is in the office with a busted lip! :mad: I kept my cool.. until I found out that the SAME boys got into an altercation with him yet again and this time it turned physical.. *blood boiling* The kicker was they were suspending my son from school for a week.. ??? Okay, I lost it.. they haven't even heard his side of the story yet (his communications skills are rather poor) and he's suspeneded?? I sat in the room with him and the principal and let him write it out on paper.. he just got tired of being pushed around all the time with no one believing him so he never told after the first time it happened. So he hit back.
"I know I'm different, mom. I just wanted to be normal" what he said still sticks in my head. "Does this make me not a better person?" referring to what I had told him about being mean. I just told him that it made him human, but of course to let me know what he's going through so I can help him sort out what he's feeling.
I filed a complaint with the DOE and called SPED and the very next week, he was transfered to another school (it took that week of being suspended for me to help transition my son through the change of schools). He was, needless to say much happier there.

whoa this post is a doozie.. sorry so long folks! :D

In reading all of this I wonder if my son does have this....This is why I ask...



He Hyperfocuses

He uses foul language but it is only certain words and those he uses over and over again.

He thinks it's his way or no way

Has a lot of problems in school if the structure is disrupted in any way.

Does not like change (i.e. substitute teacher)

He is reading at a 1.7 level

His IQ is 117 at last check last year.

His memory is uncanny. He can remember things that happen in insignificant way and will hyperfoucs, and if I can't remember the incident that he is talking about he calls me a liar, and a idiot.



What do you think?

Kylersmom - what's he like socially, what's his body language like, how does he do with understanding of language, sensory issues, intonation of voice etc?

Kylersmom - what's he like socially, what's his body language like, how does he do with understanding of language, sensory issues, intonation of voice etc?
He does a lot of parallel play, he doesn't really have "friends" but gets along well with others. He is often bossy, he voice is always quite loud, he can't whisper softly, he doesn't like to go outside because of the bugs, he understands everything that is said to him, although he can be hard to understand, he is getting speech therapy in school. He will fixate on one thing, such as right now, it's the computer. He uses foul language, right now it is only one word a** and he will use it over and over, singing songs with the word inserted, writing me notes with the word written on it, he called a little friend a w**** yesterday, and where he learned or heard that word is beyond me.

Linda