This is my first post...I'm new.:p
I have a 7 year old son who I have known for quite a while was a bit different. (My suspisions started when he was about three years old.) We thought at first he couldn't hear (because when in a group of people who wouldn't respond when called to) and that turned out not to be the problem. He has always been extremely verbal. He has an EXTENSIVE vocabulary. But most of all of his conversations are very one sided. He wants to talk about Science and leaves very little room for others to interject. In Pre-K and 2 years of Kindergarten (We held him back after the first year of K hoping it was a "maturity" issue.) His first year K teacher explained him as being a puzzle that she couldn't figure out. She would say that we might be dealing with a gifted child, then she would think that there may be some learning disability, and she always agreed that there were severe attention problems. (He is however, so so so NOT hyper or impulsive at all! He is the King of LAID BACK.) We held him back for another year of K hoping it was maturity...... Obviously we know now it wasn't. This year the K teacher explains him as if he has a movie running in his head at ALL times. She says that he will stare off into space and smile and then widen his eyes and laugh just like he is watching some fascinating movie. I had a behavioral specialist come and observe him. She said that he could not focus for over a 20 second stretch. The teacher would repeat the directions 5 times each. (He has a wonderful and caring teacher.) Then the children would chime in trying to give him directions. Then he seemed to snap out of it and in a panic try to figure out what was going on. The behaviorlist suggested seeing a pshychologist. We went to the pediatrician with parent and teacher filled out the Connor's scales. He scored very high on both scales on the ADHD Index section of the test. The Dr said he thought he was ADD but wasn't comfortacble saying that he was that exclusively. He has borderline abnormal to abnormal behaviors, such as jumping around and flailing his arms from time to time and mild facial tics. He also has poor gross motor skills, somewhat hard time making eye to eye contact and he does not interact with his peers. (He will play with kids in a one on one situation but not in a group.)
The DR said we need to see a nuerologist. He mentioned that there are many forms of autism. ...Asperger's??? that may be a possibility. He put my son on Adderol to see how he did. That worsened his facial tics...REALLY BAD so we had to take him off after just 5 days. (Didn't really see a big change in attention either.) My son is very smart so some people say that maybe he is just "bored" in his 2nd year of K. I don't think so...he has SEVERE attention problems in every arena of his life...karate, baseball, Sunday school, etc. The teachers say something has to figured out by first grade or he is going to sink. Not because of his intelligence, but because of his inability to attend.

Sorry for the long post but it breaks my heart that my sweet, smart boy is having such a diificult time. Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas. What should I do? Where should I go? What do you think that this may be?

The symptoms you wrote about, are all characterisic of Autism. The lack of eye contact, flaring of the arms, not being able to interact with peers. Check out the Autism section in the forum.

Good luck!

One way a consultant explained it to me when we were getting a diagnosis for my son, was its like the olympic ring symbol many of the symptoms over lap each other, and each one has to be looked into, this takes time and a lot of effort on your part, i wouldn't just settle for a diagnosis of ADD please make sure that they are looking at the overall picture as what helps in one area may well be aggravating another.

Don't ever worry about the length of you posts ;)

I think it sounds like your son has a really loving, concerned, and active Mom. It is a slow process weeding through everything, but it sounds like you are taking the right steps. Keep working with your doctors.

Keep in mind that there are spectrums of all of these conditions. No two situations are alike. I have one ADD son where it is very subtle and doesn't disrupt his life much, and another who is so hyper that without medications he is unreachable. I would assume that is the case with Asperger's/Autism, too.

Hang in there and post anytime you need to. Contact with others struggling with similar situations has been a life saver for me.

Kim

Is there a school psychologist in your district? I would turn to a school psych or a child pschologist- they are trained in these disorders specifically and will use a multidimensional approach to diagnosis, meaning they will give you several measurements to fill out and will include interviews and observations in their assessment. They should also be conducting psychoeducational assessments to see if he has any learning disabilities and/or is gifted (he can be both at the same time). Often times kids with learning disabilities overcompensate in other areas, such as you described with his tremendous vocabulary. It seems you are clearly describing symptoms of ADD (with the inability to focus across situations and hyperfocusing on science), and medication may help. This is often a trail and error process which is a complete pain, as you hate to make your child a guinea pig while trying to find what works best. Many of us can relate. I know this can be a very difficult and heartbreaking process, but I hope it leads to insight about what is going on, because then you know what you are dealing with and can proceed from there. There are many resources out there that can help and support you and your son. I wish you all the best!!

Good luck with your search for the right dx. Before you mentioned autisim, that's what I thought it could be. Keep up the good work mom!

autisim, yea that sounds alot like your sons symptoms. Get someone to look for that.

I congratulate you on your attentiveness to your son's symptoms. Not being any kind of medical proffessional, I do have a son with ADHD, and work with a boy with Autism. The symptoms you describe seem to fit both. That may not be a complete dx, though. Keep on the doctors until you feel that they have really addressed EVERYthing. By the way, finding a med. that works for your son's inattention can be a really hard job. With my son, we went through two dosages of Ritalin, Strattera, and two dosages of Concerta before we got it right. I was just about ready to give up! Also, don't let school progression be a problem. If you talk with the curriculum department and school psychologist, they can find the right plan to help him learn to the best of his current abilities, and adjust it as his symptoms get under control. Good luck, and never give up hope.
sandbmom