Asperger's and special interests/change

[kme]

Do all kids with Asperger's have a special interest or obsession? Do they all have difficulty with transitions/change? My son has some symptoms of Asperger's - mostly the sensory and social problems. His official dx is ADHD/SPD but I think he is on the spectrum. He does not have a special interest per se. He does like some unusual things, like calendars, but he is not obsessed with them. I think it has more to do with the kindergarten teacher having them count the days on the calendar, put the weather on the calendar, etc every day than anything else. He likes to come home and do a calendar at home, or look at our calendar, although not every day. He also likes to check the temperature. I think it's a little wierd but its not obsessive.

He also does not have a particular problem with transitions or changes in routine. (any more than my other kids). He is generally "clueless" and may not even notice a change in routine.
He is more a sensory seeking kid who stims a lot and plays rough games like "boxing", "guns", "zombies", "creeper" etc. rather than the rich creative play of most 6 year olds. HIs imaginary play is not "normal". He has trouble with socializing with other kids and his language skills are delayed - communication is impacted.
Just wondering if Asprerger's could apply or if the special interest and resistance to change are hallmarks of the disorder. I read that these are important symptoms but then that every kid with Asperger's is different. One specialist told us she thought he had Asperger's and 2 more said they thought he did not.

The reason I am wondering is that I wonder if there is some therapy specific to Asperger's/ASD we should be pursuing. He currently receives Speech therapy and OT. Nothing specific to ASD. Any thoughts? What types of therapy are your kids with Asperger's receiving?

[sbgrace]

My son has a pdd-nos diagnosis. He has never been one to have much difficulty with change or transitions (typical for his age and less than typically aware of routines). However, he does have very specific special interests and some other stuff that fall into that part of the diagnostic criteria.
http://www.bbbautism.com/diagnostics_psychobabble.htm
For a spectrum diagnosis a child needs one of the following in the 'restrictive interests/behavior/etc." part of the diagnostic process. The other areas are communication and social.

1. Child is so focused on an interest that to remove the interest will result in a meltdown

2. Routines or rituals must be followed, they appear to have no function
(the link above gives a lot of examples of how this looks in real life)

3. Repetitive behavior such as hand flapping, rocking, ear flicking, chewing on clothing, vocal ‘stims’, spinning etc.

4. Preoccupied with parts of objects

[earthmama4]

DS2 is like this. He has specific interests, like world records, facts and trivia, and will read fact books for hours and repeat them all day, but he can switch gears and do other things fairly easily. Right now he's enjoying the book Redwall. Last night he wanted to play Clue with me and we got started and then the baby was being uncooperative and he had no problem putting it away for later, in fact it was his idea. He transitions really well unlike his two brothers who are awful with transitions. He's never had a tantrum in his life. Other than his easy-going nature though, he meets more criteria for ASD than his officially dx Aspie brother. So it will be interesting what his final dx is!

[ericswifey27]

I am reading a great book called "Parenting Your Asperger Child" and it breaks down various personality subtypes of kids with Asperger's, so there is definitely room for variation. I sure wish my 6 year old was one who didn't have the tantrums! They are insane. He definitely has problems with transitions/change. (He also is obsessed with dinosaurs.) I try to figure out ahead of time what will set him off but it is not always possible, and sometimes I cannot stand to rewind his dinosaur show for the umpteenth time, or forsee when someone moves his toy dinosaurs into a different configuration, or I give him waffles instead of peanut butter sandwich for breakfast when we are already running late, because I had to stand over him and physically help him get his shoes on. Sigh.

Oh the book I mentioned above is by Alan Sohn. It has lots of tips/things to try to help your child cope with anxiety, help with the melt downs... we just got it, so hopefully I can implement some of the ideas

Also with the interest in weather/calendar/temperature- have you tried saying no to him? It would be more telling to see what his reaction was if you weren't able to let him check the temperature when he asked- would he be upset?

[Kailey's mom]

Originally Posted by kme

Do all kids with Asperger's have a special interest or obsession? Do they all have difficulty with transitions/change? My son has some symptoms of Asperger's - mostly the sensory and social problems. His official dx is ADHD/SPD but I think he is on the spectrum. He does not have a special interest per se. He does like some unusual things, like calendars, but he is not obsessed with them. I think it has more to do with the kindergarten teacher having them count the days on the calendar, put the weather on the calendar, etc every day than anything else. He likes to come home and do a calendar at home, or look at our calendar, although not every day. He also likes to check the temperature. I think it's a little wierd but its not obsessive.

He also does not have a particular problem with transitions or changes in routine. (any more than my other kids). He is generally "clueless" and may not even notice a change in routine.
He is more a sensory seeking kid who stims a lot and plays rough games like "boxing", "guns", "zombies", "creeper" etc. rather than the rich creative play of most 6 year olds. HIs imaginary play is not "normal". He has trouble with socializing with other kids and his language skills are delayed - communication is impacted.
Just wondering if Asprerger's could apply or if the special interest and resistance to change are hallmarks of the disorder. I read that these are important symptoms but then that every kid with Asperger's is different. One specialist told us she thought he had Asperger's and 2 more said they thought he did not.

The reason I am wondering is that I wonder if there is some therapy specific to Asperger's/ASD we should be pursuing. He currently receives Speech therapy and OT. Nothing specific to ASD. Any thoughts? What types of therapy are your kids with Asperger's receiving?

Have you already set up an environment that caters to his challenges ex: sensory friendly, suttle changes etc. If so, this could be why you arent seeing it. I also believe with all my heart that every child with Aspergers is different. Dont do this, but it's something to think about.. what if you were to change the house rules to no rowdy play in the house, no more "boxing", "guns", "zombies", "creeper" Do you think the change would go over well? Or, if you were to insist that checking the temperate was something you would take care of, and he didn't need to do it... what kind of reaction would you get? If you were to put the home calender in a different location, I wonder if that would bother him when he found out.. KWIM. In my personal experience, change didn't bother me too much until I got older and it was "stressful change" I had a thing with the temperate too, when I was a kid, you could call 894-6666 and it was an automated "time and temperate service" the time is _______ and the temperate is _____ degree's LOL. I have NO CLUE why I remember that