6 yr old and all craziness breakin loose.....

[Doulaluna]

Hello all. I am new to this list and I am looking for some advice. I've got a 6 yr old boy who is sweet but explosive. He's having major trouble in school and they are doing an assessment to see what is going on with him.
He also easily explodes at home and has some sensory type issues related to smell, taste and sound. We are exhausted with these issues as they have been going on for so long without us realizing anything was not right. We just thought that he was a high maintenance kid.

We have also started looking for our own answers and a psyc told us (without diagnosing yet), possible ADHD and maybe (maybe maybe) Asperger's disorder.

I don't know enough about these Asperger's to know whether or not he has it. He certainly does exhibit some interesting traits that I don't really think fall in the range of normal.

I also am not really interested in medicating him. Does anybody know more about these things, especially Asperger's and can you tell me what I can do about keeping us all sane and off medication?

What does a parent do about schooling choices when these issues come up? We have been looking into private schools (ouch, expensive) and trying to figure out if public school could be aggravating theses issues. Yet we are concerned about putting our son into private school and not getting the help from them that he may need too. AARGH!!!

What to do? I am so utterly confused by this whole process. The holistic side of me says, NO DIAGNOSIS, self treatment, get him out of public school. The other side of me says wait it out and see what the system has to offer.

HELP!!

Thanks,

[khrisday]

Hi I have a 6 year old with Asperger's Syndrome, he also has the sensory issues and ADHD symptoms that you mention with your son. First let me recommend a few book which have been really helpful to me :
The Out of Sync Child (about sensory integration)
The Explosive Child
Asperger's Syndrome, a Guide for Parents and Professionals by Tony Attwood (if he ever speaks in your area GO SE HIM, he's incredible!)
There is no reason to medicate your child if you do not want to, but be sure you are clear with the professionals working with him about your choices (I would tell any school personnel who mentions medication that it is a matter for his parents and his doctor to discuss and thank you for your concern and suggestions )
You should really look into the NIDS theory and treatment protocol. I have spent the last 3 years researching all of this stuff, and NIDS answers a whole lot of questions that nobody else has.
www.nids.net
As for the schools- well, most AS kids do have a hard time in school. It's such a volatile mixture for them-the sensory stimulation, the poor social skills, the attention problems, lack of coordination, etc. If you're lucky the school will probably allow him to have a one to one aide, give him some occupational therapy for fine motor skills, and speech therapy/social skills training for the social and pragmatic language problems, and behavior plan. That is if you're lucky, informed and adamant. The school won't tell you what is available, it will be your job to find out, and they also won't knwo what is appropriate for your child. It will be up to you to devise an appropriate plan and get them to agree to it. Then you will have to watch them every step of the way to make sure they are actually doing what they agreed to. Personally I find that mediocre at best, and most private schools are mot any better. We homeschool and it has been the best thing we ever did. My son's social skills have sktrocketed since we took him out of school, he is able to learn in his own way and at his own pace, and he feels much better about himself. I have tons of info- just let me know what you are needing.