I'm hoping someone here can help. My 11 YO son does not meet the diagnostic critera for Asperger's but displays what the doctor refers to as "a number of Asperger's symptoms." He's bad about eye contact and responding to people who speak to him. He has a number of odd physical behaviors like wringing hands and rocking when he's excited. He's also suffering from a depressive disorder which is another kettle of fish. I would not classify him as being fully "special needs" but... he has a few needs that are special. Am I making sense?
Anyone else been there? And how do you handle the peculiar needs of such a kid? Is it worth trying to help him break some of the more peculiar habits for the sake of socializing? Right now he does okay because we've started homeschooling and as one mom put it, "All our kids are weird. He fits right in." He was ostracized a lot when he was in school, though.
I apologize if this isn't quite the right place for this, but I wasn't really sure where else to ask.
Personally, I can't relate because my child does qualify for an ASD, however, your post is very familiar to me. My good friend's 7 year old son was evaluated and did not meet criteria for Asperger's. However, he has a lot of the common characteristics of Asperger's like poor eye contact, low muscle tone, tons of sensory issues, was reading on a third grade level in Kindergarten, but had to repeat Kindy because of his delayed emotional and social development. He perseverates on topics, doesn't really know how to do spontaneous pretend play, and has trouble making and keeping friends.
I would say that my friend's doctor that did the eval is an idiot, but she's the same person that gave my son his ASD diagnosis and I really liked her!
Luckily, even without an official label or diagnosis, my friend's son's school is more than willing to have an IEP and give him services. Their insurance pays part of his OT privately, too.
Treat the symptoms he's got and don't worry about the diagnosis. If he isn't seeing a psychologist for therapy start there - insurance should pay under a depression diagnosis. Give him social skills help - find a group - many don't require a specific diagnosis. Integrate social goals into our homescooling. Take a look at Jed Baker's books.
My kiddo is a "fits but doesn't" and so he got a PDD-NOS diagnosis. http://www.bbbautism.com/diagnostics_psychobabble.htm Down at the bottom explains what it takes to get a PDD-NOS diagnosis. But it's supposed to be for those who have autistic symptoms but not in the right configuration or number for an autism diagnosis.
But I agree with PP who said you treat the issues regardless of diagnosis or lack of diagnosis. If a child is struggling in an autism specific area I think autism specific interventions are helpful whether the child meets the full criteria or not.
My nephew is like this - his symptoms are different from your son's, but he's got enough to get a functional diagnosis from the school (but not enough to get one from a developmental ped).
Our ds has some symptoms, but not enough to qualify either. As others have said, we've treated the symptoms - OT for sensory issues, and I see cognitive behavioral therapy for him sometime in the future for anxiety. We've spent time on social skills and labeling emotions -- I'd say he's delayed in those areas but not different. He just takes a really long time to develop them.
Originally Posted by Roar
Treat the symptoms he's got and don't worry about the diagnosis. If he isn't seeing a psychologist for therapy start there - insurance should pay under a depression diagnosis. Give him social skills help - find a group - many don't require a specific diagnosis. Integrate social goals into our homescooling. Take a look at Jed Baker's books.
I will look into Jed Baker. Thanks.
He's got an excellent therapist and we're active in a HS group that we like a lot. He's just struggling right now and I want him not to go without any help we can get him.
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