Any Information - Asperger's

Moe - posted on 01/16/2009

Type in www.nld.org, there is an area that does address asperger's.      My son has NLD, which is non-verbal learning disorder.       He is 21 and out of school.      He's doing pretty well.    It took a lot of work and tears to get him to this point.     Hope this helps.    Maureen

Angel - posted on 01/15/2009

You really need to take her to child hospital or health centre to find out "what is going on?". And earlier intervention can really make a difference. Signs can be inadequate social interest, social skill (but yet verbal), trantrums, limited interest, rigid, repeative behaviour...Good Luck.

Sarah - posted on 01/15/2009

I was worried about labels too, until it came to school. Having him labeled as Autistic has actually helped. Now when people deal with him, they know that he will not respond like your typical 11 year old. He has access to therapists and additional tutoring. He only needs the tutoring for social behaviors. Zachary is stuck on video games. he can tell you the name and trait of every pokemon and all of their evolutions. I get lost listening to him. But I don't discourage it either. I just try to encourage him to use that same lust for learning in his schoolwork as well.

You mentioned that your daughter was just a content child. I, too, saw that with Zachary. He just sat back and seemed to take it all in. He used words like "beverage" and "liquid refreshments" at the age of 4. He was my little professor. He didn't really smile much, but has the biggest heart.

Sadly, he is on the level of a typical 7 year old right now socially. We work with him and have sent him to see many therapists. Poor kid. It is true though that insurance doesn't like to help with autism, but there are plent of people out there who will. Look for a local support group. (I am still searching for one here) However, I have found many people online that understand the trials of a high-functioning autistic child.

Janice - posted on 01/15/2009

 WHATEVER HAPPENS HON, SHE IS STILL YOUR WONDERFUL LITTLE GIRL WHO YOU LOVE LOADS ,AND SHE LOVES YOU, SHE HAS HER OWN PERSONALITY AND WILL COME ON AND GROW IN HER OWN WAY, AND BRING YOU LOTS OF JOY, LOVE AND HAPPINESS.

April - posted on 01/15/2009

Thanks so everyone for the information!! My daughter, as I mentioned, is very strong-willed, has a very difficult time listening, has "extreme" tantrums that last hours on end (if we let them), when she finds things she likes (i.e. movies, toys, etc.), she clutches on tight and watches them incessantly, is very loving but (like I said) it changes almost instantly, is very clingy and will literally scream and cry if I leave her (but only at times, others she is fine with it). As a baby, she was so observant, not a "happy" baby but not discontent. She was just content. She didn't smile a lot (which I didn't really think was "different" until I had my son who smiles at the drop of a hat at 4 months) and had a hard time connecting with people. She has always been very intelligent with most things but with social situations, sometimes has a hard time adjusting. We had her in daycare, which she eventually came to love. She worked REALLY well with their structured scheduling, but when not on a schedule tends to be moody.

I don't know if any/all these things means she has this but it has crossed my mind a few times. So when someone else mentioned it, I was intrigued. She used to also rock herself a bit just in normal situations, also odd.

I will try to do some reseach, but I just don't want to bring it up with her doctor just yet. In a world of "labels", I don't want her to be labeled as Autistic until I know she indeed has a problem. Being a person with a chronic health problem myself, I know how being labeled can make things very difficult down the line (insurance, etc.)

Janice - posted on 01/15/2009

 HI  APRIL MY NAME IS JANICE TRUSWELL I AM A RNLD , A GOOD BOOK TO GET THAT  GIVES GOOD INFO IS UNDERSTANDING AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS ( FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS BY DIANE YAPKO PUBLISHERS (JESSICA KINGSLEY WWW.jkp.com AND ALSO www.udel.edu/bkirby/asperger THIS IS A ON LINE ASPERGER SYNDROME INFORMATION AND SUPPORT LINE HOPE THIS HELPS, ALL THE BEST TO YOU AND YOUR LITTLE GIRL.

Charlie - posted on 01/15/2009

Hi

I just searched the web - but found that wikepdias despcription was probably one of the best. The problem is, is that aspergers is so individual that it's difficult to tell. My son i 7 1/2 and it was thought when he was 2 that he could possibly has Autism or aspergers, but it too to just before 7th birthday before "experts" accepted that his tantrums & strong will wasn't just him being naughty!

My son became obsessed with things, trains, cars & now the titanic. He didn't like change unless it was discussed before hand. He could be very violent & would bite very hard if anyone came into his space. School was horrendous to start with, he now has a helper in class and has settle. Though he still thinks the whole word revolves around him and he needs to be listened to before anyone else.

when he was about the age of your daughter, he could be the most loving child in the world and then the most wicked.  I've found that he responds well to a firm hand. I don't smack him, but i talk him through every punishment & follow through with every punishment

Just let me advise you, if you feel your child has aspergers, then don't let anyone tell you different. Plenty of people told me my son was naughty & highly strung. No with the correct help at school, he's a happy wee boy

Hopefully that helps yousome

Denise - posted on 01/15/2009

Yes, my son, who is now 16 has Asperger's Syndrome. Can I recommend a book called "Eating An Artichoke A Mother's Perspective on Asperger's Syndrome" by Echo R. Fling. Another good book is just called "Asperger's Syndrome A Guide for Paretns and Professionals" by Tony Attwood. Echo's book is an easy read and will help you understand Asperger's a little more. Asperger's kids are very, very intelligent, but their social skills and the way they pick up on social cues are very slow or even non-existant. With theropy, they can learn to adapt. We have tried special diets, none have worked for us. Theropy...with a 16 year old...well they either will do it or they won't. Mine really doesn't do much. Television and music are his friends. Does she like music? Feel free to write and I'll try and help with any questions. We've been dealing with this since Brandon was in 1st grade and he's now a Jr. in High School. Hang in there!

Sarah - posted on 01/15/2009

http://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/mental...

http://books.google.com/books?id=A4KCfH1...

The firs tlink is to webMd. it has a lot of good information on what Aperger's is and how to tell if someone has it.

The second link it to a book. I bought that book and a couple others. They have really helped. This one has identifiers and things to look for to determine if your child has Aperger's.

My son was diagnosed at 7. it was a long road to get there. I'm glad you are getting answers early on, it will be a big help for your daughter.

Judith - posted on 01/15/2009

hi there i have an18 year old son with Aspergers syndrome, a condition on the autistic spectrum. When he was small, he had odd behavoural habits such as becoming obsessive with certain things , arranging toys in rows rather than playing with them, but the classic symptom is "  flapping " his arms and running back and forth, sometimes pulling strange faces at the same time. I was quite distressing at times but as time went on and we realised there was something wrong i did some research and found these were all classic symptoms. My son grew out of the flapping but i think he still does it in private and knows it draws attention to himself. He went  to mainstream school and now does IT at college. Does your child have any of these symptoms?