Question for Lillian (or anybody who knows)

[katiekat]

Since Sean's new therapist has suggested that he has Aspergers I have done a lot of reading up on it. I think I remember reading somewhere, and I can't even remember if it was on-line or in a book, that if your child is given a DX of Aspergers that the school MUST evaluate if their behavior is interfering with their learning. Im not even sure if that's exactly what I read but I think it is. And I cannot find it again because I have read so much. Do you have any idea if that is true?

[lillian]

Sean's therapist thinks he has Asperger's??? Really? When did you hear this, and how do you feel about this?

As far as the school having to test a child who has been dxed with high-functioning autism, it's no different than any other disability. If the child has a private dx of a disability, and the child is struggling in school, then the school should test the child to see if the child's "suspected" disability is interfering with his/her performance in school. The school cannot dx Asperger's, however, so they can't disregard the dx. They can say that it's not interfering with his performance in school, however, which they commonly do with Asperger's because these kids often do quite well academically.

[lillian]

I have to say that the way you have described Sean doesn't sound anything like Asperger's to me. Does he make eye contact? Does he use appropriate body language? Does he appear to be very shy or in his own world? When he converses, does he obsess on a subject, like discussing trains for an hour? Does he have OCD behaviors? Does he have a highly unusual memory, like able to memorize details that no one else even notices or able to memorize a book word-for-word? Does he experience anxiety or have meltdowns over things/schedules being changed? Does he seem like a quirky, odd, or nerdy kind of person?

[katiekat]

I have never considered Aspergers but yes I agree completely. The similarities have blown me away. He rarely makes eye contact, and he obsesses over things always. It is his most annoying trait. He was dx with OCD by his former psyciatrist. His anxiety is a huge problem and he was also DX with an anxiety disorder by his old psych. His speech is odd and he uses inappropriate and big words that are not really age appropriate. He has a great memory and that is what helps him eek by in school. He cannot handle change and once you do something once he thinks it has to be always done that way. Like if on Friday we get McDonalds he thinks we have to get it every Friday. If we dont it becomes a huge problem. He is definitely in his own world. You can be talking to him about one thing and he responds with something completely different. Usually about his obsession which is Yugioh cards. You can walk away from him and he will continue his monologue even without an audience. He has no friends and is basically a "social misfit." He is very "nerdy" and gets called "dork" and "geek" by kids in his class often. Like I said, I never considered Aspergers so I didnt look into it but now that I have I am amazed at how it describes him to a T.

[katiekat]

So even when/if he does get an official DX of Aspergers they can still refuse to evaluate?

[lillian]

I would imagine they will test him, if he has a private dx of Asperger's. They would be very foolish not to.

[katiekat]

Ok Lillian you are definitely the go to woman of the week. I have another question unrelated to this topic really. Sean is 7 1/2 and just cannot read a lick. The school thinks this is not a problem although we sure do. I have noticed that although he cannot read, if I spell the word out for him orally he can tell me what it is. (a 2 or 3 letter word at this point). So he cannot read the word "her" on paper but if I say H-E-R he can tell me what it is.Is this part of or a sign of a particular LD? Thanks so much for all your help!

[lillian]

Well, now, that's an interesting one! LOL! I've never heard of anyone being able to spell but not to read a word on a page, unless the person was blind, so my initial response is to say that it's a visual vs. auditory difference. He's weak in the visual field but very strong in the auditory. You've also said he memorizes everything. He's not memorizing whole words he's seeing, though, right? Are you saying that when you read a book aloud to him, he memorizes all of it?

[lillian]

I should add...Visual processing disorders are somewhat common on the spectrum.

[katiekat]

He can see a word on one page and try to sound it out, I will tell him what the word is eventually and then he can see the word on the very next page and will not recognize it. However every day at school the teacher will read a book aloud to them and then they bring the book home and have to read it. These are the book he can "read." He will look at the pictures and then without even looking at the page he will say what it says on the page. Sometimes he will paraphrase if he cannot remember exactly what it said. Like the book might really say- They went shopping but he will say they went to the store. It used to be easier for him when the book had a picture of exactly what it was saying like-"this is a red ball" but now the books are getting harder and the picture is not always of exactly what the words say.