Aspergers Syndrome? - Philadelphia,PA

Hi C.,

I like this little site. Hope it helps.

http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/brain/asperger.html#

S. A. K., MFT

I agree completely with the other posts on here as well. You need to get your son evaluated ASAP by your county intermediate unit or by a developmental pediatrician (which could take a very long time to get scheduled). Talk to your pediatrician about the next steps in your city or town.

My son was diagnosed with mild to moderate Autism at age 2, he is 3 now, and because of the amazing therapies he has had, he is now talking much more. The earlier the intervention and therapies the better off your son will be! I know its overwhelming and scary but its just a label they apply to the child to enable them to get services, not a label that has to follow them forever. If he is diagnosed with something on the Autism spectrum, be sure to sign up for Medical Assistance.

I wish you good luck. Feel free to email me if you would like to chat more.

You are seeing some of what we saw with our now 18 year old aspie. Repeating the TV is a biggie, as is being very verbal, but odd, and being set off by very small things.

Most pediatricians are not trained to see high functioning issues early. My suggestion to you is that you follow your feeling, and call the closest children's hospital and make an appointment with a Developmental Pediatrician. This is the professional you need. If you have something to worry about, they will help you. If you don't, you can put your mommy voice to rest for a while. Never wait and see when it comes to development, and evaluation is a win-win. You either walk out the door knowing what to do to help your son, or you walk out with a clean bill of health.

I would not hesitate to make that appointment.
M.

My son has Aspergers/ADHD and most of the flags did not go off for us until age 5. At age 3, he had some problems playing with other kids, sitting still, and tantrums. We had him tested for speech problems, but were told his behavior was normal. I was told that I needed to guide him more when playing with other kids, but that he was smart and did not need to be in pre-k. Back then, we joked that he acted like an absentminded professor. At the time we had not heard of Aspergers which is nicknamed "little professor syndrome".
Sure, he had a great vocabulary, was obsessed with tools and machines, hated sports, and was a bit shy. But for our family that didn't seem too strange. When we filled out the diagnostic questionnaires, my husband and I were at odds. He thought I was trying to answer the questions to prove something was wrong, and I thought he was trying to change the answers to show nothing was wrong.
You could try to get a 2nd opinion or find a "developmental pediatrician". Remember that it is a spectrum and even if your child isn't labelled as autistic they can still need help with learning delays or sensory issues. One book that I read was: Quirky Kids: Understanding and Helping Your Child Who Doesn't Fit In- When to Worry and When Not to Worry.

My daughter is almost 8, she doesn't have Aspergers but is considered to be high functioning. We knew something was going on with our daughter since she was a young baby but didn't get the diagnosis till she was almost 4 due to my pushing. The school and her dr kept telling me she was fine, these people were crazy, when I think about what our lives were like back then it was a nightmare. Having a child with a special need that you don't know what it is isn't easy, especially since she would have screaming fits for over an hour when falling asleep when she was a young baby. Just to clarify, these fits are not like a typical child's temper tantrum.

You have to remember that Autism is a social and language disorder, if you think your child has Autism get a referral if you need one and take him to a child neurologist.

I had this same question for my doctor and she stated that my daughter was being a normal almost 2 at the time when I asked. and she stated yes and she asked me the questions i am asking you below and I answered yes. Now my question for you are, is your son affection allowing you to hug,kiss and hold him under normal circumstance? does he make eye contact with you when you speak with him? does he have friends and is he sociable for the level of a 2 and 1/2 year old and the biggest thing does he speak...that is does he express himself verbally and is he on point with normal milestones for an almost 3 year old... if yes then he is a normal 2 almost 3 year old pushing boundaries (try to get his way by any means necessary), learning and growing...remember that Autism is a social and language disorder like Joanna F mentioned below...My daughter is smart as a whip. She keeps me and my husband on our toes and she is demanding, stubborn and a force to be recon with when she doesn't get her way but she gives kisses and hugs, she has friend at daycare and talks way too much. a normal 3 almost 4 year old...Good Luck

My daughter has Asperger's. She had a hard with not getting her way at 9 months. At 2, she had the terrible 2's--huge tantrums during transitions or when things didn't go the way she wanted them to. 3.5 years was when I really wondered if something was off. She had a hard time with her conversational skills and wasn't playing interactively with the other kids yet. It wasn't until she was 4.5 years old that I knew without a doubt something was up, and I got her assessed. Her behavior has improved a lot since then! I recommend getting your child assessed ASAP so that if there is something wrong, it can get worked on sooner rather than later.

The repeating of TV shows verbatim is called scripting, and it is something that kids on the spectrum do. Your son does have some things in common with my daughter. I recommend getting him assessed.

C.
www.littlebitquirky.blogspot.com

If you have been disciplining him firmly with a consequence at the onset of every single tantrum (and I don't mean time outs where he's allowed to continue the tantrum in a different place) after one or two calm warnings since they first began, and you know he understands you when you warn him to stop, but no amount of consistency or firmness has any impact on him (too young to say at 2 1/2 though with discipline this is nipped quickly, so if by three your 100% diligence is totally not working you could look into it) then maybe he has a mental disorder. But tantrums are normal for practically every child who is allowed to have them, and once they start, they will go on a very long time if they're allowed to. They are only rarely a sign of a disorder. My daughter has always repeated books and shows word for word since she was 2-ish. She's very bright and would have been throwing tantrums like a champ since 18 months old if she was allowed to. We nipped it in no uncertain terms at that age. Same with my son, firmly nipped before 2. I'm sure you've tried everything to teach him effectively that tantrums are seriously not allowed, but just as an extra caution-don't start worrying about medical aliments before you have tried everything. Especially if your doctor's are not concerned and you've told them the other symptoms. Your main concern in this post is tantrums. Once tantrums are allowed to occur, they often escalate to gagging, choking, headbanging etc even in normal kids. It is 100% the parent's choice to allow this.

Just so you know... these are also adhd symptoms. Many of us have near perfect recall for anything interesting to us, we also all have sensory and emotional issues (crazy tantrums, problems with transitions, wild mood swings). It's all related to how our brains process and store info.

AND these are also problems common with "straight" gifted kids, aka not 2e. (Aspie kids and ADHD kids are nearly always also gifted, which makes the "2e" or "twice exceptional".)

Strong 2nd for a developmental pediatrician... since from what you've said it could EASILY be 1 of 3 disorders (aspie, adhd, or gifted).

Even if he's too young for a positive Dx (such as with adhd... you can't *really* dx it until they're older, although you can be fairly certain)... you'll find a lot of support from parents dealing with the same gifted issues in many areas http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/

I don't have any good aspie websites (mental note... need to hit my friends up for some -aspie kids and adults tend to click really well with adhd kids and adults), but I do have a good adhd one: www.additudemag.com

My daughter has high functioning aspergers. she is extremely intelligent and verbal and always has been. She just turned 5 and is reading at a first grade level, and doing math with little help from me. However her social skills are very delayed. She is obsessed with cats to the point of thinking she is a cat. LOL. She is very cute. It can be difficult in social situations, but I knew from very young about 6 months old something was not right. She was still not rolling over at 9 months and was very delayed in fine and gross motor skills. My son is now 2 and a half and they are thinking aspergers and adhd for him. He had some delays as well(fine motor and low muscle tone), but seemed normal in social functioning until the last 6 months, he suddenly stopped looking in eyes and now is starting the singleton obsessions but his is with trains. He spins incessantly and flaps his hands in the air all the time. He walks on his toes and has very repetitive speech, and he is constantly seeking sensory input, ie crashing into things, people etc. He is also very smart and they think if he is on the spectrum it is very mild, and they are not going to give him any diagnosis other than hyperkinesis(which is just a fancy way of saying adhd), until he is 4. So I guess my point is that two kids can display very symptoms even siblings with similar disorders. I never would have thought my son was on the spectrum, but knew early on my daughter was. She was sensory avoidant, where my son is sensory seeking. So if you think something is up have him evaluated by EI and they can provide services to help with any issues or problems or delays. Addressing the issues is much more important than any label they give.

Hi C., I am the mother of a 6 yr. old with Asperger's Syndrome. There's a difference between ASD and Aspergers. Children with Aspergers tend to be high-functioning & socially awkward, as opposed to anti-social and non-verbal like Autism Spectrum children. They do tend to fixate on things, like repeating the same things over and over, or watching the same shows or movies repeatedly. And, yes, they tantrum when frustrated.
Pediatricians do not like to commit to a potential problem until sometimes it's too late, and damage is already starting. My son was significantly speech-delayed, and my pediatrician continued to act like there was nothing to be concerned with.
Contact your county's Early Intervention program through the Health Dept. and ask them to come out and do an evaluation of your son. If they agree there are concerns, they will provide therapy, and then help you transition your child into the district's pre-school program @ age 3.
Most importantly, as soon as you are able, get an appointment with a pediatric neurologist - the wait time can be up to 18 months long!
Please be aware, the earlier the intervention, the better the end result for your child and his future.
Sincerely, C. G.

I'll just chime in, as the mother of a 5-year-old with high functioning autism (like Asperger's but with a language delay), that it never hurts to have your child evaluated when you have doubts about his development. By one year my son was off on some milestones and a very well-meaning pediatrician I went to thought he was fine, perhaps just in need of some OT (occupational therapy). I had to pretty much figure it out for myself over the next several months when we were back abroad, return to get Early Intervention started (which took a while again), and finally get pointed towards a pediatrician who knows what's what and who sent us off for a formal evaluation. The earlier you intervene, the better the outcome, so I still feel that we wasted some precious time there early on. Anyway, I would have dearly loved for that first pediatrician to have been right, but this is how our story is playing out. All of the therapists my son has had have helped him immeasurably, and he's doing great. The sketch you give here of your son does suggest Asperger's (though that diagnosis, as opposed to Autism Spectrum Disorder in general or PDD-NOS, might not be given until later on). If that turns out to be the case, all the services out there can help him learn to make the most of his talents and fit into the world around him. Get him evaluated just to be sure. Best of luck!

Could be normal... or not. You're the mama-- if something is bothering you, get him evaluated. Most states it is free, and the services could be too. If he goes to daycare at all, ask the teacher about an EI evaluation... or ask your pediatrician. He or she should provide you with a referral even if he is not concerned.