Parenting Community

Definitely a 9 yo can be diagnosed with aspergers. Has he been through the battery of neuro psychological testing?

No, he hasn't. Our Pedi sent us to a nuero? but all he did was put him on ADD drugs. I asked for him to be tested the Dr. said he doesn't need to be tested, he has ADD. He will NOT test him for that either tho. Iam so MAD!!!!!

Well ADD doesn't have the hyperactive component-so your doctors could be correct. Has he been referred to a psychologist for the behavioral therapy component of treatment? ADD treatment generally doesn't work on pills alone from what I have read. When you go to the psychologist-make the first appointment for you to discuss the history and your suspicions and she/he can do the evaluation or refer you appropriately.

Asperger's is a clinical diagnosis. There is no lab test to diagnose it. There are imperfect rating scales that can be used to guide the clinician, but in the end, the diagnosis needs to be made by a professional with considerable experience in this area. You may be best off going to see a developmental pediatrician or child psychiatrist with demonstrated (or declared) interest in "autism spectrum disorders, which includes Asperger's. Social awkwardness and difficulties with subtleties of language are other common features of Asperger's. Your pediatrician may be able to suggest a different consultant to evaluate your child. Good luck, and keep us posted.

My 10 year old daughter was recently diagnosed with Asperger's. She was seen by a developmental/behavioral pediatrician and did go through a series of test including ADOS testing which concurred with the doctor's assessment (the doctor suspected Asperger's after conducting discussions with my daughter).
She was originally dx years before with SID (Sensory Integration Disorder) and was tx with OT for 2 years but her behavior conditioned and actually started getting worse as she aged. She is extremely intelligent but suffered greatly with socializing and every day task (appeared so smart that she lacked common sense - easy stuff for most people).
She is now on medication and is much happier. Social training is next on our list.
Good luck to you. I can give you a list of test that she has been through if you would like that info.

To have a child evaluated for suspected Asperger Syndrome, you should seek out a physician or psychologist who specializes in the evaluation of children with autism. Among physicians, a developmental pediatrician may be your best bet, but a child neurologist or child psychiatrist with a defined interest in autism spectrum disorders are other options.

You can also go to an Autism Center -- ideally at a Children's Hospital or major medical center.

yes you need to find a peds.phychiatrist Igot my 10 year old in to one when she was 6.Also your sons Shcool should be able to help,I know most parents don't want to send their child to a phychiatrist,but its usally the only way to get the help he needs my daughter got so much help that most people can't tell she has any form of Autism.as I said you have to keep trying go evrywere try everyone you will find the right doctor to help you and your son...

After my 10 yr old son was dx with ADHD and then Tourette's last year, his psychiatrist referred him for additional testing for possible Asberger's. During the first consult, I strongly suggested that i wanted an mri done on my son because in 2004 he was in a car accident. he was in a car seat but was such a hard fast impact that he had bad bruising on his shoulders & chest from the straps. a year later he fell from the couch & had to have 2 staples in the back of the head. he did not have any head xrays in either circumstance. they agreed it would be great to have it so that their nueropsychologist can review it when meet after a full day of evaluation. his pcp tried to get this approved thru the insurance and it was denied. he wants a report from the psychologist to see if that will help. i just don't understand why this is not the very first thing that is done when a child is sent for evals with neuro symptoms to rule medical issues out.

am not a doctor but i am a parent of 4, there is nothing wrong with your kid, stop the pills. i don't see the problem, you don't state if discipline it's the issue. Ready Proverbs.

I have had AS since I was 19. When I was 11, a neurologist diag. me with Tourette's. I was having problems at the end of high school, and at beginning of college, so I went to another neuro. that told me I had AS. I have had the same pysch since I was 18. I would suggest a combo of both for children. I have tried a lot of medicines for my depression and anxiety. I have found Neurontin at night, and Zoloft in the morning help me greatly. School eval., and vocational rehab may help some patients, especially in getting help for special needs children. Anyone needing advice, feel free to email or IM ASJ8997@yahoo . Good luck everyone.

Your district School Psychologist, Speech Therapist, and School Social Worker plus teachers and principal are in the best position to assist you in a diagnosis as they observe your child with social interactions, know about any peer difficulties, and are aware of any learning difficulties. Why would you go to a Dr first. if daily living activities are the problem?
All schools have an obligation to conduct a review to see if your child is experiencing learning and social problems.
Children do not reach the age of nine without bring first observed since Kdg. by school staff who would have alerted the parent of problems.

Hi Asjnc and Welcome!

Thanks so much for your response. Just wanted to let you know that this discussion is 9 months old so the original poster may not be following this discussion.

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Thanks,
Elizabeth

Well, I personally am glad you're not a doctor! I too am a mother of 4. We, my husband and me, were also told by a nuerologist that there was nothing wrong with our son, at age 4 1/2 (about 1994)The doctor said that he was a little slow but that he would catch up. The determining test was that our son walked down a short flight of stairs and back up! Hmm.
The nurologist sent us on our way. Since there was no diagnosis, we assumed his behavior was discipline. Each of our 4 children are different and require different disciplines, so we assumed, if the doctor was correct, we just needed to find a way to discipline him. Nothing seemed very effective. A year and a half later, our son began to have outwardly manifested seizures. At first they only seemed to be daydreaming episodes. Gradually they became high fevers and seizures. The local ER said they were febrile seizures (from a high fever) brought on by a virus. Then they came every 10 days to once a week if not sooner. We insisted that there was something else going on. His preschool teacher said, "There is something that I just can't put my finger on". Back to the same nuerologist we went, only this time the Dr requested an EEG. After the test, there was no longer a need for an explanation...our son was having seizures. At this time, they appeared to be daydreaming so everyone thought he was just not paying attention or that he had ADHD. Well seizures are prevalent in my family so it seemed that probably was the answer.
The Dr prescribed depakote 3x's daily and it did help to a point. Until that prescription, our son had great difficulty learning anything in a sequence, ex. songs, numbers, letters, even methodical tasks like tying his shoes. With the depakote, he seemed to be able to manage these tasks, so we went with that diagnosis. Although he continued to struggle socially and with various other factors, we dealt with the seizures and moved on.

At about age 11, the school suggested a TSS for him. Someone hired to support him in his daily school work. By this time he was off of the depakote. It helped with the focussing, yet he was still having great difficulty. Then one day one of his behavior specialists suggested Autism. Well at that point in time all we ever knew about Autism, was from the movie "Rainman" starring Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman. We said no. That wasn't our son, and it really wasn't, but there were enough similarities to persue making sure, so he was tested at age 10-11 and diagnosed with PDD-NOS, which is on the Autism Spectrum. Once the issue was identified, we were able to get him the help he needed. There will always be things that he struggles with, but through love and support from friends and family and a determination to help him fit in, he has progressed immensely! He is now 21 and very capable of learning, if the 'teacher' teaches in a way he can understand. Once he felt understood, the behaviors were not a problem. You can imagine, as with any handicap or disability the frustration one lives with when they don't feel like they are ever understood. It's like they are locked in a body or a mind that struggles with day to day tasks, as well as with acceptance in the community in which they live. Frequently those who are diagnosed on the Autism Spectrum will have a seizure disorder as well. Yeah, it takes a lot of patience and determination and love, but at his age of 21, I can say as his Mom, It is well worth the ride!
Some of our son's worst memories, and ours, are because he was not understood. We are Christians, but as for reading Proverbs, perhaps we should first consider Matthew 7:12.
We all have traits of Autism, it's just that we learn adaptations in society at different levels. Think about it, what's yours?
Discipline, alone, is not always the answer.

my question is why does everyone ask if discipline is the problem? First response, knee jerk reaction? Geez no wonder nobody would listen to me when I tried to tell them about my sons issues....

Just as an update....
I finally got someone to listen to me about what was going on and how akward he was still and he is now almost twelve years old. With the help of my wonderful Pedi Dr. I fainally got the referall to a pediatric phsycologist and a peds neuro. He does have a disasocative disorder. Kind off like asbergers but with more of withdrawel symptoms. What clinched the diagnosis is that he tries so hard to do right and just couldn't. He has a stuttering problem also, which is a symptom.

A PARENT KNOWS WHEN SOMETHNG IS WRONG WITH THEIR KIDS!!!!!!! To all those out there who think that your kid is just a kid that gets into a lot of trouble doesn't mean he or she might not need help in any way. That may be put if you try everything under the sun and still no response you have to try other methods.

I am the mother of three and my other kids never had this problem. I have stopped the ADD meds becouse he didn'tt have ADD. After almost four years of searching we finally found the answer. And it ewasn't just run of the mill problems. Multiple DR. conults, including going over 3000 miles from home to see one Dr. did it. Just keep giong strong and never give up.


KIDS ARE THE FUTURE LOVE THEM AND PROTECT THEM BUT DON'T HIDE THEM FROM THE WORLD OR MAKE EXCUSES. They need to learn the way of this world and its not all roses and honey.