Andy's evaluation was today. First of all, I can't say enough about the Knights of Columbus Developmental Center. What a great group of really knowledgeable people. They whisked us right back, started the evaluation right on time, and answered all of my questions with clear, concise answers.
Best of all, they concluded that Andy does NOT have Asperger's Syndrome. And I believe them.
Yes, I know this is the same thing that the jerk of a neurologist said a few months ago. However, I didn't believe the neurologist when he said it because he had no explanation and had no answers to my questions. He formed his decision after talking to Andy for 5 minutes.
Today, two different professionals spent an hour and a half each with him. They explained that he didn't have the speech/language deficits that an Asperger's child would have. They explained that his IQ test didn't exhibit the variances that it would have in an Asperger's child.
They instead concluded that he is highly gifted, has severe anxiety, and sensory processing disorder. Luckily, none of those was a surprise.
They suggested that some of Andy's social awkwardness is due to his giftedness, and his inability to relate to his peers because of it. Makes sense to me.
So, that's where we stand. We are very excited to finally know FOR SURE that it isn't Asperger's. And now we know the reasons why.
He's just too darn smart for his own good. Plain and simple. And THAT I can handle.
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I'm glad the appointment went well! Enjoy the evening with your wonderful boys!
ReplyDeleteWonderful news! maybe next year during school he can get some extra social skills time? that way he can learn to react better in social situations? Great to hear!
ReplyDeleteI am so glad that you got some answers! What a great day!
ReplyDeleteYay! I was thinking about you all day yesterday. I am so glad you got answers and someone finally EVALUATED him. Hard to do in 5 minutes ;-)
ReplyDeleteI am glad it was such a positive experience. I hope all the answers help to put together something for the school year that will help all involved.
ReplyDeleteYou ought to read this article from the Autism Society: and I quote:
ReplyDeleteCharacteristics
What distinguishes Asperger's Disorder from Autism Disorder is the severity of the symptoms and the absence of language delays. Children with Asperger's Disorder may be only mildly affected and frequently have good language and cognitive skills. To the untrained observer, a child with Asperger's Disorder may just seem like a normal child behaving differently.
Children with autism are frequently seen as aloof and uninterested in others. This is not the case with Asperger's Disorder. Individuals with Asperger's Disorder usually want to fit in and have interaction with others; they simply don't know how to do it. They may be socially awkward, not understanding of conventional social rules, or show a lack of empathy. They may have limited eye contact, seem to be unengaged in a conversation, and not understand the use of gestures.
http://www.autism-society.org/site/PageServer?pagename=life_aspergers
Aspie kids DO NOT have speech and language delays, which is part of their diagnosis. Not to burst your bubble... Would be easier to believe our kids do not have Aspergers, and ONLY SPD, right?
Thanks, Sensory Mom. I guess I wasn't clear in my post. Yes, it's true that Asperger's kiddos don't have speech/language delays. However, they do usually lack specific things in their language. They often lack the use of gestures, have innapropriate tone/pitch, have problems with pragmatics, etc. There is also usually a noticeable lack of interest in covnersation. However Andy scored above normal in each area of the speech/language eval. He used gestures appriately, understood their humor and sarcasm, had appropriate rise and fall of his pitch, carried on conversations with more than 4 back and forth statements, etc. Therefore, he didn't have any of the language defecits that are required for diagnosis.
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