Search This Blog

How Important is an Official Diagnosis?

“Our son is slightly quirky and eccentric. We believe it is high functioning autism or Asperger syndrome. How important is it to get a diagnosis? What things should we look at with regard to past behaviors or symptoms that may confirm he has it?”

Getting an accurate diagnosis is important in getting appropriate treatment for your son. Without an official diagnosis, he’s in limbo, legally and financially. With a diagnosis, doors to treatment open.

Your physician will be asking you for some information about your son’s past. A careful history should be obtained, including: 
  • medical and family history
  • information related to pregnancy and neonatal period
  • early development and characteristics of development



Your physician should review any previous records, including previous evaluations. The information incorporated and the results should be compared in order to obtain a sense of course of development. Also, several other specific areas should be directly examined because of their importance in the diagnosis of High-Functioning Autism (Asperger’s), including:
  • social development
  • self-concept
  • patterns of attachment of family members
  • past and present problems in social interaction
  • mood presentation
  • emotional development
  • development of motor skills, language patterns, and areas of special interest (e.g., favorite occupations, unusual skills, collections)
  • development of friendships
  • careful history of onset/recognition of the problems

Getting appropriate treatment for your son depends on having an accurate diagnosis. If your physician is reluctant to give you an official diagnosis, ask him/her why. Don't be afraid to ask for a referral to a specialist, or to a team of specialists for diagnosis. If the verdict is that your son doesn’t have High-Functioning Autism, then move on, enjoying your slightly quirky, eccentric boy. On the other hand, if the physician or specialists agree on a diagnosis, you now have a tool that will help ensure that your son receives the treatment that he needs.

Personal One-on-One "Parent Coaching" from Mark Hutten, M.A.

  
COMMENTS:

•    Anonymous said... A diagnosis is crucial if you want an Individual Education Plan (IEP) for him at school. Our school told us our son was on the spectrum, but they couldn't do anything officially until we had a diagnosis.
•    Anonymous said... even then the school will be difficult my daughter had a statement and they ignored it
•    Anonymous said... Even with the diagnosis my son's school still is being difficult about giving the IEP. it's been an ongoing battle. I think the diagnosis is crucial for you & your sons awareness.
•    Anonymous said... My son is not yet diagnosed but have to say the school have been fab.he shared a T.A in some lessons.he has a buddy for lunchtimes and sees a teacher after the last lesson to help with his notes for homework.i did go in a lot and said I had read this and that and surely it helps everyone if he isn't kicking off and they worked with us.good luck.
•    Anonymous said... Official diagnosis, it would appear, is entirely dependant upon funding.
•    Anonymous said... time spent obtaining a diagnosis in many cases is better spent on alternative treatment. we did GAPS and biomed, plus heaps of other stuff, and never ended up getting the diagnosis!

Post your comment below…
By

Dyspraxia in Children with Asperger's and High-Functioning Autism

Dyspraxia is a disorder that affects motor skill development. Most children with Asperger’s (AS) and High-Functioning Autism (HFA) have a history of delayed acquisition of motor skills (e.g., hand writing, pedaling a bike, tying shoe laces, catching a ball, opening jars, climbing monkey-bars, etc.), which is called “motor clumsiness.”

These kids are often visibly awkward, exhibiting rigid gait patterns, odd posture, poor manipulative skills, and significant deficits in visual-motor coordination. Although this presentation contrasts with the pattern of motor development in autistic kids (for whom the area of motor skills is often a relative strength), it is similar in some respects to what is observed in older people with autism.

In this post, we will discuss the following:
  • Constructional Dyspraxia  
  • Ideational Dyspraxia  
  • Ideomotor Dyspraxia  
  • Oromotor Dyspraxia
  • Speech and language therapy
  • Perceptual motor training
  • Occupational therapy 
  • Active play Equine therapy

Click here for the full article...



By

The #1 Symptom Exhibited by Children with High-Functioning Autism

"In your practice, what would you say is the most common symptom shared by children with high functioning autism?"

I would say the most commonly observed symptom in High Functioning Autism involves preoccupation with restricted patterns of interest. Children with High Functioning Autism (HFA) and Asperger’s (AS) are not commonly reported to exhibit ALL of the typical symptoms associated with this disorder…

(e.g., encompassing preoccupation with one or more stereotyped and restricted patterns of interest that is abnormal either in intensity or focus; failure to develop peer relationships appropriate to developmental level; inflexible adherence to specific, nonfunctional routines or rituals; lack of social or emotional reciprocity; lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment, interests, or achievements with other people; marked impairment in the use of multiple nonverbal behaviors such as eye-to-eye gaze, facial expression, body postures, and gestures to regulate social interaction; persistent preoccupation with parts of objects; stereotyped and repetitive motor mannerisms)

…with the exception of the all-absorbing preoccupation with an unusual and restricted topic, about which vast amounts of factual knowledge are acquired and all too readily demonstrated at the first opportunity in social interaction. Although the actual topic may change from time to time (e.g., every year or so), it may dominate the content of social interchange as well as the activities of HFA and AS children, often immersing the whole family in the subject for long periods of time.



Even though this symptom may not be easily recognized in childhood (because strong interests in dinosaurs or fashionable fictional characters are so common among young kids), it may become more noticeable later on as interests shift to unusual and narrow topics. This behavior is odd in the sense that extraordinary amounts of factual information are learned about very limited topics (e.g., dinosaurs, maps, names of stars, railway schedules, snakes, etc.).

The good news is that the HFA or AS child’s special interest can be used as both a learning and a social skills training tool. More on the topic of “special interests” can be found here: Children and Their Special Interests: A Good or Bad Trait?
Your article is spot on with my 20 year old Aspergers son. He has an eidetic memory for numbers and has been obsessed with math and physics for years, to the point that he taught himself all the college level math courses during high school. He is now a graduate student in mathematics focusing on number theory, as well as majoring in computer engineering. He works as a TA. He spends the rest of his time studying or with his professors, who he idolizes. They seem to have filled the spot his family used to have in his life. I feel as though I am losing touch with him. We were always very close when he was at home. We did everything together and enjoyed each others company. Now he rarely calls. I am the one who initiates phone calls a couple of times a week, but he acts resentful as though I am a bother. He will tell me everything (in detail) about his studies, but never asks about other family members even though there have been a couple major life events. He never comes home unless it is a holiday when the dorms and dining halls will be closed. We have pre- arranged to visit him, making certain it iwas a good time for him, but it ended in disaster. He was sullen, angry, and non communicative the entire day. I feel as though we are no longer relevant in his life. He seems to dread being home because we no longer have anything to offer him that he values. When he is here on break he often avoids us and refuses to communicate. I am desperate for advice on how to maintain a good relationship with our son. I miss him and want to remain a part of his life. Sorry if this is a repeat comment. It seemed like my first one didn't go through. Nancy
By

Preparing for Summer School: How to Advise Your Aspergers Child's Teacher

If you have a child with Asperger's or high functioning autism, here's how you can prepare his or her teacher for dealing with Aspergers-related issues in the classroom: 



==> How to Prevent Meltdowns and Tantrums in Children with Aspergers and HFA


Comment: Thank you for all the information that was provided and how important it is for the parents to be involved. Parents + teachers will equal a successful summer school for the student/ child.
By

Communication Issues in Children with Asperger's and HFA

Do kids with high functioning autism have communication problems, and are they similar to those with autistic disorder?

In contrast to Autism, there are no symptoms in this area of functioning in the definition of High Functioning Autism (HFA) or Asperger’s (AS). Although significant abnormalities of speech are not typical of HFA and AS children, there are at least three aspects of communication skills which are of clinical interest:

1. One aspect typifying the communication patterns of AS and HFA children concerns the marked verbosity observed, which some researchers see as a prominent differential feature. The youngster may talk incessantly, usually about his favorite subject, often in complete disregard to whether the listener is interested, engaged, or attempting to interject a comment, or change the subject of conversation. Despite such long-winded monologues, the child may never come to a point or conclusion. Attempts by the listener to elaborate on issues of content or logic, or to shift the interchange to related topics, are often unsuccessful.

2. In AS and HFA children, speech may often be tangential and circumstantial, conveying a sense of looseness of associations and incoherence. The lack of coherence and reciprocity in speech is a result of failure to provide the background for comments, failure to clearly demarcate changes in topic, failure to suppress the vocal output accompanying internal thoughts, and the one-sided conversational style (e.g., unrelenting monologues about the names and classifications of dinosaurs).



3. Though inflection and intonation may not be as rigid and monotonic as in the speech of Autistic children, the speech of AS and HFA children may be marked by poor prosody (e.g., there may a constricted range of intonation patterns that is used with little regard to the communicative functioning of the speech).

Despite the possibility that these symptoms may be accounted for in terms of significant deficits in pragmatics skills, lack of insight, and lack of awareness of other's expectations, the challenge remains to understand this phenomenon developmentally as techniques for social adaptation.




By

Teaching Social Skills to Children with Asperger’s & HFA: Guidelines for Parents & Teachers

This post will provide some crucial guidelines for how parents and educators can teach social skills to children with Asperger’s (AS) and High-Functioning Autism (HFA) at home and in the classroom. 

We will discuss the following:
  • Components to a good social skills training program
  • The actual process of teaching social skills
  • Teaching social skills to a group of students
  • Why Asperger's and HFA is largely a disorder of social skills

Click here for the full article...



By

How to Help Socially-Awkward Children on the Autism Spectrum

“I am the mother of a 10 year old daughter with high functioning autism, recently diagnosed. My question: my daughter is very socially isolated most of the time, by her choosing. Is this a trait of HFA? Is it something I should address? In other words, should I try to get her to be more engaged with others her age? She has basically has no friends at this point.”

Children with ASD level 1, or High-Functioning Autism, are often socially isolated, but are not unaware of the presence of others, even though their approaches may be inappropriate or peculiar (e.g., they may start a long, one-sided conversation about a favorite subject).

Even though ASD children are often self-described "loners," they often express a great interest in making friends. These wishes are invariably thwarted by their awkward approaches and unintentional insensitivity to other's feelings, intentions, and non-literal and implied communications (e.g., signs of boredom, haste to leave, excessive need for privacy, etc.).



These children are often keen (sometimes painfully so) to relate to others, but lack the skills to successfully engage them. Chronically frustrated by their repeated failures to engage others and make friends, some of these kids simply give up and stop trying to be social, preferring to play by themselves.

Regarding the emotional aspects of social transactions, children on the autism spectrum may react inappropriately to – or fail to accurately interpret – the context of a social interaction, often conveying a sense of insensitivity, formality, or disregard to the emotional expressions of others.

Even though they may be able to describe correctly – in a cognitive and formalistic way – people’s emotions, expected intentions and social conventions, they are unable to act on this knowledge in an intuitive and spontaneous way. As a result, they often lose the tempo of the social interaction.

Poor intuition and a lack of natural, spontaneous responses during interactions are accompanied by marked reliance on formalistic rules of behavior and rigid social conventions. This combination is largely responsible for the impression of social naiveté and behavioral rigidity in AS and HFA children.


If your daughter doesn’t know how to successfully engage in social interactions, then this is definitely something to be concerned about. And the sooner you address the matter – the better.  "Social skills training" is the best approach here, which is a general term for instruction conducted in (behavioral) areas that promotes more productive and positive interaction with others.

It is imperative that parents teach social skills to their “special needs” child if he or she is, at present, unable to make or keep friendships. A social skills training program might include (among other things):
  • acceptable ways to resolve conflict with others
  • accepting the consequences of one's behavior
  • approaching others in social acceptable ways
  • appropriate classroom behavior 
  • asking for permission rather than acting
  • attending to task
  • better ways to handle frustration/anger 
  • counting to 10 before reacting
  • distracting oneself to a pleasurable task
  • following directions
  • learning an internal dialog to cool oneself down and reflect upon the best course of action
  • listening
  • making and keeping friends
  • manners and positive interaction with others 
  • seeking attention properly
  • seeking the assistance of the teacher or conflict resolution team
  • sharing toys/materials
  • using words instead of physical contact
  • work habits/academic survival skills




As with the teaching of any subject, begin social skills training with the prerequisite skills (e.g., how to start a conversation), and then move on to the more advanced ones (e.g., how to make eye contact and look interested in what the other person is saying).




Comments: 
 
•    Anonymous said… I found that my Aspergers son, never made friends at school until a while after his diagnosis, the bullies were dealt with, the teachers made aware and even more so until he found interests outside of school like scouts and cadets, he has even found things he is really good at too since he started these clubs.
•    Anonymous said… How do you get your HFA child to agree to social situations with their peers. We homeschool and I talked to my 11 yr old last night about getting involved in some group activities next school year and she became very upset. She started crying, begging me not to force her to do that and had a meltdown from the anxiety of even thinking about it. I know she needs this, her counselor knows she needs it but she does not agree. If I try to force it she will have a panic attack.
*  For years my son, now 13, had no friends. He had acquaintances but never had play dates or asked to visit people. We put him in hockey and as he saw himself excel and others looking up to him he began to feel like he belonged and was good enough. It took several years for him to feel comfortable enough to interact socially with his teammates and then one day he came home from school amd asked if he could meet some of his 'friends' at the mall. Well, I almost fell off my chair! I was elated! He continues to amaze and surprise me as this little group of 5 or 6 boys have been attending sleepovers, hanging out at the mall, and playing pick-up sports together for about a year now. I am not sure exactly what sparked this change but I feel rhat it definitely has something to do with organized activities. It doesn't have to be a sport.  

Please post your comment below…
By
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

ASD: Difficulty Identifying and Interpreting Emotional Signals in Others

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental condition that affects an individual's ability to communicate, interact w...