TTMA Aspergers/HFA

[mack]

So, we had my DD's follow up from her Brain MRI and blood work. Everything came back normal. So no brain damage, CP, or evidence of neurodegenerative disorders. YES!

But, the pediatric neuro said she believes she has Aspergers (her word). I have had my suspicions for awhile that she was ASD, so this isn't surprising. And there were some symptoms and delays that are attributed to brain injury or are also common in ASD. So given that we ruled out brain injury or neurodegenerative disorder, this remains the most plausible explanation. 

So here we are. We are hurrying up and waiting for our turn to see the developmental pedi, then we will get the full evaluation, official diagnosis and move towards behavior therapy.

I am just kind of trying to glean any information that I can at this point.

*I know that the DSM-V eliminated AS as a diagnosis, but the WHO still uses that language. I think the pedi used that language because she she appears to be high functioning and has a math fixation. 

[KC thepouchh8r]

I have a little girl with HFA. She's been in preschool for a year now and has made really great progress. She's good with math but more a reading whiz.

What are your specific questions?

[mack]

What I would really like is my dev pedi appt to be right now

[mrsbuttinski]

Feb 27, 2015 14:46:30 GMT -5 mack said:

So, we had my DD's follow up from her Brain MRI and blood work. Everything came back normal. So no brain damage, CP, or evidence of neurodegenerative disorders. YES!


So this is very good news. I'm curious. How old is your DD and what symptoms/behaviors caused you to start with a neurologist?

But, the pediatric neuro said she believes she has Aspergers (her word). I have had my suspicions for awhile that she was ASD, so this isn't surprising. And there were some symptoms and delays that are attributed to brain injury or are also common in ASD. So given that we ruled out brain injury or neurodegenerative disorder, this remains the most plausible explanation. 

What are the bolded? Stimming? Difficulty crossing the midline? 

Usually kids with Aspergers don't have delays in speech or adaptive skills so they aren't always recognized as young as kids with other kinds of ASD presentations. Their delays tend to center around social communication and emotional and social maturity. For kids with Aspergers the delay is about 1/3 chronological age; kids with HFA tend to be a little more socially and emotionally delayed (closer to 1/2).

So here we are. We are hurrying up and waiting for our turn to see the developmental pedi, then we will get the full evaluation, official diagnosis and move towards behavior therapy.

How bad's the wait where you are? One of the moms here got got an appointment 12 months out for her LO; I hope you can be seen sooner. What sort of behaviors are you looking to address? I wonder if it makes sense to find a therapist who sees kids on spectrum and start even before you have a dx. Depending on your child's age, a clinical psychologist can also make and ASD dx. If you're in the U.S. and she 3+ you can ask your local school district for a multifactored eval for all areas of suspected disability- if she's near school age, I do this now. 



I am just kind of trying to glean any information that I can at this point.


What do you want to know? I have a 21 year old college junior son with an Aspergers dx. He also has GAD, ADHD and is a repaired dyslexic. I have been active on Aspergers forums for almost 15 years.

*I know that the DSM-V eliminated AS as a diagnosis, but the WHO still uses that language. I think the pedi used that language because she she appears to be high functioning and has a math fixation. 

My DS uses Aspergers and Autism interchangeably but he does lament the loss of Aspergers in the DSM-5. It's a great shorthand for explaining his particular brand of ASD. His psychologist codes under both 299.00 and 299.80; his psychiatrist still codes under 299.80 (plus 300.02 and 314.01).

[cam]

Glad to hear the R/Os. That is great news.

Even though AS, etc are no longer in the DSM, I personally found it helpful to have a combination of labels from current and old DSMs (even one carried no weight anymore) simply because a lot of books and whatnot are based on the previous labels and ASD is so broad that it helps narrow down what resources might be a bit more applicable than others if that makes sense. I have read several great books that mrsbuttinski, has recommended and would be happy to share that list when I can get to it (not on me right now) if that is the type of thing you are looking for. Also happy to share any experiences that may be similar to what you are facing if applicable. I agree with others to just let us know what type of stuff you are looking for (a jumping off point to understand the basics, information about certain issues, information about therapies, or whatever). How old is your LO?

[KC thepouchh8r]

Feb 27, 2015 16:15:59 GMT -5 mack said:

What I would really like is my dev pedi appt to be right now

The wait does suck. The most important thing is getting services and you can do that without the formal dx though which is good.

[mack]

She is 5.5.

We started with a different neurologist last year. Her pediatrician referred us because she had gross motor delays and toe walking at her 4 yr old check up. She thought because she had had a traumatic birth and hypoxia, that she should be evaluated for possible mild CP. She was also evaluated by the public school and they identified that she also had emotional and social delays.

So the neuro said he sees a lot of kids like this and said she had static encephalopathy. Likely some brain damaged caused by her birth. So we operated on that for a year. He said he didn't think an MRI was necessary because of what it entails and she obviously had brain damage. So unless it degenerated, there was no need.

She also has picked at her forehead to self soothe since infancy, and suffers from insomnia. The old neuro attributed these to her brain injury.

We since moved and got a new neuro and she started Kindergarten in a new place. They evaluated her, confirmed her social and emotional delays, and identified that her problem areas are in visual spatial skills and gross motor planning.

Well, apparently, toe walking is common in kids with ASD because of they like the sensation. As are visual spatial impairments. And insomnia. And the picking could also be a stimming behavior.

[mack]

So, her tests ruled our brain injury. So her neuro said, let's back up. She asked what her gross motor issues were. So I told her that her school had identified her areas of concern to be visual spatial and motor planning. Then she asked me how she does socially. I said she is very friendly but horribly awkward. Like she will talk and talk and not realize that the other kids don't care. She also melts down like a toddler if things aren't going the way she thinks they should. And that she is literal about EVERYTHING. She will argue with adults if she does not agree with how something was phrased. For instance, she had a sleep study last week. The nurse called the things that attached the sensors "stickers." Kenz thinks they are "Stickies" she corrected the nurse. Every. single. time. She is also fixated on numbers and dates. She memorizes every single date she ever did anything. She always must know what time it is. She walks around counting everything. She also does math problems in her head, randomly.

I think the reason that the neuro used the Aspergers diagnosis is because while her verbal skills are excellent, she is socially behind? So it differentiates that from the "classic" definition of Autism.

[mack]

Sorry for the tl;dr I am processing.

[mrsbuttinski]

Feb 27, 2015 18:50:28 GMT -5 mack said:

She is 5.5.

We started with a different neurologist last year. Her pediatrician referred us because she had gross motor delays and toe walking at her 4 yr old check up. She thought because she had had a traumatic birth and hypoxia, that she should be evaluated for possible mild CP. She was also evaluated by the public school and they identified that she also had emotional and social delays.

That makes sense. Toe-walking is a common ASD thing. Most often it's related to sensory processing- toe walking creates a significant joint compression which can be soothing.

So the neuro said he sees a lot of kids like this and said she had static encephalopathy. Likely some brain damaged caused by her birth. So we operated on that for a year. He said he didn't think an MRI was necessary because of what it entails and she obviously had brain damage. So unless it degenerated, there was no need.

Static encephalopathy is sort of a catch all term that doesn't bring much to the party. It's a descriptor applied to a lot of very different conditions.

She also has picked at her forehead to self soothe since infancy, and suffers from insomnia. The old neuro attributed these to her brain injury.

Likely a stim.  Some kids on spectrum need less sleep than other children their age. Many have anxiety issues that interfere with sleep. I posted some pieces on ASD and anxiety a couple days ago.

We since moved and got a new neuro and she started Kindergarten in a new place. They evaluated her, confirmed her social and emotional delays, and identified that her problem areas are in visual spatial skills and gross motor planning.

Did she qualify for any services? Social skills instruction or PT to address the gross motor delays and motor planning? 


I've never hears about visual spatial skill deficits being an ASD thing. Most with Aspergers and HFA have superior spatial skills- it's their superpower. DS kicks ass on spatial. 

Well, apparently, toe walking is common in kids with ASD because of they like the sensation. As are visual spatial impairments. And insomnia. And the picking could also be a stimming behavior.

[cam]

Feb 27, 2015 18:59:14 GMT -5 mack said:

Sorry for the tl;dr I am processing.

Hugs. Don't worry about being tl;dr on this board. More information is useful in us being able to better help each other.

Sorry it took so long to get better answers. I went down that road for my own medical issues.

My LO (3yo with ASD) is also very literal and loves numbers/counting/STEM. While we have had the dx for a bit, we have been dealing with insurance woes to try to get him in with a more focused specialist who will develop a better action plan, so I know how much the waiting sucks.

[mrsbuttinski]

Feb 27, 2015 18:58:50 GMT -5 mack said:

So, her tests ruled our brain injury. So her neuro said, let's back up. She asked what her gross motor issues were. So I told her that her school had identified her areas of concern to be visual spatial and motor planning. Then she asked me how she does socially. I said she is very friendly but horribly awkward. Like she will talk and talk and not realize that the other kids don't care. She also melts down like a toddler if things aren't going the way she thinks they should. And that she is literal about EVERYTHING. She will argue with adults if she does not agree with how something was phrased. For instance, she had a sleep study last week. The nurse called the things that attached the sensors "stickers." Kenz thinks they are "Stickies" she corrected the nurse. Every. single. time. She is also fixated on numbers and dates. She memorizes every single date she ever did anything. She always must know what time it is. She walks around counting everything. She also does math problems in her head, randomly.

I think the reason that the neuro used the Aspergers diagnosis is because while her verbal skills are excellent, she is socially behind? So it differentiates that from the "classic" definition of Autism.

This sounds very ASD. You might want to look at Alan Sohn's "Parenting Your Aspergers Child" and see if it sounds familiar.

[mrsbuttinski]

Feb 27, 2015 20:23:24 GMT -5 cam said:

Feb 27, 2015 18:59:14 GMT -5 mack said:

Sorry for the tl;dr I am processing.

Hugs. Don't worry about being tl;dr on this board. More information is useful in us being able to better help each other.

Sorry it took so long to get better answers. I went down that road for my own medical issues.

My LO (3yo with ASD) is also very literal and loves numbers/counting/STEM. While we have had the dx for a bit, we have been dealing with insurance woes to try to get him in with a more focused specialist who will develop a better action plan, so I know how much the waiting sucks.

There is no TL;DR on this board. 

There more you share, the better. And we will read every word.

[spooko]

Hey mack, I'm glad you're able to pursue a new path with this and hopefully get more answers and services lined up. This is a great board so please don't be afraid to post as much as you need.

[kmc2]

Mack, I just wanted to say good luck with getting this all figured out and I hope it happens sooner than later. I know it sucks when you have to wait to find out specifically what is wrong when you know something is. I'm glad to hear all that other stuff was ruled out though, that's awesome and at least it really narrows it down and might give you at least some peace of mind I hope.

[mack]

Feb 27, 2015 20:25:59 GMT -5 mrsbuttinski said:

Feb 27, 2015 18:58:50 GMT -5 mack said:

So, her tests ruled our brain injury. So her neuro said, let's back up. She asked what her gross motor issues were. So I told her that her school had identified her areas of concern to be visual spatial and motor planning. Then she asked me how she does socially. I said she is very friendly but horribly awkward. Like she will talk and talk and not realize that the other kids don't care. She also melts down like a toddler if things aren't going the way she thinks they should. And that she is literal about EVERYTHING. She will argue with adults if she does not agree with how something was phrased. For instance, she had a sleep study last week. The nurse called the things that attached the sensors "stickers." Kenz thinks they are "Stickies" she corrected the nurse. Every. single. time. She is also fixated on numbers and dates. She memorizes every single date she ever did anything. She always must know what time it is. She walks around counting everything. She also does math problems in her head, randomly.

I think the reason that the neuro used the Aspergers diagnosis is because while her verbal skills are excellent, she is socially behind? So it differentiates that from the "classic" definition of Autism.

This sounds very ASD. You might want to look at Alan Sohn's "Parenting Your Aspergers Child" and see if it sounds familiar.

Yeah, I mean I am pretty confident the diagnosis is accurate.

Oh, and she rocks at thinks like puzzles. Her visual spatial issues come she tries to move and affect gross motor coordination. Like she's clumsy. Or like she can't manuever in crowds. She will just walk straight into people or objects.

[mack]

And yes, she already has services at school. They are working with her on her social interaction and behavior, and she qualified for PT to work on her gross motor. So we are already getting help which is awesome. I think getting her ASD diagnosis is going to be awesome because it will get her more targeted behavioral therapy. And at least her special educators will have a better idea of why she acts like she does. Like she's not just being immature or unreasonable. He brain is not wired the same way.

[KC thepouchh8r]

Feb 28, 2015 7:33:01 GMT -5 mack said:

Feb 27, 2015 20:25:59 GMT -5 mrsbuttinski said:

This sounds very ASD. You might want to look at Alan Sohn's "Parenting Your Aspergers Child" and see if it sounds familiar.

Yeah, I mean I am pretty confident the diagnosis is accurate.

Oh, and she rocks at thinks like puzzles. Her visual spatial issues come she tries to move and affect gross motor coordination. Like she's clumsy. Or like she can't manuever in crowds. She will just walk straight into people or objects.

Usually clumsiness like that is vestibular dysfunction which is not uncommon for a kid on spectrum. You might want to see if some of this explains your child's behaviors.

www.child-behavior-guide.com/vestibular-dysfunction.html

If so sensory activities can make a difference.

[mack]

Feb 28, 2015 8:14:00 GMT -5 KC thepouchh8r said:

Feb 28, 2015 7:33:01 GMT -5 mack said:

Yeah, I mean I am pretty confident the diagnosis is accurate.

Oh, and she rocks at thinks like puzzles. Her visual spatial issues come she tries to move and affect gross motor coordination. Like she's clumsy. Or like she can't manuever in crowds. She will just walk straight into people or objects.

Usually clumsiness like that is vestibular dysfunction which is not uncommon for a kid on spectrum. You might want to see if some of this explains your child's behaviors.

www.child-behavior-guide.com/vestibular-dysfunction.html

If so sensory activities can make a difference.

Omg. She is all of the ones that describe hypersensitivity and she also is all in the category D.

[KC thepouchh8r]

Feb 28, 2015 8:16:58 GMT -5 mack said:

Feb 28, 2015 8:14:00 GMT -5 KC thepouchh8r said:

Usually clumsiness like that is vestibular dysfunction which is not uncommon for a kid on spectrum. You might want to see if some of this explains your child's behaviors.

www.child-behavior-guide.com/vestibular-dysfunction.html

If so sensory activities can make a difference.

Omg. She is all of the ones that describe hypersensitivity and she also is all in the category D.

Same exact thing with my dd except she doesn't w sit and crawled. She's made lots of progress with ot. You may want to ask for an ot consult alongside pt.

[mack]

Feb 28, 2015 8:24:02 GMT -5 KC thepouchh8r said:

Feb 28, 2015 8:16:58 GMT -5 mack said:

Omg. She is all of the ones that describe hypersensitivity and she also is all in the category D.

Same exact thing with my dd except she doesn't w sit and crawled. She's made lots of progress with ot. You may want to ask for an ot consult alongside pt.

Mine crawled at 11 months. So she did but she almost skipped it and she W sat for years. The school said that she did not qualify for OT because none of those areas are affecting her education at this point. However, that might change with an ASD dx or we might do it privately depending on the outcome.

[funchicken]

mack, my almost 7 year old DD has vestibular issues, and we did private OT for 2 years to work on motor planning, bilateral coordination, a fine motor delay, and tactile over sensitivity. It helped a lot. Now she does ballet to help with motor planning and coordination. We found that we couldn't get OT through the school unless there was a handwriting issue.

[mack]

Feb 28, 2015 8:33:50 GMT -5 funchicken said:

mack, my almost 7 year old DD has vestibular issues, and we did private OT for 2 years to work on motor planning, bilateral coordination, a fine motor delay, and tactile over sensitivity. It helped a lot. Now she does ballet to help with motor planning and coordination. We found that we couldn't get OT through the school unless there was a handwriting issue.

Is she also ASD?

[funchicken]

Feb 28, 2015 8:34:26 GMT -5 mack said:

Feb 28, 2015 8:33:50 GMT -5 funchicken said:

mack, my almost 7 year old DD has vestibular issues, and we did private OT for 2 years to work on motor planning, bilateral coordination, a fine motor delay, and tactile over sensitivity. It helped a lot. Now she does ballet to help with motor planning and coordination. We found that we couldn't get OT through the school unless there was a handwriting issue.

Is she also ASD?

No, she has ADHD and SPD. When we first sought a diagnosis, my DH and I were sure she would be diagnosed with ASD, but we've been told by many professionals that it's ADHD. There's a lot of symptom overlap between ADHD, anxiety, and ASD. I do think there might be NLD in our future, but it's hard to say.

[KC thepouchh8r]

Feb 28, 2015 8:26:37 GMT -5 mack said:

Feb 28, 2015 8:24:02 GMT -5 KC thepouchh8r said:

Same exact thing with my dd except she doesn't w sit and crawled. She's made lots of progress with ot. You may want to ask for an ot consult alongside pt.

Mine crawled at 11 months. So she did but she almost skipped it and she W sat for years. The school said that she did not qualify for OT because none of those areas are affecting her education at this point. However, that might change with an ASD dx or we might do it privately depending on the outcome.

Dd never qualified for individual ot either even with a dx (or anything besides speech) but I've gotten opinions from therapists at her school who made recommendations to her teacher. Also you may want to look at private ot.

[mrsbuttinski]

Feb 27, 2015 18:58:50 GMT -5 mack said:

So, her tests ruled our brain injury. So her neuro said, let's back up.


Good move.

Sometimes when a child with a more subtle ASD presentation is seen by someone who doesn't specialize in ASD you risk slipping into the tale of the !0 Blind Men and the Elephant. The SLP might see poor pragmatic language, the neuro might see hypotonia and motor planning issues, the OT might see sensory issues, a behavioral psychologist might see impulsivity and anxiety, and so on.

I was beat last night and didn't feel up to commenting on each point. So, I'm going to offer some point by point ideas based on kids I know with Aspergers and HFA. 

She asked what her gross motor issues were. So I told her that her school had identified her areas of concern to be visual spatial and motor planning.

She probably has hypotonia. Not to a huge degree, but I would have suspected the neuro noted this if a R/O of CP was done. Kids with AS often have low tone and sometimes lax joints.This can make them a bit unstable, which is exacerbated by their iffy motor planning. Hypontina can be all over, or limited to a couple place like her core or hands.  Hypotonia means her muscles are more lax at rest so that greater effort and exertion is required to initiate and maintain movement. If she does have hypotonia, she will have less stamina than peers and may tire relatively easily which can also lead to being clumsy. 

DS has mild hypotonia and had lax joints. As a little kid he tired easily and could get into yoga poses I'll never see with regular practice. His motor planning was iffy. As a little he ran sort of like Tony Curtis in Some Like It Hot. He did fatigue more quickly and loudly than other boys his age- not a sporty kid although he's an awesome shot in archery or with shotguns. DS met most of his gross motor skills milestone on time, but had some issues with midline activities- learning to come down stairs one foot/step, pedaling a bike, even tying shoes.

Most kids with ASD have some degree of sensory processing issues. The issues with crowds could be related to that as well. She might be overwhelmed by the noise, the chaos or having her space invaded which could make her divert her attention from moving around safely to worrying about getting bumped so she bumps them.

Then she asked me how she does socially. I said she is very friendly but horribly awkward. Like she will talk and talk and not realize that the other kids don't care.

DS to a "T". In the olden days when a clinicians would make a distinction between AS and HFA, desire for social interaction was one of the differences. Kids with AS tend to be socially odd, but oddly social whereas kids with HFA are more aloof. I have a friend whose son has always carried an HFA dx- bright kid with perfect scores on 2 of 3 SAT subsets- but he truly doesn't care about interacting with people. DS is very interested in people, he doesn't always initiate interaction but typically joins in. He's curious about what others are up to.


His friends used to call him Captain Random because of his monologues about arcane subjects. His scoutmaster used to say DS memorized the internet. With maturity and Social Thinking therapy, DS has gotten a lot better at this. Especially among peers and at work/school. DH and I are still sometimes treated to monologuing. He's curious, another AS difference, and knows a lot of stuff. Last week we were in Princeton because he had to research and write a paper on a Julian artifact. The museum has a small gallery of European and American art that I wanted to see while I was there. He followed behind until we came to a painting of a man pierced by a single arrow to which DS said "that's got to hurt". <insert eye roll> I asked him if he knew who the painting was and he said "St. Sebastian, usually he has more arrows than just the one.'FTR, the kid is one who opted out of art and art history to take music in high school and college, so I was kind of surprised he was familiar with Sebastian's iconic representation.

Michelle Garcia Winner's Social Thinking programs are ideal for teaching social thinking, rather than just rules and scripts. Life changing stuff for DS.


She also melts down like a toddler if things aren't going the way she thinks they should.

This is not quite universal among kids with AS.

It usually comes from a perfect storm of emotional immaturity and rigid black & white thinking.

She melts down like a toddler because she likely has the emotional toolbox of a toddler. AS brings a delay in social and emotional maturity that's about 1/3 her chronological age even in kids who are quite intelligent. She acts 3, because she is inside. It can seem counterintuitive because her interests (and perhaps he speech) can seem mature beyond her years which fools you into forgetting that AS is a developmental delay. DS is 21, but in Asperger Years he's more like about 17 socially and emotionally. He's recently gotten his first job and his drivers license, something his friends did 5 years ago.

The other thing is that she probably has a high degree of rigidity and inflexibility in her thoughts. If she's thought about something, and if she has the usual comorbid anxiety, she's ruminated on it, she's going to lose her shit if things don't happen IRL like they did in her head. There are tools to address this. DS got a lot more flexible in his thinking after doing CBT.


And that she is literal about EVERYTHING. She will argue with adults if she does not agree with how something was phrased. For instance, she had a sleep study last week. The nurse called the things that attached the sensors "stickers." Kenz thinks they are "Stickies" she corrected the nurse. Every. single. time.

Yeah, that's some lack of flexible thinking. This also suggests that she has not intuited the social constructed hierarchy that puts adults on a higher plane than children. She may not even realize she's a child herself and that her peers are other four year olds. Does she tend to gravitate to adults during unstructured times- like choosing to talk to an indulgent aunt during a family party when the cousins are playing? Or chat up the recess monitor instead of joining games?


This kind of thinking can be socially dangerous; sometimes they act as the rule police in school which turns them into social pariahs. Some teachers find this amusing in preschool, but come 1st or 2nd grade, it rubs certain teachers the wrong way because it seems disrespectful. This is one you need to work on, she needs to be able to understand she's a child and doesn't bear all the responsibilities of being an adult. 


She is also fixated on numbers and dates. She memorizes every single date she ever did anything. She always must know what time it is. She walks around counting everything. She also does math problems in her head, randomly.

Does this feel like a special interest to you or is it more of a compulsion? SIs and compulsive behaviors are often anxiety driven. Addressing them can help her become less anxious and able to fit in better with her peers. While it's tempting to leave this alone because it's an "academic" skill, it could still be interfering with her growth in other areas. Being able to self identify obsessions and compulsions and deal with them is critical to becoming independent. 

She seems like a bright little girl which is good. The other piece is that there are some other glitches that may reveal over time that will impact her academic performance. Kids with Aspergers have incredible memories, but they tend to be weaker around abstract reasoning, executive function and central coherence and applications. Sometimes, they really shine in the primary grades as the strongest readers and best of the math class. But around 4th grade, when learning to read become reading to learn and math facts give way to applications, they stumble. This can be a self esteem crisis for a student whose used to being the best and finds themselves passed by kids they thought were stupid. 

I think the reason that the neuro used the Aspergers diagnosis is because while her verbal skills are excellent, she is socially behind? So it differentiates that from the "classic" definition of Autism.

There are a couple things that separate AS from Autism. In the DSM-IV. Age appropriate language and adaptive skills as well as a curiosity about the world around them. Often speech is advanced in terms of vocabulary which earns these kids their "little Professor" reputation, but there may be glitches in pragmatics (sarcasm, hyperbole, idioms, etc) and even word reversals (me/you, ask/tell). These kids do all the stuff their peers can do- dress, toilet, chores, etc. One thing I've noticed anecdotally is that parents of kids with AS have to babyproof their homes more robustly and universally than those with kids who have an HFA dx. Kids with HFA might get stuck on a piece of electronics, but a kid with AS will have inventoried every drawer, cabinet and cubby in your home.

In addition to the Sohn book, Making Sense of Autism Spectrum Disorders and The OASIS Guide to Aspergers Syndrome should be required reading. Coplan's "Teddy" is about 85% DS- read it and see if any of it seems familiar to you. 



www.amazon.com/Asperger-Syndrome-Inspiration-Intervention-Adulthood-ebook/dp/B00J1ISJGO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1425134264&sr=8-2&keywords=the+oasis+guide



www.amazon.com/Parenting-Your-Asperger-Child-Individualized/dp/0399530703/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1425134296&sr=8-1&keywords=alan+sohn



www.amazon.com/Making-Sense-Autistic-Spectrum-Disorders/dp/0553806815/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1425134362&sr=8-1&keywords=james+coplan

[mack]

Well duh. She can read and write. And is intellectually gifted. Wtf would she need OT for?!

[funchicken]

Feb 28, 2015 9:47:14 GMT -5 mack said:

Well duh. She can read and write. And is intellectually gifted. Wtf would she need OT for?!

It's so frustrating. You might be right that an ASD diagnosis could help get her services. I know people who have argued that their child's vestibular issues put them at greater risk of injury on the playground. It's all about accessing the curriculum once you're dealing with the school system.

[mack]

Feb 28, 2015 9:53:48 GMT -5 funchicken said:

Feb 28, 2015 9:47:14 GMT -5 mack said:

Well duh. She can read and write. And is intellectually gifted. Wtf would she need OT for?!

It's so frustrating. You might be right that an ASD diagnosis could help get her services. I know people who have argued that their child's vestibular issues put them at greater risk of injury on the playground. It's all about accessing the curriculum once you're dealing with the school system.

We actually won this battle. They PT realized that her inability to use climbers and navigate through halls and around large objects was a danger and needed intervention. But they deem a half hour every otter week as sufficient

[mack]

And like they use these standardized evals as to what qualifies for services. She meets 59/195 areas but the areas she does do well in make her passable in terms of what the school looks at as necessary to education