What do you think?

Lemme see if I can help. From what I read, it sounds like your son has Asperger's. I showed a lot of the same signs at his age, especially when it comes to the alphabet, the correct identification of dinosaurs, and other matters regarding education and intelligence. I also was the same way when it came to being around other people. If I didn't know them, I'd pretty much keep my distance from them and keep to myself. To this day, I still do to an extent, but I'm working on it.

My advice to you would be this : for starters, I'd try to get him diagnosed to be certain it's Asperger's. The sooner you do that, the better chance your child will have. You should be able get all kinds of support and aid. With me, I have SSI and food stamps because I have the illness, but also because I still live with my parents for the time being. I also see a psychologist and a psychiatrist that help me and suggest ways to better cope with whatever problems I have or run into. The second thing I'd suggest is to put him in public schools. The more he's around other people, the more he'll get used to them. It's the same way with me. When I started college, I kept to myself a lot, barely talked to anyone, and so on. Just now I'm feeling more comfortable being aroud others and I'm having some pretty lengthy conversations with others.

The absolute last thing you wanna do is isolate him from others. That'll make his comfort level around others decline and get worse. It's what happened to me in grade school, middle school, and high school, and now I'm having to play catch-up on my socialization skills.

I hope this helps you. If not, let me know. I know how much of a struggle Asperger's and Autism can be and I hope your son doesn't run into the same struggles as I have.

He sounds a bit like my son who is seven. I am not sure if I have shared his story here but in a very quick nutshell, we had him tested when he was only three and his score was borderline AS. They said to wait a few years because three was really young and with AS, we'd see more 'symptoms' come out in the next few years. A year later his autism therapist said it was time to retest because he knew he'd be clearly 'in the spectrum'. Right then though, I had a pretty awful miscarriage scare and put it off. Well, by the time I had my daughter, we had our annual IEP and everybody agreed, a dx would do nothing to help him. We already were getting him therapy and planning on putting him in a very small, very structured school, so we skipped the dx. Three years later, I still feel good about that decision.

My son does not function well in groups. He is like your son. I know people think he is rude because when they talk to him, he shuts off and looks like a deer in headlights.

My son also has Sensory Integration Disorder (or Dysfunction). He has issues with his tactile and vestibular senses. He cannot go to the dentists without wearing goggles because the lights hurt his eyes. He doesn't like to get his hands dirty. Certain sounds or singing will cause him to cover his ears. This kid can just be standing in a room and suddenly trip over nothing at all (does this ALL the time). He tends to be hyposensitive and needs motion...i.e. loves rollercoasters and will spin on merry-go-round or spin type rides at the park for as long as we will let him, he needs to constantly feel touch and loves when we give him hard bear hugs.

Let me tell you, I started homeschooling him this year and what a blessing it has been. He is thriving. I have to hold him back because he doesn't need to be in college at the age of twelve. One reason it helps is that for him to learn, he needs to be moving. He has a harder time focusing while he is still (part of the SID thing). I try to control it a bit but I work on incorporating movement into our studies (i.e. jumping up to spell a word).

Socialization is part of the reason we decided to homeschool. School stressed him out and he was developing tics and stims. He now socializes on his terms and what a difference it is making. He's practically lost the tics but they do return if he gets stressed. He is a part of a homeschool group, on a soccer team, does swimming, still does P.E. and field trips with his old class, has playdates with friends and now we are homeschooling another child who has some special needs as well so he gets that time with her. Many parents who have children with AS homeschool and it really is a blessing for these kids.

Anyhow, if any of this sounds familiar or you have any questions, you know you can always message me.

I know, I have days like that too. Seems like you take one step forward most days but it is those days when you take a few steps back that get to you.

You might want to read the Out of Sync Child. I don't know if it'll apply but could be rather than hyposensitive, your son is hypersensitive. Often children with AS have SID as well. You'll know when you read the book. With my son, there are entire sections that are 'just about him'.

As he gets older, you'll both learn ways to cope and often not forcing them into unwanted social situations seems to help, at least it does with my son. It is true, with church, homeschool group. soccer, etc..., my son wants to be there and they don't put the 'spotlight' on him so he can stay on the fringes. That isn't always so easy in school so homeschool works better.

Anyhow, (((hugs))). I understand and will be praying for you.

I have a 3 year old daughter Rebecca who was diagnosed 2 months ago with a mild form of Autism and my son Matthew age 5 was diagnosed about a year and a half ago with Autism he is much more severe than my daughter is .

Its hard to put them on the special diet when they don't eat alot of the the things that is recommended.

I wish I could homeschool my children but they expecially my daughter do better in a more structured stable environment with other kids around.

I have alot of health problems and am not orginized or mature enough to teach them at home on a regular basis, but I do get involved in my childrens schools when I can and do back up the teachers with what they are teaching them as long as it dosen't go against Gods word, and we haven't had a problem with that yet.

My children do not talk and have the developement of an 18 month too 2 yr old in most things.

They expecially my daughter have a lot of sensory problems as well and have extreemly sensitive hearing.

My daughter is on a higher level close to Aspergers syndrome but her symptoms still rank within the Autism Spectrem.

Well need to go for now

Love in Christ
Holly Hobbie
Laura

My son has autism but your son sounds more like Aspergers...I'm a huge believer of early intervention because while a child is young, they can be taught how to cope in so many different situations. My son has been in school since he was 3 (this is his second year) and he was in a program for the school year when he was 2. I also have a home-based program for him at home for weekday afternoons as he's only in school in the morning. We have an aide that comes in M-F for 3 hours and works with him one on one. I get help setting up the afternoon program from a speech therapist and a behavior therapist.

He used to lie down for everything and you would never find him sitting in a circle at school for story but by putting him in that situation repeatedly, he now sits on his stool at circle time and he participates in games and plays with his friends. I've put my son in these situations because Kindergarten starts when he is 5 and then he'll be six in grade 1. If he doesn't learn these skills, then I just don't know how he will cope with school. My son still fists his pencils so he uses mini markers by crayola, only broken crayons, and short pencils. He also practices writing on a chalk board with small pieces of chalk. The reason he uses short writing utensils, is because he can't fist them, the shortness forces his to hold them in his fingers. We also use Light Bright and Lego to help him get used to using his finger tips.

We use social stories that are taylored to a situation so that we can prepare him for events that might scare him or make him uncomfortable. Birthday parties used to be a terrifying ordeal for the whole family because James just couldn't hadle them. Through social stories, he was able to understand what was expected of him and others during the event. He loves birthday parties now.

My advice is to get his diagnosed as soon as possible because it can take a long time to get through all the paper work and red tape. I'm not sure what kind of things are availble in the US but I'm sure others in this forum or your health unit should be able to help you find early intervention programs & services & information in your area. I'm praying for you, please message me if you need to talk or if you need any more information. (((HUGS)))