Home
Log in / Sign Up
    Private Messages   Advanced Search   Rules   New User Guide   FAQ   Advertise   Contact Us  
Forum -> Parenting our children -> Preschoolers
Einstein Syndrome???



Post new topic   Reply to topic View latest: 24h 48h 72h

mimivan




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Aug 08 2008, 8:37 am
I have a son who still couldn't speak at 3 1/2. He was very aggressive and hitting. I sent him to a special gan where he was diagnosed with PDD (related to autism). We took him to a psychologist who told us he does not think he has PDD but signed the paper anyway, because he could not function in a regular gan wihtout medication. The psychologist gave us two choices: put him in a regular cheder with meds and speech therapy, or put him in this therapeutic gan but risk having him labelled. We decided the full time therapy was better than meds and kept in mind that the PDD part was probably not accurate. We didnt think a label on s kid under 5 would hurt his future educational or shidduch prospects. The psychologist told us that the speech delay might because he is highly intelligent and to take him out of this special school as soon as he improves, because being with kids with serious problems might not be good for him socially.

He is now b'h like any other kid, but can read Ivrit better than I do ba'h (he's five) embarrassed and has a perfect memory, is musically inclined etc..We are thinking of sending him to a regular school, but are scared that he has been "spoiled" by this special gan which has a small teacher student ratio and has worked miracles with him b'h.They believe he has PDD and have said he needs another year. (no financial incentive on their part. There is a waiting list a mile long) We are also worried he might become aggressive again if he is in a large class setting, and if doesn't work out, we will lose our place in the special school and can't return there. he is happy there, but doesn't know what a normal school is like.

But my family doctor said she thinks he absolutely doesn't have PDD, since PDD kids do not improve dramatically..she agrees with the psychologist. It is only the gan that insists he is PDD. (Maybe they are afraid to admit they made a mistake?)

I know many of you will be thinking "we are not doctors, psychologists". Don't ask us." I am NOT looking for a diagnosis (we are meeting with another psychologist) I just want to know if anyone else had had this experience or has seen this. I would especially like to hear if someone has had the experience of having their kid misdiagnosed..

I don't have regrets...as I said the therapy at the special school has worked miracles. But we are thinking now is the time for him to move on...

knowing someone is in the same boat would help, because I feel we need support.

I would have posted this is special needs, but it is a closed forum. Here is an article.

Quote:
I heard about a condition, known as "The Einstein Syndrome" this year, when I picked up the book entitled, "The Einstein Syndrome: Bright Children Who Talk Late". It was written by the compelling and talented, Thomas Sowell, from the Hoover Institution at Stanford. He is also the author of "Late-Talking Children".
Sowell's interest in the topic first started when his son did not reach the speech and language milestones expected for his age. He mentioned this challenge in one of his syndicated columns; and, the next thing he knew, parents from all over the place were contacting him to share similar experiences and a speech-language pathologist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Professor Stephen M. Camarata, wanted to do a study of these children.
The Einstein Syndrome describes children (usually boys) who are exceptionally bright and exceptionally slow to develop the ability to speak. In addition to being intelligent, and unlikely to have a back-and-forth conversation before age four, these children often have some of the following commonalities:
• Parents who are highly educated
• Strong musical gifts
• Many close relatives who are musicians
• An amazing ability to solve puzzles
• Lagging social development, thus leading to a misdiagnosis of autism
• Delayed toilet training abilities
The area of speech and language development is rather complex. There are many theories as to why some children are late talkers; but how can we generalize when not all late talkers are bright and they so often come from different environments? How can we just assume that all late talkers, with bright parents (especially engineers), and associated poor social skills, have an autistic spectrum disorder? (this describes those who have difficulty in the non-verbal parts of communication – including their desire and ability to use language in a social context)
If your child is a late talker my advice is to read more about the Einstein Syndrome in Sowell's superb and thought-provoking book, and to get into contact with an experienced speech therapist or psychologist. These clinicians are definitely worth their weight in gold. You could wait for someone from the government-run medical system to look at your child but I don’t recommend it. Too often the waiting lists are inappropriately long.
I believe that it’s better to get to the bottom of things sooner rather than later, especially given the importance of early childhood development!
Access www.healthykids.ca for a terrific new resource in helping families raise healthy children - HealthyKids with Dr. Nieman will optimize your child
Back to top

PIP




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Aug 08 2008, 10:17 am
I think the fact that he made tremendous improvement is a very big factor to consider. If your doctor and psychologist both agree that it's not PDD I might try to put him in a regular school with speech therapy. Very smart children tend to look dumber than the other kids, because they are of a different level so to speak. Some kids start talking later, but then they don't stop talking once they start.
I know I'm not really in the same situation, but my daughter was 2 and not talking, everyone was yelling at me to get EI. I decided to wait it out a little longer, and let me tell you, once she starting talking, I can't even explain the things that came out of her mouth! she has such a high vocabulary people can't believe how much she talks now. She also happens to be very very smart. She also won't talk in school. Not even look at the other kids or the morahs. But she comes home and knows every little thing they learnt down to the last detail.

It's a tough decision, but I'd say if your doctor is backing you up, maybe it's better for him. I think if you get the speech therapy in school, it'll keep him up to par with his class. He'll also feel special with the attention he's getting.

I know there's someone on here A.D.A.P.T she'd probably know about these things. Try PMing her.
Back to top

shoy18




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Aug 08 2008, 10:59 am
if he infact is thriving maybe find a school that is normal but still small, not all normal schools are huge maybe find a place that has just one class and 2-3 morahs.
Back to top

mimivan




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 10 2008, 9:57 pm
The school we need is pretty large...
We are going to get opinions from two psychologists...one is the one we went to a year and a half ago...
We'll see what they say...dh said the gan's opinion can't be relied upon because they assumed he had PDD when he came in...so all of his behaviors (forgetting things, behavioral issues) have been interpreted in light of the assumption he has this..


Basically, we need an outside opinion...I am still wondering if anyone has been through this or knows anyone who has been through this? Which is why I'm bumping it.
Back to top

GAMZu




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 10 2008, 10:05 pm
I have no experience in this area, but I'm just thinking- what is the rush to switch? Will it make a huge difference (in the negative) to him if he stays another year? You said he doesn't know what a normal school is like-- but he's still small! He's still in preschool. Why does he need to know what normal school is like?
I'm sure he'll adjust perfectly once you switch him, but is there a clear benefit of switching now?
Back to top

mimivan




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 10 2008, 10:12 pm
He's turning 5 in Elul
Gamzu, I was thinking this too, but my dh reminded me that the original psychologist we saw (who said he didn't think he was PDD but that he needed the therapy the gan provided) said that we should take him out of the special school as soon as he showed signs of being normal because being around only kids with developmental disabilities when he is normal may have a negative effect on his social development.

My dh's rav (who is a mechanech) said if there is any doubt whether a child needs a normal or a special school, it is better to send the child to a normal school, where he will be already learning at his level, and to get additional therapy, whatever kind is needed, than to "play it safe" and put him in a special school.

The only reason we were thinking about keeping him in the other school is because we are concerned about his behavior. HIs intellectual abilities ba'h are at least on par with his age.

However, the gan insists he is PDD, but they made that assumption when he came in...so arghh! It is not easy...
Back to top

anon




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 10 2008, 11:51 pm
mimivan wrote:
He's turning 5 in Elul
Gamzu, I was thinking this too, but my dh reminded me that the original psychologist we saw (who said he didn't think he was PDD but that he needed the therapy the gan provided) said that we should take him out of the special school as soon as he showed signs of being normal because being around only kids with developmental disabilities when he is normal may have a negative effect on his social development.

My dh's rav (who is a mechanech) said if there is any doubt whether a child needs a normal or a special school, it is better to send the child to a normal school, where he will be already learning at his level, and to get additional therapy, whatever kind is needed, than to "play it safe" and put him in a special school.



This reminds me of a situation I came across. I work in a preschool and I spoke to the mother of one my clients. She told me that her son had been misdiagnosed with autism when he was a toddler. She kept him at home for a while, and worked with him on her own. Then she placed him in a special preschool, and he started to regress. First she freaked out. Then she realized that it was probably because he was around other special needs children. She then placed him in an integrated program (which has children with mild-moderate delays together with typically develping children) and he began flourishing.

I thought that was interesting.
Back to top

chavamom




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Aug 11 2008, 12:48 am
OT but, reading about this I'm left wondering about both my brother (IQ of 170) and my dh. My brother spoke maybe 7 word until he was 3 and in addition to the IQ is a gifted musician (he recently married a classical pianist - I think their kids don't have a chance, lol!). Dh was a musical prodigy, grandfather was a conductor of a symphony (that whole side of the family are either artists are musicians), has freaky ability with any type of puzzle/word game. I wonder how old he was when he learned to speak.
Back to top

Seraph




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Aug 11 2008, 4:06 am
PrettyInPink wrote:
I think the fact that he made tremendous improvement is a very big factor to consider. If your doctor and psychologist both agree that it's not PDD I might try to put him in a regular school with speech therapy. Very smart children tend to look dumber than the other kids, because they are of a different level so to speak. Some kids start talking later, but then they don't stop talking once they start.
I know I'm not really in the same situation, but my daughter was 2 and not talking, everyone was yelling at me to get EI. I decided to wait it out a little longer, and let me tell you, once she starting talking, I can't even explain the things that came out of her mouth! she has such a high vocabulary people can't believe how much she talks now. She also happens to be very very smart. She also won't talk in school. Not even look at the other kids or the morahs. But she comes home and knows every little thing they learnt down to the last detail.

It's a tough decision, but I'd say if your doctor is backing you up, maybe it's better for him. I think if you get the speech therapy in school, it'll keep him up to par with his class. He'll also feel special with the attention he's getting.

I know there's someone on here A.D.A.P.T she'd probably know about these things. Try PMing her.
does ur daughter have selective mutism?
Back to top

PIP




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Aug 11 2008, 11:37 am
Yup.
Back to top
Page 1 of 1 Recent Topics




Post new topic   Reply to topic    Forum -> Parenting our children -> Preschoolers

Related Topics Replies Last Post
Down Syndrome
by amother
6 Fri, Mar 08 2024, 10:30 am View last post
Irlen syndrome
by amother
0 Thu, Feb 29 2024, 8:14 pm View last post
I have a child with Down syndrome AMA
by amother
48 Wed, Feb 14 2024, 4:01 am View last post
Has anyone adopted an infant with Down Syndrome
by amother
41 Wed, Jan 31 2024, 1:22 am View last post
S/O Babies w/ Downs Syndrome
by amother
121 Wed, Jan 31 2024, 12:32 am View last post