Mild Autism? | Imamother

amother

Tuberose

Sun, Nov 12 2023, 4:31 pm

"High functioning" isn't used either now really.

I have 2 children with ASD. One was diagnosed early because he had a significant language delay (he went through EI and they recommended a full evaluation), but he has caught up almost completely in that respect -- but yes he still has pragmatic language issues. (He also stutters, but this is separate). If you talked to him for a few minutes you would realize he is autistic, I think, at least if you had any experience with autism. But he is also very smart--genius level IQ per the neuropsych.

DD wasn't diagnosed till her teens. As a child she was a little bit different--definitely shy and a little anxious--but not so much that it was really obvious. In middle school she started having some issues, both academic and social. If you talked to her it would take you a long time to realize she is autistic. A little quirky, perhaps, but it would not be so easily obvious.

And DS does get speech therapy for pragmatics, it is completely within their wheelhouse. Many SLPs also teach social skills.

I did find that the full neuropsych was very useful as it gave us details besides a diagnosis. With DS especially it helped us come up with an IEP for hik.

amother

NeonPurple

Sun, Nov 12 2023, 4:39 pm

amother Tuberose wrote:

Correct. The dx is now simply ASD, to include a wider range of functioning. It is also very common for girls to be dx later on as it is usually more subtle in girls (and less common). I’m glad you found the psych-Ed evaluations informative. I didn’t find my children’s to be that helpful, but obviously has more to do with the one administrating the evaluation….

amother

Amaryllis

Sun, Nov 12 2023, 5:32 pm

amother Magnolia wrote:

I know the details about the red throat and strep were meant as a side point here, but I can't help wondering if pandas is a factor behind his behavior. It can present very, very similarly to hfasd. And it seems like you took him for a well visit, which means he wasn't having typical sick symptoms even while he had an active infection going on, which is very common in kids with pandas. The description of how he was resisting the throat swab and trying to run away and nèeding to be held down sounds exactly how my kids with pandas are at the Dr when they have strep and are flaring, I'm always sure the staff think they have special needs because of how they act then... when they aren't sick they have some behavioral issues, but not at the level where anyone would suspect an actual diagnosis. Does this resonate at all, OP?

Not op, but this is resonating with me. How do you know if a kid has pandas? Is there a test for this?

amother

Leaf

Sun, Nov 12 2023, 10:06 pm

amother Magnolia wrote:

However, if he was autistic before he had the strep then it wouldn't mean anything. Only if his behavioral issues are new. My son was carrying strep for awhile, actually just before he was diagnosed. But he had red flags since he was a toddler. They were just missed.

amother

Leaf

Sun, Nov 12 2023, 10:10 pm

amother Tuberose wrote:

True. HF isn't the official term now. IIRC, it's just ASD and you shouldn't specify the amount of functioning because it's insulting. (IIRC this was decided by the ASD community.) Did I get that right? But in practice, tons of parents and diagnosticians (at least here in Israel) use it.

It makes sense to me because a kid who has HFA is going to need different things than a kid that's lower functioning.

amother

Leaf

Sun, Nov 12 2023, 10:30 pm

My son as a toddler had no delays. In fact, his fine motor skills were advanced. He spoke pretty young too. No speech delay.

He does have sensory processing disorder and that has always been. And he has trouble writing.

But he was "typical" enough that they only called me over to meet with them Chanukah time in first grade.

The previous years, they kept telling me that he would mature when I expressed concern. (Teachers, developmental doctor) But once he was in first, his behavior was so apparently not age appropriate and they also were trying to deal with his high intelligence. That was extremely hard because he refused to write, so they couldn't distract him.

Certain social cues, he didn't understand. No concept of being scared of the principal or pushing the limits of the teacher. Could care less what other people thought of him. He used to go around school barefoot. They couldn't get him to wear his shoes. He'd get into physical fights if anyone (including the teacher) did something he didn't think was just.

He got obsessed with chess and could cream people much older than him. Most of what he talked about is chess. He could play chess for hours too so my husband set him up on the computer (a mistake IMO). That's a combo of his two favorite things. Screens and chess.

Since starting ADHD meds, he's been doing much better. It didn't cure his autism obviously, but it really does calm him down, which makes a huge difference.

He's still very shy. Usually prefers to be at home. Doesn't enjoy meeting new people even if they are "fun". Doesn't enjoy having his routine disturbed. Regardless of what I made for supper and how much he loved it and ate, he will still ask me for cereal and milk after because that's his routine. Things like that.

Overall, most people are pretty shocked by my son's diagnosis. You wouldn't know it by looking at him or talking to him. He can make eye contact if he wants, but he really doesn't enjoy it. If he gets very excited, his speech sounds a little different, but it's subtle. The way he stims looks normal enough. He'll play with his tzitzis or his hair.

I hope this was helpful.

amother

NeonPurple

Mon, Nov 13 2023, 1:59 am

amother Leaf wrote:

Fine motor skills were advanced; had trouble handwriting is a complete contradiction. Unless the trouble with handwriting has nothing to do with find motor skills and the dxs you got for him is completely wrong. Convergence insufficiency would result in weak handwriting and could look like ADHD but could be a vision issue, or dyslexia. Saying he had advanced fine motor skills but trouble with handwriting indicates he doesn’t actually have ASD but a combination of other challenges. In typical ASD handwriting challenges are a result of fine motor and/or motor planning challenges. The science in dx ASD is far from foolproof, the dxs is done by symptoms only. The problem is there are a variety of disorders that mimic the exact symptoms as ASD but may not be stemming from the same neurological challenges as ASD is. If it’s not truly ASD the child may need different therapy modalities. It’s very difficult and challenging to definitively conclude one’s challenges are actually ASD as opposed to other disorders. In your DS case if you don’t feel it is truly ASD then follow your internal gut and research other challenges that result in similar symptoms and see if that may fit your DS better.

amother

Leaf

Mon, Nov 13 2023, 3:46 am

amother NeonPurple wrote:

No. He had very good fine motor skills as a toddler. He was doing Clics when he was 20 months. Those aren't easy. He was doing perlier beads at age 3 too.

But then when it came to writing, he had a lot of trouble. Some of it was ADHD and concentration. He just started working with an OT and he's also getting help in school and BH seeing a lot of progress.

He has a lot of other signs of ASD. I don't doubt the diagnosis.

He has special interests that are all-encompassing.
Sensory processing disorder
Poor eye contact
Poor social skills
Lack of interest making friends
(Severe) ADHD
Very black and white and literal
Also does repetitive things like twirl his hair or his tzitzis

amother

Sand

Mon, Nov 13 2023, 3:48 pm

Thanks for this thread. All this is so helpful for me. I was concerned about my son since age 2. Everyone told me I'm being a worried mom etc. But now at age 5 I see that all the things I was worried about are now much clearer and easier to see as problematic/atypical. Finally now I spoke to a psychologist who instantly inquired whether my son was ever evaluated for ASD. I was thinking- wow, just what I always suspected... a mother's intuition.
My son is very well behaved if everything is PERFECT. But every few hours you are bound to have a major meltdown. ONce he gets upset nothing can recenter him. He has no boundaries of what he will do when angry. Very small things get him angry. Any change in schedule, anyone touching anything that he feels is his, etc. Also, he can not get along with his siblings. Yes he plays together beautifully as long as they all follow exactly what he says. THe minute they veer from his strict instructions he becomes a monster. No explaining, learning, discussng has helped.
He is very sensory. He notices every sound and smell. He is extremely picky with texture and taste of food.
He is also very black and white. he can be so so good, but to an extreme. But if he sees someone else not acting like him he CAN NOT tolerate it.
He can be so yummy but the famiy lives in fear of his next outburst.

Also forgot to mention he didn't speak at all till intense speech therapy at age 3. Now he speaks beautifully bh.

DOes anyone relate to any of this?

Also, please can anyone tell me who does such evals? Are they covered by insurance? ANyone to recommend? We live in Brooklyn

Thanks in advance!

amother

Leaf

Mon, Nov 13 2023, 4:42 pm

amother Sand wrote:

Yes. Very similar to my son. Especially the outbursts. I'm in Israel so I can't recommend anyone but go with your intuition. The therapies are so helpful.