Asperger's Symptoms and Diagnosis - My son

Hi everyone,

My son is 4 and his pre-school teacher asked to speak to me as part of their regular parent one-to-ones. The teacher said that my son had some difficulties making friends and that she felt we should have him assessed for AS as her son had been diagnosed at age 8 and she saw some similarities in behavior.

I was a little bit taken aback by this as I knew that my son was not a great mixer in pre-school but he seems fine with other friends and relations (similar age) outside of school. I was not really aware of AS but have since done some investigation into the symptoms that would indicate this syndrome but I am still a bit confused.

From my reading, the most obvious signs are: 1) Impairment In Social Functioning and 2) Repetitive Patterns Of Behavior

I would agree with aspects of point 1 as he has only a few school friends, but on the other aspects of social function like non-verbal communication cues he seems fine (e.g. he would very much get sarcasm). He would also not demonstrate any speech or linguistic irregularities that I can observe. For the repetitive behavior, he would like watching the same cartoon or program over again but would not have any physical repetitive patterns (hand movements etc). I have observed on a few occasions him covering his ears when a large truck would pass the car with the window down but this is the only circumstance that I have observed this. He would be very bright and have a broad interest in learning (he loves Science, loves languages, loves reading).

I am very aware that being able to recognize asperger's syndrome symptoms can be an important factor in early diagnosis, treatment and behavior management and so I am very keen to take any advise from this forum.

Our local Doctor has said that he does not feel that a referral to a psychologist is warranted but I just wanted to get any opinions from others who may have been through this before. All advise gratefully accepted.

[Jessica L Thomason Sassi, Ph.D., BCBA-D]

You are correct – the diagnostic criteria for Asperger’s include deficits in social interaction skills and narrow interests or repetitive patterns of behavior (language delays are not part of the criteria for Asperger’s – if language delays are present with the other two criteria, then Autism and other spectrum disorders are considered).   It’s very hard to tell from a written description whether a child meets diagnostic criteria, which is why in-person evaluation is crucial, but your description doesn’t suggest that he has the types of restricted interests and social delays you expect in a child with Asperger’s.  I would be inclined to trust your doctor’s opinion.