autism and asphergers

[joshmom2000]

my 8 yr old son has been in school since the age of 3 for his speech. his articulation was behind. he is in 2nd grade now and still goes to speech theripy 3 times a week. he is xtremely hyper, cant stay focused on work, extremely figity, cant sit still. easily distracted by others. cries easily, calls brothes names, always meddlin with things, picks up anything out of yard and wants to keep it, says its his treasure. loves to spin round in circles all the time. will just start spinnin at home or stores or anywhere. i think he has a mind of a 4 or 5 yr old. but he is an a and b student, xcept he gets d or f in conduct each week in conduct. he also has a fascination with trains still at his age, he will b 9 in october. he has started takn things from people, stores, or anywhere that is not his. ive tried different forms of punishment like spankn, puttin in corner, takn things away, timeout, but nothn seems to b effective, i dont know what to do anymore. could u please suggest things to me and tell me what u think i should do as far as a doctor goes, what you think symptoms are. are they autism or asphergers u think? teachers at school think he is add/adhd, but i think its much more than that. could u please help, thank you!


This discussion is related to austism.

[Sally44]

If it is just his articulation that he has difficulties, but his speech developed appropriately up to age 3, then he could be Aspergers (if that is what it is).  But the only way to get a diagnosis is through observations of behaviour.  
Look at the DSM IV criteria.
You say he talks with an accent.  Is that from where he lived?  We are in the UK and my son has an American accent because he picked it up off the TV.  He also uses delayed echolalia in his speech.  And he has Semantic Pragmatic Speech Disorder.  So his speech development is typically autistic.
However my son is very affectionate.  It is not true that those on the autistic spectrum are unaffectionate.  Some don't know how to show affection, others do.  My son hugs me and tells me he loves me.  
Look at the diagnostic criteria, and if you still have concerns I would ask for a referal.

[joshmom2000]

thank you so much for responding to my concern. could u be more specific bout high funtioning autism. speech therapists has always said his articulation is off, never suggested autism n any form, but i wonder. like i said bfore he is a brillant child, almost compulsive, if handwriting isnt right he erases and does over and says its unexceptable. he is also an extremely loving child, huggs on everyone all the time. and tells them he loves them. he does certain things that is unexp;anable at times like the other night he took a shower and got a razor and shaved some of the top of his hair and told me his hair just fell out. is their anything else i need to be concerned about as far as his behavior goes? my aunt claims he could be seekin out attention, but like i told her he gets more than enough. we are a conbined family, i hav 3 kids ages 8,9,13. my husband has 4 kids ages 5,10,12,15. for which 5 live with us all the time except when my kids dad gets them.  he gets more attention than any of the others. guess its because he is so affectionate and a little different than the others. when he talks it sounds like he is from the north due to his speech. has a great vocabulary, just some of his sounds r off, but when u correct him, he can pronounce the words right and he catches his self at times doing it. could you please help me to understand this more like his behavior, could it be autism, add/adhd, or more severe? thank you

[Sally44]

Another thing I wanted to mention.  If he has had help with articulation, is that because your son finds it hard to make the correct letter sounds due to muscle control difficulties - or is it down to auditory processing disorder?  There is a big difference.
If it is auditory processing disorder then he is hearing some sounds differently and may well have auditory processing delays as well.  This will have a big impact in the class because he will not hear correctly what the teacher says and will probably concentrate on the first sentence and miss the next 5 sentences.  I would ask the SALT about that.  Also google Central Auditory Processing Disorder to see what it is.
Also google Sensory Integration Disorder to see if your son has any sensory issues.
Also google Semantic Pragmatic Speech Disorder to see if that sounds relevant.

[Sally44]

If your son has speech delays or a speech disorder then he cannot have Aspergers, because the diagnostic criteria says that for AS they need to have typical language development.  So you would be looking at High Functioning Autism.
It is possible to have more than one disorder or condition.  You need to go to your GP and ask for a multi disciplinary team assessment by professionals who have experience of diagnosing autistic spectrum disorders.
You can also look at the diagnostic criteria yourself.  It is DSM IV for autism.  I think the code no is 299.
Spinning or flapping or typical behaviours for children on the spectrum.  Also having a specific interest that is to the point of obsession is typical.  Trains seem to be particularly common.  
In your post you have mentioned something in each of the areas required to get a diagnosis.  Ie. speech - he has problems and has been seeing a speech therapist for years, social interaction - he has problems interacting with peers, and stereotyped repetitive behaviours - he spins.