is it possible to have aspergers and be social?

[isthiscp]

I would like to know what anyones opinion on this is. Our 8 year old has been seeing a psych since November and we still dont have a diagnosis. He has a lot of the common traits of aspergers ie hand flapping,lining up,obsessed with only one thing at a time ie pokemon,obsessed with time(how long will it take to get there, when we get there how long will we stay,how long will it take to get home etc. He has 6 watches!) He likes to be on his own at home, didnt speak until after 2 years of age and then could read almost instantly. The psych visited the school and said that he was quite social and played with other boys. The thing he did pick up on was that my son cannot stay still not even for a second, he squirms on chairs and is perpetual motion. He reckons it could be adhd. I felt that he was overlooking the other issues with my son, or is it possible that he could have BOTH adhd and aspergers? Any thoughts???????????/

[MJIthewriter]

MJTHEWRITERDAD, has a daughter. Two to be exact. No son here. lol. :P

And btw, I am the autistic one. I think you're right with the most part. It's interesting because sometimes I'm more bothered than others. For instance I can tolerate flurescent lights. I use them for my plants as well as my room because they save energy and the light spectrum is important for plant growth. What I can't stand is when they are about to burn out.  

For quick periods (say a bathroom) I can get by without upset, but if it is in a classroom, then by golly those lights better be changed ASAP! My 12th grade Brit Lit classroom had that problem one day. I went down to the office and told them "Hey I have autism and I can't focus with this flickering light above me. Can you get that changed?" and sure enough they were right on the ball with it. By the next day they fixed the light.

Yes I have been thought to have ADD or ADHD but it got ruled out.

As another note, I do squirm a lot but it isn't always out of stress. I love squirming in my chair. Dad can tell you how many chairs I've went through. I find office chairs that can rock/tilt/spin/roll a godsend.

You should try spinning in one of them someday. It's very therapeutic. I miss having a swinset in our back yard, like at my parent's house. Swings are another great way to rock back and forth without creating a lot of attention (as long as you're a child.) For an adult it seems to be different. :(

PS, if you can unstick your caps lock, I'd appreciate it. I have a hard time reading all uppercase.

[BUTTRFLIZES]

MAYBE YOUR CHILD IS SQUIRMING BECAUSE HE CANNOT HANDLE THE NOISES AND THE LIGHTS AND COLORS.  THEY ARE SENSITIVE TO ALL THESE THINGS.  MY SON HAS ASPERGERS.  NOT NECCESSARILY IS IT ADD.
I HAVE HAD MENY PROBLEMS WITH THE SCHOOL SYSTEM AND THEIR TESTS.  IT SEEMS THEY ARE ALWAYS TRYING TO DISPROVE SOMEONE WITH A PHD.

[hldeskin]

I had a friend in High School who had both aspergers and ADHD. He was medicated for both.  He was very outgoing and sociable.  Many times he would "over do it"  when trying to make new friends.  But he also had days when would sort of hide within himself and be very shy.  So I don't know if thats what your son has, but it is possible.  

[mjthewriterdad]

In answer to your first questioin:  I know many persons with AS and yes, all of them are a delight to talk with!   Their narrow knowlege of any particular subject is very in-depth.  I learn a lot from every conversation I have.   They may tend to give you everything they know on a subject at one time.   They can "monologue" on this subject and not gauge reactions or  a persons level of interest on the subject or if you have questions, they may have ansewred to question many times over and keep expounding on the topic.  

The second question:  maybe, I don't know.  Just a side-bar here:  ADD is a mis-nomer.  ADD stands for Attention Deficit Disorder.  Believe me, there is no "Deficit" in their attention.  I find children with ADD  pay attention to EVERYTHING and ANYTHING that goes on!  It may be hard to focus attention on one thing when their attention goes a bazillion different directions.   They are the first to notice any changes and all details.  

You describe him as hyperactive, which does not necesarily mean ADD or ADHD.