Asperger Son Is Picking up other Steming and Behaviors

[Masten]

I have 5 year old child who was diagnosed with Asperger at the age of 2 1/2. My child is in a classroom of 12:1 ratio, Each child has an aide including my son. My son has a high IQ and is high function and talks in sentences compare to his peers. The makeup of his class 4 Downs Syndrome, 1 CP and 1 Austism. All of these children speak one syllable words, they do not talk much. I have noticed that since my son has been in this class he has picked up some unusal gestures, (Blabbing) stemming, (walking in circles and circling his fingers) behaviors and sounds that he did not do before. They placed him in this class to have work on his socials skills and fine motors skills according to his IEP, but the kids  do not really talk much.  His conversation are more with adults.

I notice when he comes home he is more riled, aggressive than relaxed. This has become a major obstacle as home.I sense that he might be not stimulated enough and that his social skills are being hindered, I concern that his I.Q. could be hindered instead of it reaching his potential. My pediatrican and neurologist feel he is wrongly placed,they suggest a school that specializes in Austim (which we have found) or placing him in a regular kindergarden with an 1:1 aide.

Do you have any advice or suggestions.  

Thank you

[CCF-Neuro-M.D.-CS]

Without seeing your son, I can not pass judgement on his or her condition. As you most likely already know, Asperger's is on the high functionsing side of the autistic disorders. The movements and behaviors you have described may be a manefistation of his underlying disorder. However, if you and your doctors feel that his current school environment is not benefiting him then trying a new class may be reasonable. Any attempt to improve his education and socialization is worth trying. Good luck.

[KarenLL]

I have a son with autism (he is now 12 years old) who was in a segregated classroom for preschool when he turned 3.  Like you, we were seeing more and more peculiar behaviors as time went on, and worried that he was picking these behaviors up because of the kids he was placed with.  It makes sense, when you realize that these kids are given attention for their negative behaviors (reinforcement, even though the teachers/aides don't mean it to work that way) and your son may be seeing this as well.  I know my son learned to speak only by engaging in echolalia (copying others' speech) at first, but there came a time when he needed a different placement to advance his speech skills.  A regular preschool placement with an aide worked wonderfully for him.  The law says that children need to be in the least restrictive environment possible, and it sounds like a regular kindergarten with a 1:1 aide might be a better placement for your child, if the aide and kindergarten teachers (together with a speech therapist and occupational therapist) can develop an individualized program to help him progress in speech and fine motor development.  They can use the other children as role models for appropriate speech, and facilitate interactions with the other children, rather than just have him communicate with adults.  All kindergartners need to work on fine motor skills, and an OT can help modify activities in that area to help your son overcome difficulties and practice his skills.  As long as there are no safety concerns for your son or his peers, I would think an inclusive classroom with appropriate supports and services (aide, OT, speech, other modifications as necessary) would be worth a try before resorting to a specialized school.  Good luck, and try to remember to take care of yourself, too!

[Masten]

I agree with you. The speech, psychologist and the doctor are in agreement are also in agreement,but the problem is the teacher and the officals have no extensive experience with Asperger nor is she using a standard program like TEEACH or ABA.  They do not offer any kind of support for home.  I am learning it all by books and with another Asperger mom.  I know if he stay in this class setting it will not promote achievement.  We will be starting a support group in our area to educate these officials.  Thanks for your advice.

[nutsformutts]

Hi, I am a parent of a 13 year old son with AS. My child's IQ is also above average. I agree that your son is currently not in a proper placement for his dx. Assuming that your child is not too disruptive in class, I would recommend mainstreaming him in the public schools until 3rd or 4th grade. At that point, consider moving him into a local Christian school. The benefit to this is the small class sizes and the involvement of the teachers. They will most likely begin to notice (as opposed to the public school teachers) that they are constantly looking for more challenging work for him due to his intelligence, and they will also notice that your child is having problems in specific academic areas such as math computation. At this point, you may want to have your child tested for NVLD which most AS children have. The other and very important thing about the Christian schools is that they do not tollerate other kids teasing each other (this is often overlooked by public schools no matter how many times they say they have a Zero tollerance policy.) The cost of the Christian schools is small compared to a school for Autism. If you do choose a school for Autism, make sure that you are sending your child to one that will have the majority, if not all, of the students with similar IQ's to your son. Whatever you do, keep your child out of the public school system after 4th grade - it will destroy him. Your child will not be able to cope with the abuse from the other kids. I give my suggestions as a parent who has already been there and done that. Good luck.

[julig]

check out http://www.gtworld.org

you'll find a number of resources relating to parenting a gifted child; note that although many highly gifted individuals may have Asperger, it is also often misdiagnosed in highly gifted children.

You might want to look at the work of Stephanie Tolan (http://www.stephanietolan.com/is_it_a_cheetah.htm)