Could it be Aspergers?

[Annaclair]

Hi.. My son is about to turn seven here soon and has had development and behavior problems since 16 months of age.. I was wondering if he could have Aspergers or PDD.... No one has yet gotten him all figured out.. He has been through three evaluations and has seen two Neurologist, plus hes been to mental health and they dropped him cause of his development.. So far his diagnoses are speech delay  and sound speech disorder which by the way runs strong on his fathers side, OCD Disruptive Behavior Disorder NOS, he has sensory processing problems transitioning problems and possible ADD, oh and he has tics.. Actually also he has been recently diagnosed with Celiac disease and Hshimotos thyroid disease and I hear autoimmune diseases are linked to Autism..  It all started 16 months with head banging but the head banging did stop at four years of age and has been in speech therapy since the age of two.. He has always been a loaner, he would never play with any kids unless they have the same interests as him and he prefers older kids if he does play.. He acts older than his age cause of the way he talks and he is very blunt and direct when he does talk, he never has been able to carry on a conversation but when he talks it's all one sided.. He doesn't know when hes being rude when he is and he lacks empathy, he shows no emotion when someone is crying or is upset.. He has always been clumsy and  has a hard time learning to tie his shoes or ride a bike.. He use to not give eye contact till the age of four but now that he does he doesn't keep it, he will give eye contact but not for very long and can not stand it when someone is staring at him.. He is very intelligent, they said he is gifted with art cause of his creativity and how well he draws and paints.. He is also really good in math but has problems with the problem solving part of it.. His hand writing use to be really good till this year and he is struggling in reading and understanding what he reads. He is really smart with computers and real good at video games.. He does get stuck on things and objects but when hes bored cause he has mastered something he moves on and gets stuck on something else.. The neurologist that he last saw and his school says he is in his own world.. He invades space a lot and always interrupts when people are talking or when I'm on the phone.. He acts very much like a two to three year old when hes upset cause of his tantrums.. The sadest part for me with him is his trouble in making friends and he does not realize when kids are being mean to him and that really scares me..  I'm just tired of going to evaluation to evaluation and getting no where.. I feel if they don't get him all figured out soon the more hes going to struggle in school and later in life.. I have always felt that my son is high functioning and have been told that he is by pediatricians and mental health but then I take him to an evaluation and they don't agree cause all Aspergers don't have speech delays and they said that they never share things but I think it's possible that he is and that his speech is due set to all the ear infections hes had and the fact that it does run on his fathers side.. He does share things that he loves but not always, actually there have been so many times he never shared anything with us we would have to ask him and I still do a lot.. He really likes to keep to himself a lot but when he does want to play or interact it's hard cause kids are so mean to him.. He invades their space and is very blunt and acts differently and kids don't know how to react to him.. They just say hes weird or call him mean names but still he will try to play with them even after the fact they are being so mean.. It's very concerning cause he does not get it and has always had a hard time reading others emotions or body language.. He don't get that they see it as rude, he thinks what he is doing is right and they are the odd balls.. When anyone talks to him, you do have to be direct, you can't lecture or explain for a long period of time.. I have always had to be blunt just like he is but when it comes to explaining feelings, he don't get it..  Can you please tell me what you think? Do you think it sounds like Aspergers or PDD.. I would very much appreciate your thoughts about my son.. Thank you for taking the time in reading this long message..


This discussion is related to Does my son have Asperger's Syndrome?.

[Sandman2]

Wow, great response by Nikita!  
My only other thought would be to try a pediatric psychiatrist as they probably have more experience dealing with Autism.  

[Nikita786]

Yes, sounds a lot like this. The signs that could differentiate Asperger from PDD or autism is that he is very smart, speaks good, but his weak point is fixation on a theme - does he colect any specific things? I found only this: "he would never play with any kids unless they have the same interests as him and he prefers older kids if he does play".
"He does get stuck on things and objects but when hes bored cause he has mastered something he moves on and gets stuck on something else" - this is not real fixation, any person could have this, for ex. me and you - look how many actors funs outside.

Does he like any specific books (I mean TOO much)? Does he range his toys or objects ina perfect order and has tantrums when somebody replaced them? And, sure, he has difficulty with social contacts, but this is specific to all autism-like disorders.

All the rest things could come from Sensory problems  - check with SPD Foundation site of different forms and therapies (you already mentioned he has sensory processing problems):
"- head banging
- speech therapy (could be for his speach delay, which could be a result of azuditive discimination or postural disorders or dyspraxia)since the age of two..
- He has always been clumsy and  has a hard time learning to tie his shoes or ride a bike..
- He use to not give eye contact till the age of four but now that he does he doesn't keep it, he will give eye contact but not for very long and can not stand it when someone is staring at him..
- he is struggling in reading (not dyslexia? he does not invert letters order?) and understanding what he reads.
- He acts very much like a two to three year old when hes upset cause of his tantrums.. "

"they don't agree cause all Aspergers don't have speech delays and they said that they never share things "
Absolutely not true! I personelly knew several which started to speak at 4!!!

"but I think it's possible that he is and that his speech is due set to all the ear infections hes had and the fact that it does run on his fathers side.. "
or sensory discriminatino disorder which he passed because of his high IQ.

"He invades their space and is very blunt and acts differently and kids don't know how to react to him."
This is the result of Dyspraxia, very common for all Autism-like disorders

"has always had a hard time reading others emotions or body language."
Has poor own body image (needs motor exercises) and poor visual discrimination (very might form, but anyway)

"I have always had to be blunt just like he is but when it comes to explaining feelings, he don't get it."
There is a therapy called Social Stories.

So, it is definitely 1 from what you have mentioned. You can do your own check.
http://www.dsm5.org/ProposedRevisions/Pages/InfancyChildhoodAdolescence.aspx
It's newx and not valid till 2012, but Asperger would go to category "PDD - autism"

You might find that to be considered as having this disorder you should present signs of
"Marked deficits in nonverbal and verbal communication used for social interaction".
They do not say which deficits, by the way - lack of reciprocal resonse in that case could be a sign.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperger_syndrome
"It differs from other autism spectrum disorders by its relative preservation of linguistic and cognitive development. Although not required for diagnosis, physical clumsiness and atypical use of language are frequently reported"
"Most individuals improve over time, but difficulties with communication, social adjustment and independent living continue into adulthood"

See yourself what is SA for now:
http://www.autreat.com/dsm4-aspergers.html
As I understood, your child present 3 items from 1 (when only 2 would be required already to confirm diagnostics)
But the only 1 thing why they refused you SA -
"(IV) There is no clinically significant general delay in language (E.G. single words used by age 2 years, communicative phrases used by age 3 years)"
And the criteria meets PDD-autism as well. So, read carefully and check all signs!