My daughter is diagnosed with adhd and odd(opposistional defiant disorder). She is very frustrated at times and disruptive. I bought the book the explosive child and just finished reading it. She has been seen by numerous doctors including a psycologist.
The report stated that he could not diagnose her with aspergers becuase there was discrepancy between her behavior in the office and her behavior at home. However, they had her totally engaged in tests the whole time she was there. We went to three sessions and each lasted one hour.
She is non-verbal when she is upset and that is why I am wondering if she has aspergers. This happens several times a day. She will also physically hurt me and she has left scars on my arms where she has dug. She makes noises and gets very agitated and frustrated if I cannot figure out what she is trying to tell me. She has severe temper tantrums and feels bad afterwards. She has severe sensory issues, for example she hates clothes against her skin, brushing teeth is a no no, hates getting her hair brushed. She is also having frustration problems at school And has a hard time socially.
How old is she? Is she on meds? Have you read any books on Asperger's?We are in the same boat. Currently ds is dx'd with ADHD and bipolar. However, we started seeing a new pschyistriast last week and he thought that it might not be bipolar but asperger's. We go to get tested this Friday and will now the results as soon as the test is complete. My ds also has severe temper tantraums and severe sensory issues. I will let you know how it goes.When you have an unemotional common place conversation with her does she look you in the eyes, at least part of the time?
Does she have facial expressions -- happiness, sadness, surprise, fear, etc?
In order to be dxed with asperger's certain criteria must be met ,as listed in the DSMIV. To get our child dxed we saw a ped. neuro psych. There were questionaires for me and his teachers to fill out. Then he met with my child on 4 separate occasions for testing.
There is a really neat online aspie quiz you can take to get a better idea. Just google in Aspie quiz. It may help.
Eye contact - She can sometimes look into my eyes but she has to be very content. Doesn't happen very often. Any other time she hates it. She gets very upset and turns away or just refuses. Can't keep contact for any more than one or two seconds. Again this is when she is upset, uncomfortable, or otherwise not happy. She also refuses hugs and doesnt like to be touched when upset. At other times she is a very loving child.She is seven. She was on Ritalin but after a week she developed facial tics and we had to take her off it. We went to the doc today and I broke down it is so bad here. He is sending her to another child psycologist and he is calling her paediatrician. He said he thinks she has Aspergers. I told him she has to have OT, anger managment, and impulse control therapy. He was very understanding and he is going to call me Thursday. It has been a long hard battle but if I can get financial help I can hire someone to do therapy with her. Wish me luck!Describe, in detail, her eye contact.We have two leading specialists fighting over my son's diagnosis!!
ADHD / ASD and the other ADHD Anxiety Disorder , low sensory threshold and he's thinking post traumatic stress disorder.
When I look at the criteria for aspergers and high fuctioning autism it is my son whene he was 6 and under. So many of the characteristics overlap and when the specialists don't agree it is difficult.
The facial expressions etc are interesting. My son doesn't make eye contact and I thought didn't have the lack of expression which is a characteritic of aspergers, but a ASD specialist pychologist who talked to him made mention of this very fact!!
My son was diagnosed at 6/7. We took him off milk and he woke up and began to communicate. We'd had tantrum after tantrum - he was so frustrated. We couldn't leave the house. It was amazing how much difference this made to his communication ability. Then we went of medication and he can't be off it now. He just wouldn't cope.
How about contacting an ASD support group to find someone who specialises in ASD. We are lucky to have Tony Attwood in our state - he's a world authority on aspergers. I took my son to his clinic (we are in Australia). I have found people working in this field to be aware of all the variations to the disorder. Good luck
Poor thing. So she is really struggling with the academics and feeling bad about herself? Sometimes I think I'm lucky that my ADHD child is a boy b/c girls seems so much more aware in general of what's going on an how they are perceived.
Does she have an IEP?
She has alot of facial expressions but when she is upset which is 80% of the time all you see if anger and then dissapoinment in herself. She is actually having some difficulty in school also. Not making friends and not wanting to do writing assignments. She also gets very easily agitated at school.Asperger's children have a lot of trouble with transitions. This is why Asperger's children require structure to their day. This may be why she is OK in school, because she knows the routine and always knows what is coming next. Then she may get home and it probably isn't so structured, so she freaks. They always need advance notice of what is going to be happening next. They need time to get used to the idea. They are rather rigid and inflexible in their thinking. So this is why I disagree with your doctor. Aspies do well in a structured environment, and have issues during transitions. For instance, the transition between school and home may be very difficult for her.