Asperger? Hyperactive?
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EN:
Hi En
Hi pingsped
Would you be able to share the difference between AS and ASD? I thought both are short form for Asperger :oops:
I found this website which helps me to understand my child better. I hope parents facing the same predicament will find this useful.
http://www.yourlittleprofessor.com/diagnosing.html
Unfortunately, I'm also no expert in autism. I graduated from NUS in late 1990s & was trained at a pte ctr. I took up a MA in Communication Studies from Macquarie University, Aus, in 2002 (?) but did not complete the course as I had to accompany my husband who was based overseas then.
My area of study was in language and communication profiles of children with different disabilities. The AS diagnosis was only formalised in 1994, I think.
So most professionals or therapists who graduated before 2005 may be taught or trained differently as guidelines have yet to be established.
There is no compulsory edn (CE) in Spore.
high-functioning autism vs asperger syndrome
- I will usu advise parents not to dwell on it as it is more productive to work on social skills deficit.
- as a therapist, I shld know more as it does help in planing IEP & in honing one's clinical skills.
- however, some kids are hard to categorise so a definitive diagnosis may not be possible. eg diagnosing a child from a chinese-speaking home or low-income family. he will not have classic AS symptoms as his home environment may not encourage/stimulate cognitive & literacy development
I read Saturday's report on adults with ASD. I find that AS label is used loosely. In the movie, Rain Man, Dustin Hoffman, portrayed a person with ASD and savant abilities. The person on whom his character is loosely based, probably has AS. However, AS behv is not evident in the movie.
(some people use PDD or ASD as an umbrella term)
AS or not, self-regulation is the key to normalisation.
Treatment protocol for children is somewhat similar - work on improving function so that one becomes \"high-functioning\" and able to self-regulate. Vigilance is required as ASD is a life-long condition. Regression to the extent of mental breakdown in adulthood is possible. It's preferable to be KS all the way as an adult with AS may find it difficult to cope with spouse and children. -
Hi pingsped
I re-read again what you have written in the past and takes me awhile to digest. Thanks for sharing.
To other parents with questions on asperger, I find the wiki having the most comprehensive explanation & 90% of what has been written can be observed in ds with the exception of motor skill. Here's the link.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperger_syndrome
I have extracted the therapies from wiki that are open for a child diagnose with aspergers. Parents and family members can play an active role at home helping the child to integrate with society.
\"Therapies
The ideal treatment for AS coordinates therapies that address core symptoms of the disorder, including poor communication skills and obsessive or repetitive routines. While most professionals agree that the earlier the intervention, the better, there is no single best treatment package.[7] AS treatment resembles that of other high-functioning ASDs, except that it takes into account the linguistic capabilities, verbal strengths, and nonverbal vulnerabilities of individuals with AS.[1] A typical program generally includes:[7]
the training of social skills for more effective interpersonal interactions,[71]
cognitive behavioral therapy to improve stress management relating to anxiety or explosive emotions,[72] and to cut back on obsessive interests and repetitive routines,
medication, for coexisting conditions such as major depressive disorder and anxiety disorder,[73]
occupational or physical therapy to assist with poor sensory integration and motor coordination,
social communication intervention, which is specialized speech therapy to help with the pragmatics of the give and take of normal conversation,[74]
the training and support of parents, particularly in behavioral techniques to use in the home.
Of the many studies on behavior-based early intervention programs, most are case studies of up to five participants, and typically examine a few problem behaviors such as self-injury, aggression, noncompliance, stereotypies, or spontaneous language; unintended side effects are largely ignored.[75] Despite the popularity of social skills training, its effectiveness is not firmly established.[76] A randomized controlled study of a model for training parents in problem behaviors in their children with AS showed that parents attending a one-day workshop or six individual lessons reported fewer behavioral problems, while parents receiving the individual lessons reported less intense behavioral problems in their AS children.[77] Vocational training is important to teach job interview etiquette and workplace behavior to older children and adults with AS, and organization software and personal data assistants to improve the work and life management of people with AS are useful.[1]\" -
Hi En
No worries.
Let me see if I can recall some protocols offhand cos currently, my ctr only takes in children with ASD aged below 4.5 yo and AS aged below 7 yo. It's been a long while.
In my practice, children with ASD and AS undergo different social skills training as the latter grp is able to process lg better. Eg Only some children with HFA can access the following curriculum.
http://www.linguisystems.com/toc_samples/1174.pdf
There are some pre-requisites before a child with AS can access at least part of \"higher order\" social skills.
I don't usu use social stories as I find them simplistic/impractical for explaining social contexts of children aged above 7 yo.
I tend not to use ABA for kids with AS and mid-functioning ASD. It may be used to regulate behv, esp anxiety. Structured teaching generally creates rigidity and limitations which create problems (IMHO) in dealing with ambiguous social contexts in later childhood yrs.
I'm not fully aware of potential issues in adolescence and adulthood as I only see children up to 12 years old & I do not specialise in ASD. I think it will be good if you can speak to adult aspies to prepare your child fully.
Of course, one has to exercise common sense when teaching social skills.
Politically-correct advice can be impractical at times. -
Hi pingsped
Thanks for the samples. That will give me ideas on what to work on. I have been avoiding socialing with other families that have children of the same age of mine mainly because of my daughter (suspected PDD-NOS).
My son shows a classic behaviour of asperger which I have actually share in this forum for the past 1 year. Of course, I did not know the meaning of asperger then. Happily share jokes in \"Kids says the darnest thing\" thread and the locked gifted thread. Verbally he has no issues, just the need of him to share his knowledge on and on without noticing that his listener is not interested. He has no qualms in approaching adults and gives two cents worth of his thoughts. Often I have to go to school to apologize to teachers/school office staff to explain. He is still doing it now which I am trying to correct it.
I read in the wiki that aspergers are likely to be hereditary or combination of both parents genes that carry similar traits (unlike ASD). So for whatever shortcoming that both dh and myself have and I think ds will likely to grow like us if not corrected, are those that I will be tackling.
Just want to share what happen at home yesterday. We'll be going for a trip this Saturday. So, the whole family was busy planning (dh, dd, ds) except me as I'm preoccupied with work. DH was sitting opposite me and I saw he started rocking to and fro. He might have done it before but I might not have notice it. I told him to stop and asked him why was he rocking himself like that? He told me he did it to soothe himself as he is feeling too much stress in planning for the trip. DS happily told me he did it too in school because he was bored. The teacher noticed it and asked him to stop. There are more examples but suffice to say that , I will be exercising common sense when helping ds in his social skills.
Would not want him to scare off his potential girlfriend blabbing one-sided stories about his topic of interest for hours. I've had it and even I as a mother cannot take it.
There's the anxiety, anger and his sensitives that I have to handle too. I know how to tackle anxiety and anger. But at lost on how to get ds to control his emotion (the crying part). -
Hi En mummy
I'm new in KS forum. So I'm still not sure how things work here. I don't usu join forums to chit chat. I'm looking for some info abt how to raise a kid in SG cos I only have experience with special needs kids. LOL didn't want to make any mistake w my 14 mth toddler.
How old is your girl? If she's still a preschooler & with careful planning, it's possible to reach most 5-6 yr-old milestones before she turns 8. She may just make it to regular primary school.
Once a child is verbal, I usu focus mainly on social skills & classroom behv so that he is able to socialise & learn in a regular classroom setting. Otherwise, most kids with ASD just remain isolated.
Try to find families who are supportive and understanding. It's very impt to for your girl to have playmates of same developmental age.
I bring my baby to work once per week. She has a special needs playmate aged 3+ yo last week. He has mild ASD and is non-verbal. My girl is always butting into his affairs. haha... They enjoy dancing together now. DH doesn't know & prob won't like the idea.
I feel that siblings of children with ASD are not adversely affected if parents manage well. I would certainly like my girl to appreciate all of God's creations.
That ref is useful for children aged p3 and above.
Teaching social skills to a child who is not genuinely interested in people - I feel that one will hit the wall somewhere. It's like teaching chinese to a chinese-hater; nothing much goes in & he only uses that knowledge to pass exams & then zilch.
I alway start with having fun or meaningful interactions. I intro the soft skills (app social skills) when the child finds himself in need of some help.EN:
Haha, don't worry. My DH has lots of weird traits too. Sometimes I feel he has a learning disability. Then again, I think I have some ADD traits.Hi pingsped
DH was sitting opposite me and I saw he started rocking to and fro. He might have done it before but I might not have notice it. I told him to stop and asked him why was he rocking himself like that? There are more examples but suffice to say that , I will be exercising common sense when helping ds in his social skills.
Sometimes I worry how my baby will turn out :idea:EN:
Your boy's verbal gaffes sound interesting. (sorry, I was born with a unusu sense of humour). When I think abt parents with AS (like some of my clients), I can only hold my tongue as they usu think there's nothing wrong with them. But it is difficult to achieve \"normalisation\" for them.Would not want him to scare off his potential girlfriend blabbing one-sided stories about his topic of interest for hours. I've had it and even I as a mother cannot take it.
There's the anxiety, anger and his sensitives that I have to handle too. I know how to tackle anxiety and anger. But at lost on how to get ds to control his emotion (the crying part).
Well, if he didn't get upset at onset of incident/event, he probably wouldn't cry. You can try to read up on CBT.
Have a good holiday!
cheers,
Ping -
EN:
[quote]Instead of guessing, I would like to encourage for you to take the first step to go to a polyclinic to ask for referral. I am not sure of the part if KK only accepts child below P1 but I do not think so.
Done so in January. I went to the polyclinic asking to be referred to KKH. I was later told that, only below P1, will be referred to KKH. The rest will be to CGC run by IMH. He is already been labelled as mild asperger but doctor asked me if I would like to drop the case since he is doing well in school & no other issues in social development. I wanted to pursue the case because I am worried how will he cope in the future? NS time especially being away from home for long.
[quote]Thanks for sharing the details. As what I can see, your children should displayed some \"giftness\" in them. But first of all, do you mind if I suggest to you that I think your son may have AS traits. [/quote]Not sure if you have missed this link:
http://www.sengifted.org/articles_counseling/Amend_MisdiagnosisOfAspergersDisorder.shtml
Quote from Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted:
[quote]For example, a lack of social or emotional reciprocity is characteristic of Asperger's Disorder while gifted children most often show a tremendous concern for others. They may not always know how to express it appropriately, but the concern is there. [/quote]I know ds shows concern, not only to his classmate that is recently being terrorize by his second language teacher but also to animals plight. I save him using the feeble excuse that he is a very sensitive boy. I shameless use the word asperger (he was loosely labelled when the doctor first met him). But ds wants to know if I managed to help save his friends as well.
[quote]In contrast, they may also show motor clumsiness, and a lack of motivation and attention for activities that would engage age-peers.[/quote]
There's no motor clumsiness at all. He started writing at age 3 or 4. Just simply took a blank piece of paper (printer paper with no lines at all) & wrote A-Z in both big and small letters. Extremely neat. Everything done is precise. Comments noted in kindergarten on physical activities on hopping, running etc very well develop for his age.
[quote]My ex-colleagues also had two AS children, one is gifted in music (piano) and one is very crazy about science. [/quote]I was on the second meet up with the psychologist. At the end of the session, she posed me what is the talent that ds has. She gave me eg like music, art, math etc. I know what he has. There are several. Just need to pace it nicely for him. Otherwise, he will be a burnt out child.
[quote]You see, these children needs a lot of help from the surrounding people including the school. My girl received a lot of help from the teachers and classmates when she was in P1 and P2 which was very critical for her developement. I felt very fortunate that I managed to enrol her to a girl's school which I find its more suitable for her. [/quote]Yes, my daughter has been receiving a lot of help from teachers, classmate, myself and even ds as well. I so admire your tenacity in helping out your daughter.[/quote]
Hi,
I saw you wrote abt Child guidance clinic, I was told if you go thru them, the kid will have record in future. My friend asked me to go private. Can U advise how are they?
Thks -
[quote]I saw you wrote abt Child guidance clinic, I was told if you go thru them, the kid will have record in future. My friend asked me to go private. Can U advise how are they? [/quote]
I can't comment objectively as I have not try both. Based on IMH, the first diagnosis was done too quickly. Second diagnosis was more thorough. DS was asked to sit for a series of test, he was observed while playing and dh & myself were being asked a series of question relating to ds growing up characteristics.
Diagnosis were made a few month later. Recommendation made by the clinic and the doctor's talk to my son sound superficial. Which leads me to decide not to continue with another round of follow up session. The letter address to the school does not touch on Asperger issues as a whole nor does it explain what Asperger is. After reading much on Asperger in the web, observing ds, I am definitely a better advocate to my son's issues rather than that half hearted written piece of letter.
I went to polyclinic in January. The 1st appointment with IMH was done quickly. I think it was within a month. But to secure the second appointment, it was supposed to be more than 6 months. We were lucky to receive an empty slot earlier. So, going through IMH, will take at least 8 months before you get the full diagnosis. -
Hi, my DS is in K1 this yr. Last yr, the teacher of my DS 's ccc ask me to get a referral from polyclinic to see the doctor at KKH. I waited for abt 5mths before DS finally get to see the doctor at KKH. The doctor says that it is hard to get a conclusion from just 1 hr of observing DS playing. We waited for another 3mths to see the Occupational Therapist (OT). Now, the doctor says that based on the OT's finding, it seems that my DS has Aspergers Syndrome.
Now we are referred to see the psychologist (to confirm the OT's finding) and speech therapist. But the waiting time is abt 7mths. I was told by the KKH that the visit will cost abt $300 for the 4hr session. Does anyone has any recommendation for a good psychologist in private practice? I am hoping to send my DS for second opinion which does not require such a long wait.
I have read up few books abt AS and I am quite convinced that DS has AS. I really hope that someone can advise me how to help my DS. :?: -
I feel really sad to have to tell you this. My ds4 has been diagnosed, misdiagnosed, rediagnosed and prediagnosed by 4 different psychologists here.I'm coming to a point where I've lost much hope.
What I'm resolved to do is to find help for him to function as normally as possible in the society. There area few good psych I've been to but only one who is really sharp enough to offer help. She has a long, long wait list, which means I can't even get much access.
I hope your problem is less complicated than mine and I do hope you can find a solution.
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EN:
My son shows a classic behaviour of asperger which I have actually share in this forum for the past 1 year. Of course, I did not know the meaning of asperger then. Happily share jokes in \"Kids says the darnest thing\" thread and the locked gifted thread.
Hi EN,
What u described seems to fit my ds too! I used to share the things that he said as jokes with others but come to think his words does demonstrate his inability to read between the lines.
Here is a recent example: His 3 year old brother is throwing a tantrum, insisting that his father \"say sorry to him\". The father said \"I will use the cane to say sorry to u\" and my 7 year old said \"Why use cane? u got sore throat huh?\"EN:[quote=\"EN\"]Verbally he has no issues, just the need of him to share his knowledge on and on without noticing that his listener is not interested. He has no qualms in approaching adults and gives two cents worth of his thoughts.
His teacher has been complaining about him doing funny things in school.[quote]
He also like to share his tots and spend a lot of time analysing some very trivial matter. For example, when a family member is not coming home for dinner, he will list out all the possible reasons that he can think of for the absence.
but he can be quite sensitive at times. Just last week, when he finished the last story book borrowed from the library, he asked me to bring him to the library immediately. When I refused, he burst into tears.
Am I over worried? He seems to have some of the AS symptoms but I can't be sure.
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