My ten year old daughter is I want to say "Acting' like a autistic child. This is what her psychologist said. She has a girl in her class that has the most severe form of autism and is in the class with her. My daughter is starting to behave like her.
The dr said she is copying her behavior for attention. I can't stop crying because where do I start!!!
What is she does have aspergers? How do I tell if she is copying her for attention or she does have a form of autism.?She has no speech delay, honor roll student, but she has a hard time socializing. ( that can be from a hard childhood)
She spaces out a lot, she behaves like that child in her class. We had a church concert and she was there and I watched her behavior and saw that is what she does.
Please help.... If she needs help.. I am willing to help her. But I don't want to put her in therapy and she doesnt have an autism.
To the moms saying why in the world would you do this to your daughter. Its better to know and get your child treated than to act clueless. Her dr. referred her to a psychologist that would do the testing. The psychologist said its not. As parents, we do watch and observe our kids to make sure they are in a healthy situation at all times. Thats all it was. I was confused about her behavior and had to ask for professional advice.
Thanks to the moms for feedback.
She is 10. She is imitating this girl. You just don't all of a sudden become autistic. Relax sit and talk to her. Ask her why she does it. Probably for attention.
A child spacing out at a church concert is so absolutely normal that I'm having a hard time seeing why you are even worried. A child spacing out in school is also pretty normal - how in the WORLD does that make her act autistic?
Also - Asperger's is NOT "the most severe form of autism" and a child who DOES have "the most severe form of autism" would not BE in your daughter's class. A child with Asperger's might - people with Asperger's, like myself, are perfectly able to function, etc, just pretty clueless when it comes to empathy and generally don't like to be pressured into social situations.
On the contrary, though, I don't think people with Asperger's "space out" - I can't speak for everyone, but I am what you'd call "hyper-focused." That's pretty much the opposite of spaced out. Perhaps you'd see it that way because I might be so entirely focused on one thing that I'm not focusing on what YOU are, or the rest of the class is. That's still not "spacing out."
I really don't understand why you are worried about your child or why in the world you took her to the doctor for this.
You would know long before ten so I think your doctor is right, she is acting like it
We took our son to a psychologist to be tested. The psychologist ask us lots of questions, asked us and his teachers to fill out questionnaires, talked to our son and did evaluations with him.
After all that the psychologist said he didn't have autism. I suppose we could get a second opinion, but we haven't. I actually feel very confident - based on other parents' experiences with this psychologist and on our own - that he knows what he's doing.
By the way, Asperger's is the most mild from of Autism, and it is actually no longer a diagnosis. Those who would have been diagnosed with it will either be diagnosed with Autism or another diagnosis that has some of the same symptoms but not those unique to Autism.
But my point really is, do you trust the psychologist or not?
We took our son to a psychologist to be tested, so I'd feel very confident in what the psychologist said.
Updated
We took our son to a psychologist to be tested, so I'd feel very confident in what the psychologist said.
There is a piece missing here.
Why were you having this conversation with her doctor in the first place? You said, "The dr said she is copying her behavior for attention," but why were you discussing this at the doctor's office to begin with? What brought this conversation up?
A child is usually diagnosed around age 2---What has her child development like at ages 2, 3 and 4?
All of the children I know with autism were diagnosed at 2 or 3... or preschool.
If she has a hard time socializing--I would get her help for that. There are groups, counselors, etc...to help. Check if there is a summer group at your local counseling center/parenting center...Ask the school social worker, too.
Since you sound very worried, you should switch her to a different class and have her start seeing a child psychiatrist once a week.
A psychologist would have knowledge as to what the symptoms of Aspberger's are and would be qualified to say they feel she needs further testing or that she probably doesn't.
In psychology we spend many hours on the DSM and have many classes on abnormal psychology.
I DO believe that if your psychologist feels your daughter is okay and not needing to go do testing with a psychologist who is licensed to diagnose disorders.
My son is on the spectrum, PDD-nos, and was diagnosed at 4. He's currently in first grade. Daycare noticed that there was "something different" during the year before. Her teachers would have noticed something going on I think. Don't panic. Autism is a spectrum. If she were to be diagnosed with Aspergers and has been functioning fine until now, there's no reason to panic.
I would have her talk to the school counselor. If your daughter didn't have these behaviors until this year, I highly doubt she is on the spectrum. You don't just suddenly develop it as a tween.
You need to address the hard childhood issues, because she may be having a hard time coping. Puberty is also just around the corner. She may not be doing the copying on purpose to make fun, but rather as a sign that she needs some emotional support of some kind. And she needs to understand that what she is doing isn't ok.
