Autism Spectrum

C.,

I am a teacher and work with many students either with autism or on the spectrum, including a student this year in the process of being diagnosed in fourth grade. My first recommendation is to either start with your pediatrician or a child psychologist. While I completely trust the school's diagnosis, you still want a doctor to diagnose your child, and then they can direct you toward therapies that will help. There are many things that can be done to help a child on the spectrum, especially with developing social skills.

Good luck! I'm sure it's a lot to take in right now.

I agree with the PP, school staff can not diagnose a child with a medical condition- that needs to come from your pediatrician, a developmental pediatrician or a licensed clinical psychologist in collaboration with a physician. The staff can guide you towards appropriate service providers and/or offer their observations to your child's physician, if you give them permission to share that info, but they can't make that diagnosis on their own.

I am hopeful other parents know of support groups for parents of children with autism, so I will leave that to the other mamas here.

If it is helpful, my daughter worked with a great pediatric Occupational Therapist on issues related to her being hyper-sensitive to sound and touch. Speech Therapy can also help with skills of eye contact, turn-taking, social speech, joking and peer play skills.

Best wishes with your lovely boy!

Did the school send your child for evaluation somewhere else? Typically the school might make suggestions, but doesn't make a diagnosis. At least that has been our experience.

We saw a pediatric neuropsychologist to have our son evaluated. The psychologist we saw (before that) was nice but really didn't have a clue, and her assessment was way off. I recommend finding a professional team with expertise in AS kids rather than picking someone at random. Hopefully someone here can recommend something closer to you (we saw Michael Appleby at Loyola in Maywood.)

ETA - also wanted to mention that your son sounds like mine at that age. He has ADHD and sensory integration disorder, but although Aspergers was eliminated (as a possible diagnosis, i mean) his school's social worker is pretty sure (and I agree) that he's very close to the line. Anyway, the OT for sensory issues was IMMENSELY helpful. And I think some of it they do grow out of as they get older - he is 9 now, and doing great although eye contact is never going to be a strong suit for him.

Do not allow the school to "Diagnose" anything. What you need to do is contact your pediatrician to get referrals to a group specializing in Neuropsychology.

Independent testing is what you should get in order to get a proper diagnosis.

We are in the process of testing my son for similar attributes that you mentioned. He is being tested for cognitive, motor, behavioral, language, and executive functioning.

Alexian Brothers has a Neuroscience dept. Try them.

The autism spectrum disorder also referred to as autism and it is a neurological disorder which causes developmental disability. Autism affects the way the brain functions, resulting in difficulties with communication and social interaction and the unusual patterns of behaviour, activities and interests. Your son need proper care and better treatment such as behavioral therapy, medication options and others.
http://www.thebrainhealth.com/autism-spectrum-disorder.html