Son with HFAand I'm most likely Aspie

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Hi. I have a son with HFA and a daughter with NVLD. I am probably on the spectrum myself since I have been diagnosed "around" it since childhood (sensory issues, anxiety, depression, OCD). My son HAS more involved speech issues but had regressed around age 3 so he kind of does not fit into the catagories perfectly. Because his speech was considered borderline severely impaired when he was little he did not fit Aspergers, but because he had developed speech and regressed he was also diagnosed by one doctor as being "atypical" autism. Quite frankly I don't get the whole spectrum classifications.

It is kind of weird that I really did not connect the dots between my son's autism and myself until more recently. I understand alot of his behaviors so they don't seem at all unusual to me. So, my perspective is usually different from most on the parent support groups.

I've had a similiar experience myself, I have AS and was dx'd after my oldest son now 5 yrs old and has Moderate Autism (HFA) was dx'd at 29 months back in 2003. Yes the speech/communication delays and all cut off any chance of Dylan being considered as Aspergers. It's easy to get confused over all the labels... there is no real standardization amongst professionals. "Atypical Autism is also called PDD-NOS aka Pervasive Developmental Disorder- Not Otherwise Specified stating that a person has some traits but not enough for a diagnosis of Autistic Disorder (Autism itself) or Aspergers.

"there is no real standardization amongst professionals"


That seems to be the question of the day on most of the parent boards - what exactly is the difference between HFA/Autism and Aspergers especially as the person with HFA gains more language skills. My son still has difficulty understanding what is being said sometimes and he has a very hard time just physically saying a sentence especially if he gets excited. So, he knows what he wants to say but it just won't come out. And my daughter - being a good sister - delights in interrupting him or finishing his sentences for him which really makes him mad.