Hi from Kay Australia

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This is the message I posted on the parents site : it explains it all - would love to speak to anyone else who' son the same boat - or who has been??

Our son is now seven - and has an idiopathic disorder that effects his growth and muscle tone etc. Since he was very small (2 years) he has been obsessed with cars - in particular watching the wheels ....at age three he was able to read fluently and would amaze adults with his "adult conversation". He has very little interaction with his peers at school - but it dosen;t seem to bother him...he seems unable to connect with children of his own age - and seeks out adults in the playground to speak with. He can be incredibly unreasonable - for example last week we tried to brush his hair and he ran out the fromt door - and we couldn't find him for 1/2 hour or so. He is affectionate - but will start conversations with adults by asking them what car they drive. He also has a rather scary ability to memorise any licence plate that he sees...Academically he is average - although we get the feeling that he could be much better - given individual coaching .

I would love to hear from anyone who may have some insights - he's different and we love him - but we have spent seven years coping with a physical disorder ..should we get a referal to a mental health person???

We live in Australia - and from what I have read there are many groups here that have formed over the last five years re AS

Hi Kay

Welcome, there are quite a few Aussies that post here, including me.

There are also quite a few (from all over) that post on the Queensland forums
http://www.asperger.asn.au/

And Brisbane is where Tony Attwood lives, and he's one of the leading experts on Aspergers.
If you want to know more about it, definitely check out his books and the articles on his website.
http://www.tonyattwood.com.au/

Someone on the QLD forum has just posted that they're looking for parents to submit questions about managing their children's behaviour to be answered as part of a book.

If you feel that you son is getting along fine, doesn't mind being alone, and his social skills are not holding him back, then you don't need to do anything.

If you feel that you and he could benefit from better communication skills (ie the hair brush thing), and he could benefit from better social skills (car clubs?), then it might be an idea to read up on aspergers and strategies for socialising and communicating, and if you can find a psychologist who understands aspergers (not so easy), then this could help too.

If you find a psychologist who doesn't understand aspergers, this can be really bad. On this forum there are some really bizarre reasons given by mental health professionals for why someone with aspergers doesn't have it.

I think encouraging any interests he has is a good idea and could lead to valuable paid work as an expert in that field. Experts are frequently forgiven for being eccentric.

I'm not a parent but if you post something specific I might be able to provide specific ideas about how to interpret it or deal with it. Did you find out what the problem with the hair brush was? I'm sure there was some good reason from your son's point of view.

The guy who is writing the book posted here too.

http://www.wrongplanet.net/asperger.htm ... highlight=

Can anyone give me the name of a Clinic. Psych in Sydney that they would recommend??

Thanks


Kay

Welcome to Wrong Planet Kay!

My kid memorizes license plates, credit card numbers, and PIN numbers if he can see them. Also phone numbers and network keys.

It can be really convenient, but if you don't guard your credit card numbers, it can be really expensive.

The up side of that, though, is that he's really good at math! Among other things, and he plays the piano, and has memorized some pieces that much older people have trouble with.

Just a timely warning. Take care.

I don't know if you are already doing this, but try getting him some university-level reading material and see what he is interested in. He sounds like me, based on the stories my mom has told me from when I was young. It sounds like your kid is very intelligent and could get a massive head-start on others with the right materials. Good Luck.

When I used to live in Sydney, the procedure was to contact the Autism Society (like emc wrote) and they have a list of professionals who specialise in autism.