Hi! I'm new to it all, sort of.

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I found this board yesterday after researching my sons undiagnosed Aspergers and spend hours reading old threads. This place is amazing!

I'll start with my son. He's 7. He is my middle son of three boys ages 12, 7 and 3. He has been an intense, high-need child since birth. He had colic and reflux as an infant and cried a lot. It was really hard the first 4 years of his life. I was convinced I screwed him up, I was an awful parent and that I somehow made him an angry, miserable child because of my anger and frustration when I was pregnant with him.

We moved to PA and enrolled him in a Montessori school right before his 4th birthday. We lucked out with a terrific teacher that was kind, patient and adored him. She gently suggested we take him for an evaluation and gave us the contact information. That entire first year in her class was very challenging. We finally got an evaluation over the summer and he was diagnosed with ADHD. While researching ADHD I came across Aspergers. Many of the traits in Aspergers I saw in my son. I knew this was it. Meanwhile my son was being seen by a phyciatrist and placed on medication for the ADHD.

The next year he again attended the Montessori school with the same teacher, room and classmates. That year started out much better however both his teacher and I knew he had something else going on. I was the first to mention Aspergers and she immediately agreed. He was taking speech one a week through the school system. In my opinion his speech "issues" were literal interpretations of words and phrases. He was shown a picture of a comb but didn't know the word so he called it a hair puller. Another time he was shown a picture of a girl with no shoes and was asked if she had bare(bear) feet and he said no she has people feet. While there I pushed for a second evaluation because I suspected Aspergers. It took almost two years before we were able to get the second evaluation. I needed it so I could decide to enroll him for 1st grade at the public school (to benefit from the special services) or have him remain at the Montessori school. That may have been the hardest decision I ever made.

They did the evaluation. The ADHD was confirmed but the one evaluator who observed him at school said she did not see Aspergers. He didn't meet the criteria because he has delays in receptive/expessive language skills and "Children with Aspergers Disorder may not understand the subtleties of language, such as irony and humor, or they may not understand the give and take nature of a conversation, but they do not have delays in the area of communication and language." This quote was taken directly from his evaluation. I disagree.

He is in the first grade (mainstream) in public school and has a wonderful teacher that is patient, kind and willing to work with him. He has an IEP and sees a learning support teacher for speech once a month. He is also being treated by the phyciatrist for both ADHD and Aspergers based on our input. His IEP does not address the Aspergers so we have to get an official diagnosis for the school to work on him with those issues.

This is why I think he has Aspergers....he is impulsive, he has obsessive interests (tornados, hurricanes and volcanos), he has sensory issues (mainly food), he has many meltdowns, doesn't like affection, doesn't like to look into eyes or at faces, he's socially inappropriate, gets over stimulated, stims (rubs face and mouth, slight flapping of hands, constantly burps...), he is very in your face with other kids and doesn't understand when they shy away....theres tons more.

Now when I was reading this site I started relating to many things posted. It hit me like a ton of bricks that I also "might" have Aspergers and at least ADHD. My mom is convinced something was going on with me as a child. I can relate to many Aspergers traits. I found it really hard to reflect on myself and my behaviors to pursue this possibility but the analytical side of me can't help myself. I have been making a list of traits I recognize and relate to in case I decide to be diagnosed.

If my son does have Aspergers I think it would be a blessing if I had it as well. Even now just reading here has helped me see our similarities and I can relate to him so much better.

Was my post to long?

No, it wasn't.

Welcome to WP!

Welcome jdedmom!!

Nice to meet you, jdedmom.

What an interesting story. Thank you for sharing with us.

Hi!

Welcome to Wrongplanet!

I hope you enjoy posting here!