Aspergers child denied services

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I think you have gotten good responses from your post. The only thing that I have to add is that I did send my son to pre school at 3. He did qualify for services mainly because of his physical delays. I sent him to the special needs program 3 days a week, and a private preschool 2 days a week. My son is an only child, so I thought it was important for him to at least be around other children since we live in a neighborhood where most of the parents work and their kids go to daycare. My son really does not have a lot of sensory issues, so I did not think it was harmful to him. He actually really enjoyed going to school. While I did see improvements in his physical development and his speech, he STILL DOES NOT PLAY WITH OTHER KIDS. This is after 2 yrs of him being around kids every day. He knew all of their names, and could recognize their faces, and he was not mean or aggressive to them. But, he still has no desire to play with them. So, I have really learned a lot from reading here on WP. I have let go of the idea of my son playing with other kids. I believe it will happen when he is ready.

Since your daughter is one of 4, then I think she has a perfect built in environment for her to learn basic social interaction at home. You can work on all of the sensory things with her at home too, and then she will be better prepared to enter pre school when she is ready. Also, like DW said, as she ages, then she may then be able to qualify if her speech is an issue.

Good luck and welcome to Wrong Planet.

kbilz, one of the best resources on the web for kids with sensory issues (also known as SPD-sensory processing disorder, which is frequently comorbid or considered inherent, in spectrum kids) is the blog www.hartleysboys.com. She has 3 boys, 2 of whom have sensory issues, and she has a TON of info and resources on her site.

My son has Aspergers and significant sensory issues - and I can say with pretty much complete confidence that if I could reverse his autism, I wouldn't. I adore him, and I see his autism as integral to who he is. Moreover, I believe autism is, in many cases, a gift of difference to the world.

But as DW said, those sensory issues are significant - they can cause him a lot of stress and trouble, and those are really what we tackle mainly in terms of therapies, plus some speech/social skills but those would NOT have been usefull to him when he was 3. So as others have said, just enjoy her and commit yourself to advocating for environments and accommodations that help her to be her best, most confident, most comfortable self

Thank you all for your replies! It is especially helpful to get feedback from people who are living with AS. To hear your point of view for what did or did not help you when you were young is very eye opening. Sometimes when you talk to tons of specialists and doctors they all have their view on what is best for your child, and you just jump to do what they tell you your child needs. I definately feel people who have first hand knowledge are a much more reliable source of information. So thank you for that! Thank you all for the reading suggestions as well!