testing Q's and observation from the inside versus outside

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For those who've been tested or have children who have, what exactly is entailed in testing for AS? I took my daughter Huda to a preliminary screening where the doctor asked her some questions and observed her and her language usage etc, and then filled out some sort of inventory/questionaire asking for my observations.


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One thing about the inventory- they kept asking me early childhood questions and I really couldn't come up with an answer because I never really worried about some of her delays or differences. I think perhaps if I thought they were really unusual I might have taken note, or perhaps living in a family with what is most likely several undiagnosed men with AS had something to do with it, too. Her differences just don't seem to be all that different to me- but other people's reactions to her are confusing

Example- I just thought of her as being extreme on the introversion for a long time. I knew it was unusual that she avoided new people like the plague, but just thought "well, that's her." However, when other people are faced with it, they tend to take offence that she isn't social, as if they're somehow entitled that all children must be friendly with them. I myself don't quite get it.

Example of reaction- Took both of my daughters to get some fillings at the dentist last year, and when my youngest (the one suspected AS) was brought back up, the dentist had the nerve to say *in front of her* "what's wrong with her? Is she deaf and dumb or something? She didn't make even a sound the entire time, even when I asked her questions!"

School example- When we lived in the states I'd pick her up from school every day. While waiting for her elder sister to come out, a boy from her class walked up to her saying "Bye Huda!" She pretended like she didn't hear him and wouldn't look at him. He got a bit closer and did it again with her reacting the same way. He eventually got a few inches from her face and said it again-- and I swear she looked right through him like he wasn't even there. It was the darndest thing, but I noticed her doing it several times since then, too. She just won't acknowledge certain people if she doesn't want to.

I used to do that to people I wasn't close to in primary school. I found the company oh peers boring and irksome and only later on did I learn to appreciate the value of interaction. Is your daughter as bookworm or computer addict?

she's a video gamer and beats the rest of us consistently

sounds very aspie. i've never been diagnosed though. perhaps you could see a psychiatrist?

i also can not remember details from my sons childhood. especially when something happened, like walking or frst words/babbling (i mean lots of it doesn't happen suddenly IMO). The problem with testing is that different doctors would tell you different things based on observation. Our pediatrician and neurologist both say he is completely fine while his teacher/OT/psych at school think he has AS or something. Since the test is based on observation there are going to be differences obviously.

Yes, we're on the waiting list for her testing. After months of reading and forum-lurking, I'd be surprised if she isn't somewhere in the spectrum, tbh.

AnotherOne- was your son tested for the spectrum as well? What sort of tests were there> that's one of my big questions- just what entails testing, how long does it take, what's involved, etc. I know some of it is self reporting by the parents, but what about the rest?

Villette- I'm an NT book and computer addict, so that just may be familial influence as well

we did see neurologist who did 1h evaluation based on questions and some reflex, answer the question, follow the instruction testing. she also observed him and said she thinks he doesn't have autism or aspergers because he has a good eye contact (he doesn't usually). he goes to special ed pre-school 9-2 every day and their psych observed him and suspected autism traits (probably pdd-nos) so they wanted to test him but we said no. if they could not figure how to deal with him till now diagnosis won't help. basically we have bad experience with tests, it seems that when they don't know how to deal wth something they throw in more tests which doesn't do anyhing since they already tried typical remedies for AS. for us it was a waste of precious time, leads to more frustration and never resolved anything (they did OT, ST, motor skills therapy with him). i don't know about your school but now we are now trying to find best private psychologist in the area since i don't think these people know enough.

I think there is usually a combination of interview forms, personal interaction with the child to assess responses, and an IQ test (looking for unusual variations among components, if I understand it, as AS kids tend to have strong gifts and severe defiicits, while NT kids will test more even).