Asperger's Syndrome

[Synobun]

Thank you all for your' insight; much of what has been said rings true.

Perhaps you can help with a specific problem: when she first started school she came home wet, having urinated herself rather than ask to use the toilet.
We got around it by arranging with the teachers that she may go to the toilet without asking; however, there are inevitably times where this isn't appropriate (during assembly, PE, etc). At such times she will wet herself because she is - in her own words - "afraid to let the other children hear her speak". Does anyone have any coping strategies that I can teach her?

I think that this is because she's too insecure, and feels that it isn't quite "right" to leave the room by herself and go to the washroom. While she may do things which are against the unwritten rules, she may refrain from doing things she's ALLOWED to do.

 

[D'Artagnan59]

I have it, and I cope well. I've gotten over the friends thing.

She might have some social problems (like I did at a young age, some have disappeared completely, some have been fenced in at home, rarely have problems outside home), and she could be a genius (like me). She could already have been reading at 2 and doing third-grade math at 3 (again, me).

 

[Bucephalus]

Bucephalus, your daughter will probably get into fights and get marked for bad behavior and generally disobey whatever rules, written or unwritten, a school or kindergarten has that she rejects. You can try to find a smaller/better school as brennan suggests, but you should also prepare for this.

Actually her behavior at school and at home is exemplary; she seems to enjoy having a structured life - knowing the rules makes life easier for her.
We are happy with the school that she is at - it is progressive and the staff are trained in Autism awareness

Bucephalus - has your daughter begun speaking and/or reading yet? (If you want to switch to email and/or PM at this point, that's fine. For the record, I began reading a year early and speaking half a year late, and apparently it varies a great deal.) Reading is probably one of the safest ways for her to start learning about how "real people" work, if the books describe both what people are doing and what people are thinking, with the "safety valve" that she can always put the book away if she doesn't like it.

She had a vocabulary of over 500 words at age two, and is progressing normally with her reading, although getting her to concentrate is sometimes a problem.

 

[Kozmos]

Asperger is a medical way of saying that you suck at social situations. Which in my view is bollocks, getting better with people just takes some time and practice.(and a lot of hurt, but that's okay love hurts too and it can be...good) I checked out the so called symptoms and I fit about 80-90% of it.

My experiences in primary school confirm this. I had a helluva time trying to understand what was going on and adjusting to the social 'norm'. Now in secondary school I embraced my crazy and people liked me, still dont know why but they do. They know I'm a little eccentric and have these outbursts of madness, but their okay with it. It's part of the package. Anyway your kid's gonna be just fine. School might be hell, but that's just one part of life.

Also the connection between civ and asperger is that we're the intelligent pc master race and we're a level above those simple console playing peasants.

 

[Bucephalus]

Another specific question:

I've noticed that the hand-flapping comes and goes in it's intensity; it seems to me that there is a correlation between it and how she is feeling - is that the case?

 

[philippe]

Another specific question:

I've noticed that the hand-flapping comes and goes in it's intensity; it seems to me that there is a correlation between it and how she is feeling - is that the case?

I guess that would be an case of self-stimulation, just as "rocking" is.

My child hand-flaps, especially when he is excited or upset. Do we need to be concerned about that?

Stereotyped movements are repetitive, seemingly driven, and nonfunctional motor behavior (e.g., hand shaking or waving, body rocking, head banging, mouthing of objects, self-biting, picking at skin or body orifices, hitting one's own body. Stereotypies are most common during periods of boredom (e.g. sitting in front of a TV) and intense excitement or anxiety. At times self-stimulation is an avoidance response as well. The importance of intervening quickly to reduce self-stimulation depends on the age of the child, how pervasive the self stimulation is, and the situation. In IEBT for children with autism, it is difficult to teach appropriate skills when they are hand-flapping, rocking or waving their head from side to side. As a result, therapists attempt to reduce self-stimulation by engaging the child in rewarding activities that are incompatible with self-stimulation.

 

[Erik Mesoy]

wait a minute, I got aspergers, Erik has aspergers, Xanikk has, Sirdanilot has and bill3000. Hold on, is there an connection with playing civ and aspergers?

To be quite honest, I've never heard of this outside of these forums.

There is a connection between playing civ and having aspergers, and another one between being on an internet forum and having aspergers. So that's not really surprising.

Actually her behavior at school and at home is exemplary; she seems to enjoy having a structured life - knowing the rules makes life easier for her.
We are happy with the school that she is at - it is progressive and the staff are trained in Autism awareness

Wow, that's excellent!

She had a vocabulary of over 500 words at age two, and is progressing normally with her reading, although getting her to concentrate is sometimes a problem.

Typical AS trait: she'll concentrate incredibly on activities she likes, and be absent-minded with regard to a lot of other things. I was originally diagnosed with ADD (attention deficient disorder) for this reason.

Asperger is a medical way of saying that you suck at social situations. Which in my view is bollocks, getting better with people just takes some time and practice.

Your conspiracy theory and claim to know better than most of the medical profession is noted. Now go and join Narz and the others in the "doctors are killing people" corner.

I've noticed that the hand-flapping comes and goes in it's intensity; it seems to me that there is a correlation between it and how she is feeling - is that the case?

Hmm. I flap my hands whenever I'm excited, so it might be the case, but it might be just coincidence.

Also, a couple of book recommendations for you on AS and its cousin autism:
Men, Women and the Extreme Male Brain
[wiki]The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time[/wiki]
Born on a Blue Day

 

[Rhymes]

If I was born 20 years later I would have surely been diagnosed with asperger when I was young. But in the 80's, medical diagnostic weren't handed out as freely as today, so I was just labeled as a shy kid.

I didn't have many friends, didn't talk much, had a passion for patterns and mathematics, had weird behaviors, like putting everything in my mouth or bitting walls...... And then I grew up, I passed the teenage years and became somewhat normal. I then I learned of aspergers syndrome.

Am I ever glad I didn't hear about it when I was younger.

I don't think I would have grown up so well if I had thought I had a special condition... a "syndrom". It's like saying to those kids "hey it's not your fault, you are different. Instead of trying to become better, you should accept that you aren't cut to be social".

 

[Kozmos]

Your conspiracy theory and claim to know better than most of the medical profession is noted. Now go and join Narz and the others in the "doctors are killing people" corner.

But they are! They pumped my friend full of all kinds of nifty drugs and nearly turned her into an emotionless robot. Anti depressives are the devil. Whatever ya do, just keep away from the damn things.

 

[philippe]

But they are! They pumped my friend full of all kinds of nifty drugs and nearly turned her into an emotionless robot. Anti depressives are the devil. Whatever ya do, just keep away from the damn things.

but man, I bet your friend had wicked sniper skills at that time.

 

[Kozmos]

but man, I bet your friend had wicked sniper skills at that time.

What? Hell no. She wasnt on diazepam. It was like someone sucked her soul out and all that was left was just a husk.

 

[Cannae]

So this is a girl who has this? From what I hear, it tends to be more severe than a boy with autism. You can count me in also for being (very mildly) Autistic.

 

[Reno]

Another specific question:

I've noticed that the hand-flapping comes and goes in it's intensity; it seems to me that there is a correlation between it and how she is feeling - is that the case?

I don't have hand-flapping, instead I have this urge to run around the house at times. I've gotten rid of it mostly, when I was younger, whener I was alone at home, I would go running around the house for no apparent reason. Don't worry about it, it's just another quirk that will probably lessen as she grows older. There actually was a positive side to my running as well, it helped me get rid of, for example, frustration.

 

[Arwon]

Thanks, I'll check it out.

It's probably not relevant, but for the record, I'm a man.

Haha, yeah I figured, but women with AS post there about their own specific issues as women with AS, so I thought their experiences might be relevant and such for your daughter's future.

 

[Bill3000]

wait a minute, I got aspergers, Erik has aspergers, Xanikk has, Sirdanilot has and bill3000. Hold on, is there an connection with playing civ and aspergers?

Not really with simply civ, but online stuff and gaming in general, really. They're the non-psychopathic part of the internet community, e.g. the socially inept ones.

 

[warpus]

If I was born 20 years later I would have surely been diagnosed with asperger when I was young. But in the 80's, medical diagnostic weren't handed out as freely as today, so I was just labeled as a shy kid.

I didn't have many friends, didn't talk much, had a passion for patterns and mathematics, had weird behaviors, like putting everything in my mouth or bitting walls...... And then I grew up, I passed the teenage years and became somewhat normal. I then I learned of aspergers syndrome.

Am I ever glad I didn't hear about it when I was younger.

I might have been diagnosed with autism as a child myself. I have read over the symptoms, and I definitely would have more than qualified.

Some of these 'symptoms' remain with me, but I deal with it by being anti-social when I want to be.. and doing things my own way, social norms and expectations be damned.

This thread is about Asperger's and not Autism.. and I'm not quite sure how they're related.. but I know that they are.

 

[Erik Mesoy]

Asperger Syndrome is an autism spectrum disorder, meaning it's like mild autism.

 

[Swedishguy]

I've noticed that the hand-flapping comes and goes in it's intensity; it seems to me that there is a correlation between it and how she is feeling - is that the case?

Handflapping is a trademark Asperger move. I do it every day.

 

[imperfect.la]

Aspergers is a real disease, I have witnessed it and have interest in studying it. I don't think there's any way to cure it.

 

[philippe]

Aspergers is a real disease, I have witnessed it and have interest in studying it. I don't think there's any way to cure it.

you broke the first rule:
1. It's not a disease.