Anyone Have a Child with Asperger's?

They can't find a doctor to diagnose? It seems like every other child is being diagnosed these days.

I think she should call one of the big hospitals in the area and try to meet with a specialist.

I also don't think anyone will treat him differently. One of the hallmarks of Asperger's is having a major social deficit. A diagnosis will help the family deal with this on-going life issue. It may not impact him academically (though eventually it might), but it will impact his quality of interactions with other people and future successes if it's not adequately addressed.

1 mom found this helpful

Here is a link to a local Asperger's Group! Hope This is Helpful. Cut and paste it into your broweser.

http://aspergers.meetup.com/213/calendar/7401898/?gj=ej3a...

http://aspergers.meetup.com/213/calendar/7401898/?gj=ej3a...

It can be a difficult thing to diagnose. If there are no academic or speech/language needs, there generally isn't reason for an IEP. However, it sounds like he could still benefit from social work services and to make sure he gets help, a 504 plan could be created. It's not as formal as an IEP and makes the classroom teacher more responsible. If she does have him diagnosed, there's no reason the information should be passed along to everyone for them to tease the boy. As he gets older, it may become more obvious (if indeed he does have a problem). Hopefully she doesn't pass along any of her anxiety about this to him; it could make any problem worse.

Hi I have 2 austic children one with Asperger's he is now 14. I do not know how old the child is or where your friend lives, but there is a few things you can do. By the way my son is also high functioning and unfortunatly the only way we even found out that he had Aspergers was because my youngest was diagnosed at Childrens in Chicago and both of them were tested. It is hard to get that diagnosis, especially in a older child. I would suggest to your friend to get a hold of an organization called MAAP. You can find them online. It is based out of Bloomington. They might be able to help her find a place to get help. If she does not get the offical diagnosis then the school system will not aknowledge it. The good news is that most school systems no matter where you are all follow the same guidlines for most children. Whether you have speech or reading problems or behavior promblems or have autism or adhd,which is commonly misdiagnosed austim. Then the help they get would be the same. So if she has a IEP in place that is a good thing, because they are aknowledging that the child needs help. I am not sure what services she is getting for the child but there has to be a diagnosis of something on the IEP and if she gets a copy or looks online at Article 7 indiana state law if that is where she lives. It might help her. If she was not givin a copy of her parental rights, then she can get one from the school system and if will tell her what she needs to do to apeal for help to. I hope this helps a little good luck and take care.

I have a child on the spectrum (moderate autism) and finding a doctor who "gets it" is hard. Your friend should find a Developmental Pediatrician who can give a diagnosis or send you to another specialist who can. Getting an IEP at school is really difficult without some kind of diagnosis. Since I don't know where your friend is I on't know if this would be helpful but, I can give you the name of our pediatrician in Aurora, Dr. Schnell at the Dreyer clinic on Galena Blvd. She has a son with autism and is great! Hope this helps! I also started a support group for parents with kids on the spectrum called Plainfield Autism Awareness & Support System. Go to www.freewebs.com/PAASS for more info.

D. L.

You may want to contact Alexian Brother's Behavioral Health Hospital in Hoffman Estates. They have a program that specializes in Autism and your friend could probably consult with the doctors and at least find out if it's Asperger's or Autism. From what I know of each, a doctor/psychologist that specializes in Asperger's/Autism is needed to make an accurate diagnosis. Hope this helps.

Dear D.,
my son has Asperger's he is 14 now,I went through hell and back with him.He has changed so much for the better and life is harmony again.I could tell you soooo much but that would be to long.Alexian Brother was the worst for us and I will one day write a letter to them.They totally let us down,so did the schools.Here is my E.mail adress,if your friend wants to get information or just someone to talk to.
____@____.com

Try Streamwood Behavior Health. They have a screening process and do testing. THey are good they dignosed my son and he has pdd. They listen to you too.

D.,
My sister In Law introduced this to me because I have a 10 yr old Son with High Functioning Aspergers. He was diagnosised when he was 2 yrs old and from there we started therapy.
My husband and I have been dealing with this issue daily from that point on.
I understand completly about the struggles with the school system with dealing with a child that is so high functioning. Our son gets great grades and is in a advanced Math. Most children with this diagnosis are good in Math, Pc's, and Science. The school will not usually just offer the help, you need to actually go and get the Diagnosis first. Once he/she has this behind their name, then the therapy starts. Through the school and out. By Law he/she can get up to 60 visits a year of speech, O.T and Mental if needed.
We went to Little Friends in Naperville to get our son tested and it was 100% worth it. They were excellent and very professional. You can trust them and from there, they can give you a ton of avenues to help your son/daughter.
I understand the struggles of this and would be willing to offer any advice or assistance.
As for once he/she is labeled with this that he/she would be teased. I know my son deals with bullies (as most childern do) but this is not because the other children know that he has aspergers but that they notice the differences as far as social awkwardness. The therapies will help aid your child with the struggles that come along with aspergers. So getting this diagnosis will actually benefit more then harm.
I hope some of this was helpful.
I had read a ton of books, went to groups, and even down loaded papers and papers about this. After dealing with this for 10yrs. we do have some education. (that has worked for us)...email me if you need ____@____.com
J.

Has your friend tried chiropractic care for her son? I know it sounds weird but a chiropractic trained in pediatrics knows how to work with children with varying levels of autism including Aspergers. The treatment consists mainly of adjusmnets of the upper neck to increase function of the parts of the brain that are lacking due to obstruction of info through the nervous system.
I am located in Villa Park, IL. If she is interested in trying it let me know. If she wants a recommendation for a chiro closer to home let me know that too.

I hope I can help.

Call your local public school. By law they must test the child for free. Many parents do not know this. Do this first and they can recomend next steps.
-How old is the child?

I have twin girls who are 5 and one of them just got the diagnosis of Asperger's. She is also academically high functioning but socially she is at 22 months. We are actually getting ready to go to our first Austism Play Group in about an hour. We went to Champaign to get the diagnosis from Dr. Morton at Carle Clinic Hopsital. I have names of other doctors in the area who specialize in Autism. I have been working closely with the Autism Society of McLean County on who to go to and who not to go to. If you have any other questions I would love to help. Since she is recently diagnosed I know what she is going through. So anytime you have any questions just feel free to ask and I will help all that I can.

S. D

My company, Reading Solution of Central Illinois, specializes in Non Verbal Learners. We correct the problem from its cause, rather than from it's symptoms and have a 97% success rate. This method is the most used method for Non Verbal Learners in the world and is just now available in downstate Illinois as I have spent over a year in San Francisco being certified to perform it. I would be happy to discuss this with your friend and to offer a consultation at no charge to see if our method fit's your friend's child's situation. I can offer references from my past clients.

Respectfully,
S. Smarjesse
www.readingsolution.com
###-###-####
217-789-READ

Asperger has many levels of severity. If he is functioning well in school, maybe a diagnosis is not important at this time. I suggest putting him in activities where he can be with other kids and learn to socialize (scoccer,baseball, art class, check out your local YMCA). If he cannot handle those social interactions, then you may want to find a dr. for a diagnosis. There are usually benefits from the government or autism support groups if you have a diagnosis of autism.

My 11 yr old son is very high functioning Aspergers too. He is very intelligent, but has poor social skills. He takes Ripserdall once a day, and it helps. The school district is REQUIRED to help. Your friend may need to take her son to a Psychologist to get a diagnosis. If he has a diagnosis, he may be treated differently, but it can also help him. Trust me, it was a big relief when we finally knew for sure what was going on.

I have a 12 year old with Asperger's Syndrome. He was actually diagnosed when he was 3 by a Speech Pathologist. He has an IEP in place with our local school although he does not use the services much this year. He has been on the honor roll all year. [he is only not high functioning in Math, but that is genetic ~ he gets it from me :)] He too is socially delayed and works with the speech thearpist at school with dealing with children one on one and in group sessions.

I am not sure if your friend's child is functioning well academically that he NEED's the diagnosis, but a diagnosis might [for lack of a better word] force their school system to have their speech thearpist work with the child in social situations. Or your friend might just find a speech thearpist on her own and see if they have group sessions.

If she goes to Autismspeaks.com they sent me last summer an email about some conferences they were having last summer and one of them dealt with social interaction.

Good Luck!!
K.