Also, James had his full 2 hour psychological evaluation with a specialist to get to the bottom of what's going on in his brain. He fell asleep half way through (it WAS during nap time), but the doctor gave us an official diagnosis:
He IS on the Autistic spectrum, but not the way I was prepared to hear about!
James' behavioral patterns best fit Asperger's Syndrome.
What?! Yes, thats what I thought too- usually when you hear about Asperger's you hear about kids who have a fully developed and quite elaborate vocabulary at 2! BUT apparently, thats only about half of the kids. The other half loose their language skills from around 18 mos to about 3years 3 months- and then its a verbal explosion. So, all of you who said to enjoy the silence now because when he DOES begin to speak, he'll never stop may in fact be correct about that:)
But essentially, Asperger's Syndrome is a social anxiety disorder. AND it is totally deal-able. In fact, many many kids with AS are quite brilliant and go on to do great work in fields like Mathematics, Physics, Computers and (you guessed it) MUSIC. In fact, the social anxiety part of this plays wonderfully into these particular fields- the rules in these disciplines NEVER change, so there is no option for uncertainty. Unlike other jobs that require serious "people skills"- teaching, politics, etc....
What does this mean to us though? NOTHING! We're doing everything we need to be doing already to help James not be socially anxious, teaching him how to play with people, exposing him to kids his own age, teaching him to look people in the eyes while they're speaking to them (this is VERY hard for AS kids to do) and giving him instructions on how to interact with folks!
This makes me seem like the Helicopter parent from hell, but really, I'm just giving him cues that he isn't able to pick up on by himself yet. YET.
With help, he'll be just fine. I'm glad he's such a good boy and we just LOVE him so much. I couldn't be happier with the child I have:)
4 comments:
I am sure it is relieving to have something to understand.
My mother in law swears that London has Asperger's. She works as a Special Ed aid. I think she's a little "diagnosis happy." If she right, then London is on the opposite end of the AS spectrum from James.
I'm glad you know and that it's something handle-able. Sounds like you're doing a great job with him already, so just keep up the good work.
Oh, Ash, I'm so glad to hear the good news. You're such a wonderful little mommy. I love you!
I had no idea you guys were dealing with any of this, but I hear a wonderful, upbeat attitude coming through loud and clear that makes me want to run right over and hug you to my heart! That is one lucky little guy to get such loving and concerned and CAPABLE parents! I'm so proud of you!
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