Quote:
Originally Posted by jtjmom
Thanks for the input, jimj!
I actually considered Asperger's, and I do have an older son who is on the autistic spectrum. Because my younger boy lacks the social issues that typify Asperger's, I really didn't consider it any further. Can you/would you share what you have seen in your boy? The only real social issue he has is a huge one, though, and that's that he will not under any circumstances be more than a few feet from me, even at home! Getting him to go to class (just finished K) was a real chore. He still cried into the last week of school. He will not sleep alone, etc, although I have had a HUGE breakthrough with his sleeping in that blooming chair! He will now, with some prodding, sleep in his own bed, as long as I stay with him until he falls asleep. My older boy did this as well.
Also in re: hand flapping... I asked him about it again a couple days ago. He says it's fun to him, and that it also means he's having fun when he does it.
Everyone has been great with all of your replies, opinions, hypotheses, and experiences.  Thanks again!
~D |
Our son doesn't do change very well, he has routines and that could mean having one of us around. He still gets pretty clingy, even at 16 and can't go more than a couple of hours alone without some contact with us.
This usually means if we go shopping he'll call every hour or so just to check with us. Hand flapping, cracking knuckles (his new thing),counting his fingers etc are all OCD related and the first thing that made us think there was more to it than "just" ADHD/ADD.
Socially he operates on a different level. While he speaks very intelligently he doesn't get innuendo or social cues. Ever heard the saying "can't that guy/girl take a hint"? Well. no he can't, he just doesn't quite get it. The best explination I've gotten is if you were to call someone a "couch potato" he'd picture an actual potato sitting on a couch and wonder what the heck you ment by that.
We noticed he'd laugh at things that really weren't funny like if you dropped a plate of food and hit your foot with the plate he'd laugh. If you stubbed your toe he'd laugh. While he really didn't think it was funny that was his auto response instead of concern. We also noticed an overblown response to even minor correction. You'd think we told him we were going to cut off a limb by just scolding him.
Take a look at
Wrong Planet - Asperger's and Autism or
Autism Society of America: What's Unique about Asperger's Disorder? (http://www.autism-society.org/site/PageServer?pagename=life_aspergers - broken link)
If there's anything else I can do let me know...
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