Need some suggestions

roses25

Hi Everyone,

Aiden tested out of speech today for his articulation. At the meeting both his classroom teacher and I brought up social concerns that are affecting school.

The concerns are:
-when talking to him he lacks eye contact
-at parent teacher conferences he turned his chair away from us and and wouldn't look at us the whole time
-won't speak to even familiar adults at times such as saying hi
-unpredictable in his behavior
-when he gets mad he gets very, very mad
-plays/interacts with only two kids in his class
-won't talk to two of the kids at all
-sensory issues and shuts down when in overload but no fine motor delays
-doesn't do well with change
-teacher said they are about to switch groups and he doesn't do well with that (someone asked how long it takes him to adjust and she said he doesn't...he just does his own thing)
-comes to school every year (2 years at preschool and 1 at kindergarten knowing the kids from the previous years) withdrawn and refusing to interact and work with groups. It takes until Christmas to make any gains with this every year
-he's extremely quiet at circle time but almost too quiet
-has had accidents at school because he doesn't know how to get the teachers attention if it's loud, the teacher's busy, etc.
-teacher said they have done social stories and he gets them but can't put them into action in real life
-can be very stubborn and defiant

They agreed to restart the eval process and evaluated for social and emotional. Should I request an OT eval also or will they not see him for school based OT since his fine motor skills are fine? Do you think he might have high functioning asberger's syndrome? I'm a special ed teacher and I feel like something is off about him but it's so frustrating to not be able to pinpoint it. His teacher also feels like something is off with him but doesn't know what it is either. Will they consider asberger's at a social & emotional eval done by a psychologist? Any other ideas?

Carolyn

K&H

They have to work with an eval done by a doctor. Truthfully, asperger's no longer exists as a category as of the DSM-5. There is social pragmatic disorder and high functioning autism. He may fall into either of those. You should get a referral from your pediatrician for a neuropsych eval at a children's hospital, even if it's far away. It likely will take a long time to get this testing, but getting a true autism diagnosis can be tough but helpful in terms of getting needed services.

babybaby

adding just another thing i found on this, in the process of doing my own research. again, a lot of this sounds like what you're describing with aiden:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-s0k7ojazHY

emlklg444

Occupational therapy can also address social/emotional issues and sensory processing/regulation, not just fine motor control. Good luck!

tc44la

Occupational Therapy saved our daughter and us. I do not say this lightly. The way you describe Aiden was her exactly! She's been going to OT for 4 years. I cannot say enough positive things about it. School based OT is usually consultative only. I work as a school counselor so I see these issues daily. I personally believe every child could benefit from OT.

My daughter has a diagnosis of ADHD, and does receive special education services, all related to behavior. She has no academic needs and will be tested for GT. I've had several students over the years who received special ed services AND GT services. I don't really believe she has ADHD. I think her issues are related to her birth mothers drug use and her prematurity. I also believe that she will outgrow her need for services as she continues to mature and learn strategies for coping. It's been a crazy journey, but she's an amazing little girl and we couldn't be more proud. She's 7 and in 1st grade.

Good luck!
Tara

Kari

Could be ASD, could be an anxiety disorder, could be twice exceptional (gifted with a disability) . . . it's really hard to tell. Have your pediatrician refer him to a developmental pediatrician for a diagnosis. They do a few hours of testing and observation and might be able to put a name to what's really going on. I had to do this with Justin and it ended up being not what I thought it was (I was suspecting ODD and it was an anxiety disorder). Often times, it's more than one thing which is why it's so hard to figure out. Good luck, because it can be a long, frustrating process until you get some concrete answers.