Asperger Syndrome Support Group
Asperger syndrome - also referred to as Asperger's syndrome, Asperger's, Aspergers or just AS - is one of five neurobiological pervasive developmental disorders (PDD), and is characterized by deficiencies in social and communication skills, normal to above normal intelligence, and standard language development.
My son is in the process of screening/diagnosis for Aspergers Syndrome. He certainly has all of the criteria for it and I am not sure why his therapist has not gone through with the official paperwork. Anyway, he has so much trouble making/keeping friends and it is so painful for him because he is a social and confident kid, he just can come across as annoying and inappropriate when he is trying to make friends.
One annoying quirk he has is using a baby voice. This is ironic because he never used that voice when he was at the appropriate age for it...he always spoke correctly from the time that he could speak and this baby talk began when he was around 6 yrs old - probably to soothe his nerves for all the changes in school and such.
He is also accademically highly intelligent and it is reflected in his grades, but only in topics that he is interested in. He has trouble focusing when it is not something of particular interest to him.
Are there any other Moms that have a son this age with Aspergers?
One annoying quirk he has is using a baby voice. This is ironic because he never used that voice when he was at the appropriate age for it...he always spoke correctly from the time that he could speak and this baby talk began when he was around 6 yrs old - probably to soothe his nerves for all the changes in school and such.
He is also accademically highly intelligent and it is reflected in his grades, but only in topics that he is interested in. He has trouble focusing when it is not something of particular interest to him.
Are there any other Moms that have a son this age with Aspergers?
http://www.brainbalancecenters.com
These are centers run by the published author Dr. Melillo, focusing on re-training Aspie kids to learn Neuro Typical behaviors.
www.modelmekids.com
These are interactive CDs and workbooks that a child can practice repeatedly, covering a variety of social situations.
If your family therapist is dragging his feet on a diagnosis, contact your local or state Autism Society for a referral to one of their recommended diagnostic psychologists or psychiatrists.
As for keeping your son interested in subjects he may find to be boring, find ways to make them interesting to him. Do Math problems with toy cars or cookies; "act out" history lessons by each of you playing historical figures, with the living room or the back yard as the "battlefield". English lesson could be the 'putting into his own words' an interesting subject from the encyclopedia, Aspies don't think in the same way that NT's think. Since Society is NT-oriented (and NT-biased), life's gonna always be a challenge for him. But the clever ones find ways to succeed.
You'll probably find that your son likes the sound or the texture of the baby voice and that's why he's doing it. Training him out of it will help but at the same time, perhaps letting him know that there are times and places where it's ok and times and places where it's not.
It's quite common for people with aspergers syndrome to like to repeat sounds, phrases and movie-quotes.
One question I have is does anyone have difficulties getting their AS kid to go to school in the morning?