[beth]

Welcome to the developmental disorders and learning disabilities subforum. I am a psychologist and senior blogger for Families.com and have written a series of articles on autism, Asperger's disorder and adults with Asperger's. I have a special interest in the latter subject. You can read my blogs by simply going to the Mental Health blog (listed below) and look under Autism and Asperger's.

[busymomof7]

hi i am brand new to this,& have been struggling for some time now. my son was diagnosed about a year ago, but it has been suspected for several years. i need some advice,& support, ihonestly dont know what to do anymore,please help me.

[deedee1231]

Hi busymomof7- I am a busy mom of 4, I know it can be very challenging trying to meet the needs of all of your children and it is even more of a challenge when one is on the autistic spectrum. My son is 10 and was diagnosed with high functioning autism at 6. While I am certainly no expert, I would be happy to offer any support I can give, but I don't feel like I know enough about your situation to really do that.

What is his diagnosis? What specific things is he having a hard time with? What do you hope to acheive with him, do you have specific goals that you would like him to reach? Do you have any interventions in place for his behaviors? Please tell us what is going on so we can help you.

[busymomof7]

sorry, im really nervous& not real good on computer i honestly havnt gotten much info, he is 14 has severe ADHD, & now im told he has aspergers,dont really have a treatment plan, havnt really been given anything to go on, ireally only have 4 kids, 2dogs,& a husband, who is more demanding than all of them, i just had trouble finding a username not taken.so, here are some meds, good luck,now i am finally reaching out,i know i cant do this alone!

[deedee1231]

Hmmm, I don't know how much help I can be because my son is not yet in his teens yet and he doesn't have ADHD with his autism. My younger brother grew up with ADHD, and is now treated for adult ADHD as well. What meds is your son taking? I assume the meds are for the ADHD, not the aspergers? My brother used to take a full dose of ritalin during school and a half does on weekends or school holidays. At times, he would stop taking it for a few weeks at a time and he would be very difficult to manage during those times.

What aspergers characteristics is your son exhibiting? For the most part, you have to simply pick apart the behaviors and treat each on seperately with these kids, because there really isn't an umbrella treatment program for these disorders.

[families10]

How autism differs from aspergers?

[deedee1231]

That is a really big question. My first thought is that it has more to do with the diagnostic criteria for either disorder than noticeable differences within either autistic persons or persons with aspergers syndrome. But please remember that I am not an expert on the subject, just a parent of an autistic boy!
Many people would say that aspergers is a mild form of autism or that aspergers and autism are pretty much the same thing only aspergers sufferers have higher intelligence levels than people diagnosed with autistism. I have heard all of these explanations and I disagree with them because my son was diagnosed with high functioning autism and scored very, very high on an IQ test in the same day, at the same appointment.

I can only say that the two disorders are very similar, but having said that...each case of either disorder is very different and unique. I do think persons with autism tend to have more difficulties functioning in a mainstream environment than those with aspergers, however, there are those who are "high functioning" like my son, who are able to get along in a normal environment.