Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi
My name is Victoria and my Son who is 6 and a half has just been diagnosed formally with being on the Autism spectrum (Mild) The consultant said they don't diagnose Aspergers anymore, but that would be more to what my son has.
At the moment i don't actually know where to start, we have had this in our minds since he was two, so to get a diagnosis just confirms what we already know. However my son does have his challenges and quirks (that makes us frustrated and exhausted)
My son is very number orientated- he is currently teaching himself about space, periodic table and decimal points.
Hello Flamingo83 and welcome. I find it strange what you consultant said because I was diagnosed just last week with Asperger's so they are do still use that diagnosis. I also have a 12 year old foster son with Autism and ADHD so know the struggles you will have gone through to get any diagnosis.
The UK diagnostic system can be weird like that. I was diagnosed over three years ago with "Autistic Spectrum Condition, Level 1", yet a friend referred by the same GP surgery, but to a different diagnostic service, was diagnosed with "Asperger's Syndrome." So it seems that, for some time now, there have been services using the more recent DSM-V criteria (the USA standard) whereas most still use ICD-10 (the international standard.)
The updated ICD-11 international standard was just published a couple of months ago, and essentially incorporates the newer criteria from DSM-V. Of course, it will take quite some time before the new standards trickle down to UN member states' health services, but I wouldn't be surprised to see places anticipating the switch-over, especially as many professionals consider that the new standards model autistic conditions better than the old ones (there is more emphasis on sensory sensitivity, for example.)
Asperger's Syndrome is an interesting case, as one of the requirements is that there is no delay in development of functional language. However, some autistic children with language delay do develop good functional language, either at a slower rate or by suddenly catching up, so delay is not necessarily a good predictor of adult abilities. For people diagnosed late and for whom, like me, it can't be established whether there was a delay or not, it's rather ambiguous whether Asperger's or "high-functioning" Autism would be the right diagnosis, or whether there's any value in distinguishing.
Thank you- academically - he has no problem with speech or language. However conversational language is a struggle at times.
I got the impression that the diagnosis was from not just from the tests he completed, but also statements / questionnaire that us his parents completed and his teacher took part in.