Diagnosis

Hi everyone.  I am new to this forum.  I have a ten year  old son who has been diagnosed with ADHD, Tourette's Syndrome and O C D.  I am pretty sure he also has aspergers.  My problem is that my sons Consultant has said because he can look you in the eye and have  a conversation, he does not have aspergers.  I have been told by other professionals that thus  is wrong.  My son is starting senior school in September and I have been told by his present teacher that his is going to struggle because he does not deal with change of routine.  Anyone else similar difficulties.

Parents
  • My problem is that my sons Consultant has said because he can look you in the eye and have  a conversation, he does not have aspergers.

    This is incorrect for a couple of reasons.

    Firstly, the "eye contact" thing is actually extreme eye contact, and extremes always have 2 ends. It is common for people with autism to either avoid eye contact altogether, or do excessive eye contact. I am diagnosed with autism and I am known to do excessive eye contact, i.e. I hold eye contact for the entire conversation, whereas "normal" people would do some eye contact and then flick their eyes away at times. Also I can hold a conversation; autism is a difficulty with social interaction, not a complete inability. I probably don't "connect" as well with people in conversations, but I can talk to anyone about anything.

    Second, the criteria for diagnosing autism is based on social difficulty meaning the understanding someone has of social situations and other social aspects. There are many symptoms, such as eye contact, conversational ability, love of routine, lack of social understanding, poor planning ability, meltdowns, reduction in ability to process or identify feelings and many other "unusual" behaviours. You have to take into consideration all the factors, not just pick one or two things and say yes or no.

    It's clear your son's Consultant doesn't really know anything about autism; if I told the clinical psychologist who diagnosed me that a consultant said "he doesn't have autism because he can look you in they eye" I'd probably find her rolling around on the floor laughing - it's such a basic misconception that your consultant has gotten wrong that it shows they have no understanding at all of autism.

Reply
  • My problem is that my sons Consultant has said because he can look you in the eye and have  a conversation, he does not have aspergers.

    This is incorrect for a couple of reasons.

    Firstly, the "eye contact" thing is actually extreme eye contact, and extremes always have 2 ends. It is common for people with autism to either avoid eye contact altogether, or do excessive eye contact. I am diagnosed with autism and I am known to do excessive eye contact, i.e. I hold eye contact for the entire conversation, whereas "normal" people would do some eye contact and then flick their eyes away at times. Also I can hold a conversation; autism is a difficulty with social interaction, not a complete inability. I probably don't "connect" as well with people in conversations, but I can talk to anyone about anything.

    Second, the criteria for diagnosing autism is based on social difficulty meaning the understanding someone has of social situations and other social aspects. There are many symptoms, such as eye contact, conversational ability, love of routine, lack of social understanding, poor planning ability, meltdowns, reduction in ability to process or identify feelings and many other "unusual" behaviours. You have to take into consideration all the factors, not just pick one or two things and say yes or no.

    It's clear your son's Consultant doesn't really know anything about autism; if I told the clinical psychologist who diagnosed me that a consultant said "he doesn't have autism because he can look you in they eye" I'd probably find her rolling around on the floor laughing - it's such a basic misconception that your consultant has gotten wrong that it shows they have no understanding at all of autism.

Children