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ASD

Autistic Spectrum Disorder

Asperger’s syndrome - 'J' aged 7 years

Background

'J' attended Nursery part-time from 7 months old. When 'J' was just over 2 years the carers pointed out there was something very different about him. He had frustrations with language and the other children which led to many biting incidences (some parents withdrew their children). It was his biting that continued for longer than normal and his lack of understanding that it was wrong that alerted us all to his difficulties. After many appointments and assessments he was finally diagnosed with a high functioning Asperger’s Syndrome.

It was a difficult birth (36 hour labour culminating in emergency Caesarean) and I think I didn’t realise the significance of this until long after. I just thought everyone else seemed to be coping so well and that I was a failure.

He had short attention span as a baby and needed a lot of input (my other son would play for very long periods by himself). 'J' did not run cars along the floor until very late. He also had to clutch items in his hands and this caused him difficulties when having to manipulate things.

He was obsessive about TV and would watch it for as long as he was able and repeat many sections of the same video. He had an obsession with Thunderbirds (and Thomas too). 'J' could concentrate for longer periods when in a quiet tidy room and engaged in solitary play but a toy nearby whilst he was putting his shoes on became a total distraction.

'J' never rolled over as a baby and had a crab like crawl until he was able to walk. He enjoyed all physical activities and I took him swimming from 4 months old. He showed a lack of fear in the water and needed constant supervision. He was always very good with a football but was clumsy and uncoordinated with catching. He was slow to learn to ride a bike and late to grasp the concept of the pedals. He had problems with drawing/writing, feeding himself, buttons and zips and avoided these activities. His independence with life skills was impaired and so he was dependent on adult help. He was unable or unwilling to make any marks on paper (bar a few lines or paint strokes) let alone write his name or even a single letter from it. He had never drawn a picture of himself and could not copy simple marks like crosses and circles. He loved construction kits but his ability to put them together was limited and so he relied on adult help. He could do some jigsaws but as with many things required adult assistance to focus and would not choose to do this activity.

Sign Language

I used some sign language with 'J' when he was a baby to which he responded well. He acquired simple words like his peers but slowly. He was late to combine words and used incomprehensible babble. Often it would seem he had so much to communicate that it would all come in a rush and include irrelevant phrases and words. He was obviously trying hard but missing the point of language. A Speech Therapy report showed that 'J’s' language was delayed and although sometimes appeared appropriate it was accompanied by difficulty in understanding words and sentences. 'J' had learnt chunks of language/ phrases that he heard often and repeated them but they were often not in context.

'J' has always had to have a lot of sleep and although his diet is balanced he will only eat from a limited selection of foods and avoids new food and textures. He was very late to eat lumpy food when he was a baby but ate a huge variety of things. By the time he reached the age of 2, he had narrowed this down considerably and still gets very upset about strange things like food items touching and unusual assortments of food.

He needed everyday routines but had to be continually refocused on them. Faced with his pile of clothes to put on he was unable to sequence the dressing process himself and so I often laid the clothes out in order on the floor. He had problems wearing new and different clothes and shoes and could not put them on by himself at home. Hair cutting was a nightmare.

'J' could attend imaginative play with other children but he needed to be in control and the play had to be on his terms. His play language and ideas were very basic and only sustained for short periods of time. Although he could pick up skills he had problems transferring these to new situations.

Perceiving others emotions

He had difficulty perceiving others emotions and did not always react to adults or peers in the correct way. E.g. Laughing and smiling when being told off or total ignorance of pleas to stop causing pain. He had no concept of personal space and loved to hug and sit on other children, which understandably sometimes caused them distress.

'J' found any change in situations stressful particularly if accompanied by distractions, noise and many children. Even subtle differences to his rigid schedule could be cause for concern such as his brother not going with him to school.

Without warning

'J' could also without warning become aggressive, pushing, hitting and biting and overexcited, flighty/jumpy and unfocussed. His state has been described as if on a knife-edge. He showed a very basic awareness of others needs and showed concern for others but as he has difficulty picking up on subtle indicators this often lead to misunderstandings with aggressive consequences.

> How BrainChild helped J