Asperger's - Pineville,KY

Hello K.. My son has high-functioning autism but you wouldn't know it to look at him. Here's my thoughts:
--beating his head -- this is a sensory-seeking behavior...he's looking to "feel". Your son should begin Occupational Therapy soon, The earlier sensory behaviors are addressed the better the outcome.
--rocking -- this is a "stim" -- stimulating behavior -- which is a child-directed way to calm himself. Repetitive movement is a classic sign of autism.
--plays well with others -- my son plays well with others when he is not dealing with sensory issues. Not all autistic children avoid peer interaction, some want to play with others and do try to control the other kids' play (so there are less unpredictability -- autistic children do not like "monkey wrenches", they tend to NEED the known and don't like unexpected action.
--Aspergers or high-functioning autistic children have average or above average intelligence. It's a common misconception that all autistic children have learning disabilities. My son was counting to 100 and reading board books at 3 -- he's not learning disabled, just needs the right environment.
Seriously....call some pediatric occupational therapists in your area...this is critical. Your son has sensory-seeking behavior which signals something is neurologically wrong. It's treatable -- please have hope that with therapy, all will soon be bright. Autism (Aspberger's etc.,) is not curable but it definitely is treatable. Seeing the difference in my son (who sounds a lot like your son) at age 6 from 2 1/2, you wouldn't know it was the same child. Seriously, occupational therapy works wonders and helps the child find the tools to deal with their behaviors. Children know/feel when something isn't right, it's up to us as parents to help them to help themselves to right the wrong feelings they have. Best wishes.

There is a wide range of Aspergers.
Many of them are very very gifted.

They say, Bill Gates... is one. A borderline high functioning Aspie... and that he 'rocks' when he thinks.

Rocking... is also done by a child sometimes, to self-soothe, or shut out outside over-stimulation... or to think etc., and helps them to focus...

My friend's son, is an Aspie. Very bright... very much a unique great genius kid. He rocks. He is fine. He is 6 years old. He is in school, has friends, is social, gets along with others.... and is very 'normal.'

Many 'geniuses' or prodigies..... are Aspies.

My daughter, in her Karate class... has an Aspie classmate. He's a middle school boy. Very bright... very. Photographic memory as well. He read a professional medical journal once, and then recited all that he learned to his Mom...even telling her about Menopause. And how she can take care of herself. He has some rhythmic gestures he does... which is really benign... and the Mom says, it helps him de-stress. As she says "better than biting his fingernails!"

Many positives... to this. But of course, a concern for any parent. Naturally.

Every State... has an "Early Childhood Intervention" organization. They do, until a child is 3 years old... full developmental assessments on a child... for FREE.
You do not have to be referred by a Doctor.
Just do a Google Search for your area.

all the best,
Susan

Aspies tend to be very very smart (ranging from bright to gifted to profoundly gifted), and also form loving relationships. It's "spectrum" but it's HIGH functioning autism. Lots of quirks (for example, most aspies are *almost* compulsively honest, about everything, all the time), but the quirks are nowhere near the Low Functioning most people think of when they think of Autism. (failure to make eye contanct, to connect, to be able to interact with the world, etc., are all traits of LOW functioning autism).

Aspies tend to be *very* successful in their chosen field, because the passion that they have for ________ (be it computers, art/film/music, math, languages, code breaking, astrophysics, what have you), and their sheer capacity to absorb and retain info related to those passions is staggering.

My experience with Aspies is fairly limited to my own friends, my husbands coworkers (you can't swing a cat in computer engineering/programming without hitting a half dozen aspies), and my son's best friend. Others on here who are parents of Aspies can do a much better job, I'm sure, of giving you more details. I don't live with Aspergers 24/7 or work professionally with it like I do with ADHD. Probably the biggest thing to remember is that we are NOT our diagnosis. That's just how our brains work. I'm adhd... so like most adhd'ers I'm creative, passionate, energetic, quasi-eiditic, have sensory issues, have my own version of time, am in severe need of a maid, etc... but I am my own self. Every Aspie, ADHD'er, etc., we're all unique individuals with different personalities, tastes, challenges, and gifts.

For the best fictional portrayal of an adult Aspie I have ever seen check out Chloe O'Brian from the tv series 24. Especially as her character develops over the seasons.

That's very good that you are going to a university for testing.
Until you have the testing done, there isn't much else you can do
since you don't really know what's what.

If it turns out your child does have Aspergers,
or is somewhere on the autism spectrum,
the people who do the testing will make suggestions
of what you should do next to help your son
continue to grow well, in health, intelligence, etc.

If it turns out he doesn't have Aspergers,
they will also have some suggestions.

I'm glad you found a doctor who is interested (passionate?)
about helping find out what's going on with your son,
and finding ways to help him be the best he can be.
So many times, moms get frustrated when doctors
don't take their concerns seriously.

I know you're concerned about the head-banging.
Hopefully they'll have suggestions for you to stop this behavior.
Whether it's caused by Aspergers or some other reason,
it's a good idea to get this behavior stopped
before he does any serious damage.
Some children need to wear helmets to protect their cute little heads.

Try not to worry. It sounds like you're doing a very good job,
and your son sounds like a smart little boy.

Please let us know what happens.

If the doctor didn't tell you why he suggests your son has Asperger's call and ask him. Asperger's is a milder form of autism. My grandson has been evaluated by several different specialists and they have not been willing to come right out and say he has autism. I think it's rare that even a specialist would be able to know that a child has Asperger's after just one visit.

Is it possible that you misunderstood? Perhaps the doctor was giving you a possibility and not an outright diagnosis. Hitting his head against things and rocking could be a part of Asperger's but it can also be a symptom of other conditions. You are right to persevere until you get some answers.

I also don't understand why you're being sent to Utah. Surely there are specialists much closer to where you live.

All school districts are required by federal law to provide evaluation and treatment if needed for any condition that would prevent a child from learning in the school setting. Evaluations are done for babies as young as new born. Have you tried using that system as a way to get started? There is no charge.

Good that you're sticking with finding information. Autism can be difficult to diagnose. Evaluation takes weeks or months by several different experts. Utah just seems to far to go.

I think it could be a sensory processing disorder. http://www.sleepnet.com/child2/messages/220.html

http://www.upledgerclinic.com/sensoryintegrationcraniosac...

Good luck!