Anybody have experience of Aspergers?

A while back our sons teacher told us she thought he was dyslexic but as the years have progressed we are realising there is more to it than that. He shows classic signs of aspergers syndrome.

His headteacher agrees it is a possible conclusion.

I have an appointment to see the doctor on Friday, but what happens after that?

whats the procedure for diagnosis?

I have read up on it but not much is said on the families experiences.

He has no idea he might have a problem but he knows something is different about him. He a very poor short term memory but long term is amazing. He is ahead of where he should be for reading and about right for all other subjects. He is 8 years old, can't use a knife and fork at all, holds pens oddly. He is obsessive over things and spends hours worrying over things

Any experiences on here?

Hia I have worked with Autistic adults for 5 years and manage a residential unit for five adults, all on completely different levels of the spectrum. I also teach proactscip which is basically looking at Autism how it effects an individual, communication difficulties and how to proactively work with an individual to get needs met.
I have also got alot of contacts for parents who need support, advice or any other issues that may come up so if you need any advice just pm me, if i cant help i will know someone that can!

Hope that helps!

brilliant thanks so much for that, I might be in touch after docs x

Yes, I used to be the special needs co-ordinator when I taught full-time. It was a while ago but I think he will get referred for an assessment by an educational psychologist. The referral can come from either school or |GP so it might be worth speaking to both to see if one is a speedier route..His school should have a named SENCO whom you could talk to who would know more about the routes available and also whether there is a quicker route to get funding for some possible extra help at school. However if it is not affecting his schooling or his behaviour there may be nothing he is entitled to within the school's support service. However there will be someone who could provide help with the knife/fork dexterity side of things. Even if school thinks they would not be entitled to any extra help for him it is still worth pushing for an assessemnt and a diagnosis as once in place a statement of need has to be drawn up which is a legal document. This means if things change or he needs extra help such as a laptop as he grows older you are already in the system. It is also worth noting that a diagnosis will allow for extra time/help with formal exams later in his school life.

Hope that has helped a little.

also not sure if I should take him to the doctors, as he has no idea about any of this. I dont want him feeling awkward at the Drs or should I sit down and explain it to him first? I know at some point he will need to be seen but will the Dr need to see him?

I don't think the doctor will need to see him as I think the assessment would be done by an educational psychologist(see my post above). If it were me I would go and discuss it with the doc without your son in the first instance...

This might be a good site to have a look at before you go....

http://school.familyeducation.com/le...ior/56316.html

yes thakyou, he is a very bright boy and accademically is not suffering. Although he gets terrible and over the top worries and once its in his head its a nightmare sorting it. The head has said that if we get no joy with the Dr then she has other routes she can guide us down. He had an ed Psyc assessment about 2 years ago for the dyslexia all she picked up on was the poor memory which can be very bad. His writing is not too bad when he takes his time but it can go to extremes lol. I have managed up till now but the fears are getting quite out of hand ( he was up till 11pm last night worried he was going to hell as he had been naughty , apparently a "friend" had told him naughty people go to hell, so obviously he would be going too .....he was distraught) there are more cases too

Then I would go to the docs on your won and discuss these instances. It sounds like you need some support and advice and he would not need to be involved at this stage. Good luck. If I can help any more drop me a pm.

thanks