New twist

The other morning while getting dressed for work I had the tv on to watch the weather when there was a bit on Good Morning America about a family with six kids who all have been diagnosed with varying levels of Autism.  At first I was thinking “what the hell?” How do you keep having kids after your second one is diagnosed??  Not only does it seem a bit selfish to me to keep having children if you have the slightest inkling that you might breed others with challenges that will keep them from having a semi-normal life – it also seems a bit insane to put yourself through that as a parent.

But as I half-listened to the story, deeming the parents crazy, I heard some things that perked my ears up.  The two oldest kids are considered “high-functioning” austistic.  Some also call what they suffer with Asperger’s Syndrome.  The description of those two kids included several things that sounded very much like some of the personality quirks that D has.  I looked it up online and found signs and symptoms listed at a couple of different sites that made my jaw drop.  I’ve posted them below, and highlighted in bold the ones that pertain to D…

(From WebMD) Children with Asperger’s syndrome may:

• Not pick up on social cues and lack inborn social skills, such as being able to read others’ body language, start or maintain a conversation, and take turns talking.
• Dislike any changes in routines.
• Appear to lack empathy.
• Be unable to recognize subtle differences in speech tone, pitch, and accent that alter the meaning of others’ speech. Thus, your child may not understand a joke or may take a sarcastic comment literally. Likewise, his or her speech may be flat and difficult to understand because it lacks tone, pitch, and accent.
• Have a formal style of speaking that is advanced for his or her age. For example, the child may use the term “beckon” instead of “call,” or “return” instead of “come back.”
• Avoid eye contact.
• Have unusual facial expressions or postures.
• Be preoccupied with only one or few interests, which he or she may be very knowledgeable about. Many children with Asperger’s syndrome are overly interested in parts of a whole or in unusual activities, such as doing intricate jigsaw puzzles, designing houses, drawing highly detailed scenes, or astronomy.
• Talk a lot, usually about a favorite subject. One-sided conversations are common. Internal thoughts are often verbalized.
• Have delayed motor development. Your child may be late in learning to use a fork or spoon, ride a bike, or catch a ball. He or she may have an awkward walk. Handwriting is often poor.
• Have heightened sensitivity and become overstimulated by loud noises, lights, or strong tastes or textures.

This list comes from the Mayo Clinic:

Engaging in one-sided, long-winded conversations, without noticing if the listener is listening or trying to change the subject

Displaying unusual nonverbal communication, such as lack of eye contact, few facial expressions, or awkward body postures and gestures

Showing an intense obsession with one or two specific, narrow subjects, such as baseball statistics, train schedules, weather or snakes

Appearing not to understand, empathize with, or be sensitive to others’ feelings

Having a hard time “reading” other people or understanding humor

Speaking in a voice that is monotonous, rigid or unusually fast

Moving clumsily, with poor coordination

Other signs I found that are descriptive of D are:

• Excellent Rote Memory.  D has always had a very precise and photographic memory.  She was a shark at the game “concentration”, and she could remember going to a particular house once for a yard sale years after being there.
• Preoccupation With Personal Agenda. Now, I know this is a “teenager” trait as well, but it extends to the point of her stressing out and bringing things up over and over when she’s wanting a response about plans we are making.
• May display an unusual sensitivity to sensory stimuli (for example, they may be bothered by a light that no one else notices; they may cover their ears to block out sounds in the environment; or they might prefer to wear clothing made only of a certain material).  D has always been very strict about the kind of clothes she wears, never liked wearing headbands or bandaids as a kid.
• Conversations almost always revolving around self rather than others.  This also sounds very much like D’s dad.
• Lack of “common sense”.  Again, something most teenagers display from time to time, but it is evident with D all the time – and, she doesn’t seem to remember lessons learned the last time she made a poor decision.  No inner dialogue at all.

Well I have decided that it’s not my place to say whose children are more “normal” or “challenging” than others.  For all I know, those parents deal with their six challenging kids a lot better than I deal with my one.  What’s really weird is how the things that I’ve always attributed to D’s personality quirks (buttoning shirts all the way up to the top, eating certain foods every day and getting upset if they’re not available, not getting it when we tease her and stomping off to her room) could actually be a sign of a disorder.  I am just amazed.

So, I’m even more determined that it’s time to get back to good old Dr. Jacoby.  Interestingly, several of the articles I read said that many kids with AS are diagnosed with ADHD to begin with.  I can see why this would be the case, but I definitely think there is something else going on with D besides possible ADHD.  I’ll keep you posted.

~ by mrsmarshall on February 13, 2008.