It sounds like she has figure ground auditory processing disorder.. This is what my 10yr old daughter is diagnosed with. She used to have to wear noise-canceling headphones daily. She can't concentrate or hear what she is supposed to hear if there is any sort of background noise.. She can't hear the teacher in co-op classes if there is any sort of humming noise from lights or papers rustling or kids whispering or anything. If people are walking outside the door in high heels or opening and closing doors, etc.. she can't hear what she is supposed to hear. It's very frustrating for her and she has had many meltdowns over it. She did go through 8 weeks of therapy to address this. It didn't help her much.. they retested her at the end of the 8 weeks and said she stayed the same (and one ear actually got worse :tongue_smilie:). But we tried. She has stopped wearing the noise-canceling headphones in the past year though. So I think she is improving from the other interventions that we have implemented such as diet and supplements. She used to be very moody from her sound sensitivity too.. But not so much these days. You could look at programs such as Earobics and The Listening Program. You might also think about getting her evaluated at a speech & hearing clinic that will test auditory processing. Also, there is a type of ear plugs that my daughter likes.. They are the silicone ones that you can shape to fit into the opening of your ear canal. She really likes those and will wear them at noisy places when she doesn't want to wear the headphones.

Yes, he can help it IF he is taught to help it. Having Asperger's certainly doesn't give him bullying rights. People with Asperger's are generally not bullies, but it definitely is not unheard of. He probably has impulse control issues and anger issues (along with the boundary issues mentioned). But he can be taught to control himself with a lot of work. It will take him longer to learn though as he probably has the inability to understand how the other person feels. And with the impulse control issues.. He will have an even tougher time.. Wow, what a tough situation!

I know what you mean.. This is the hard part.. My now 8yr old daughter was down to eating just Ritz crackers and milk before we went GFCF. Sometimes the Ritz crackers would have peanut butter on them. She craved the crackers and the milk so badly.. She asked for them constantly. Taking the only things she would eat away from her was very scary for me. But I had to do something drastic. I think we ended up eating nothing but french fries and GF cookies those first two weeks! It was tough. But the cravings went away and then she began to eat LOTS of other foods. Today, she eats a very good diet. What happens is the peptides from gluten and casein bind with opiate receptors in the brain and mimic an opiate response. The peptides from gluten and casein are called gluteomorphin and caseomorphin. Researchers have found these peptides in the urine of children with autism AND people with Schizophrenia, which indicates they can't break them down like normal people do. Additionally, some people with autism don't have the enzyme DPP-IV in their digestive tract, which is what helps to digest the gluten and casein. The inability to break down these peptides leads to abnormal accumulation in the blood and brain, which leads to adverse effects in brain chemistry. So this is why 1) some kids with autism have the cravings for gluten and casein, and 2) why the GFCF diet works for so many kids. That's interesting that your son doesn't like milk. But it does sound like he's craving the gluten. And just a side note.. One of my Aspies did not have the food cravings.. She ate a normal diet of a variety of food.. but she had daily headaches, encopresis, and was too thin. We found that she has Celiac disease. So not all kids on the spectrum will have the food cravings and the opiate response. It's usually the more hyperactive, aggressive, out-of-control ones. If they are limiting what they eat to just gluten and dairy, that is a huge clue that they have a peptide issue. Great Plains Labs has a peptides urine test http://www.greatplainslaboratory.com . They also have food sensitivity testing.. You would want the IgG blood serum food allergy test which tests for 93 different foods. This is the test that showed us what my kids were reacting to and we found it to be very accurate. Gluten, casein, and soy were off-the-charts high for my 3rd daughter. A high number would be a 5 and she scored between 10-12 for all of these foods. My older two girls can have soy without problems and soy did not show up on their test results (just gluten and casein). Soy makes my 3rd daughter aggressive, wet the bed, dark circles under her eyes, and hyperactive. When she is free of gluten, casein, and soy for long periods of time, I have absolutely no problems out of her. She still has Asperger's, but all of the extra issues aren't there.. The aggression, hyperactivity, constant stimming, OCD, screaming, tantrums, etc. There are other places that do food sensitivity testing.. Alletess is one of them.. http://www.foodallergy.com . They are cheaper than Great Plains, BUT Great Plains accepts some insurances so check with them first. We are military and have military insurance (Tricare). Our insurance paid every penny of IgG testing and several other tests through Great Plains (ordered by our doctor). You can also test for gluten at Enterolab and a few other places. Just keep in mind that you have to be on gluten (and casein, if testing for that) during the time that most of these tests are done. Please let me know if you have any questions!

It is possible to only need to be free of one.. The point of the elimination diet is to figure out which one needs to be eliminated long term. You could go back on dairy before trying gluten free if that makes sense to you.. But for us, dairy free was my new heaven as far as behavior in my 8yr old.. so we stuck with the dairy free while we did gluten free and still saw even more positive results. It wasn't until a year later when she had a gluten infraction (2 donette donuts!) and completely and totally regressed into a child we had never met before (even worse than she was before starting diet).. This is when we knew, without a doubt, that gluten was bad for her. This totally depends on the kid.. If you have a leaky gut (google leaky gut) situation going on that you are trying to heal, but you don't necessarily have Celiac disease, then some people can eventually go back on gluten along with digestive enzymes. If you have full blown Celiac disease or a significant gluten intolerance, then you will want to remain gluten free for life. One of my daughters only had to be dairy free for about a year.. Then she went back on small amounts of dairy with no problems.. She has to be gluten free for life though. Another daughter still has to remain 100% dairy free, gluten free, and soy free even after two years on diet. She will most likely be gluten free for life. This also depends on the kid.. Some kids eat a variety of foods containing calcium.. We do supplement with a Cal/Mag supplement, but most dairy alternatives have calcium. As for gluten, A multi-vitamin will cover most everything that is missing (niacin, etc.). You can get complex carbs from other grains (rice, quinoa, amaranth) and legumes, starchy veggies (potatoes, corn, etc.) and you can get fiber from greens. You might also want to supplement with B vitamins. We do B12 and P-5-P, which is an activated form of B6. Great stuff for ADHD.

For us, the evaluations were extremely helpful. Knowledge is power. My 10yr old, for example.. I had no idea she was gifted and learning disabled. I thought she was just working at grade level because she was of average intelligence.. So this started us on a mission to pinpoint her exact issues.. We were able to pinpoint an auditory processing disorder and slow processing speed across the board. She received therapy for both. As you probably know from my other posts though, diet was the big key for us. It's really going to depend on the kid as to whether or not they need further services, therapies, etc. though.. Some Aspies can get by with minimal supports and few therapies.. Others need many.. My 3rd daughter has many severe issues that have required many different therapies.. She's pretty much been through them all.. Except for auditory.. Every other possible therapy.. I think she's done them all.... ABA, hippotherapy, speech, OT, social skills group, vision therapy, behavior therapy, neurofeedback, biofeedback, interactive metronome, counseling, etc.. Hope that somewhat answers your question... :tongue_smilie:

Hi Missy.. I hate to say this, but your son sounds exactly like one of my daughters with Asperger's.. Is he obsessive about certain topics and does he have trouble keeping friends? How is he with nonverbal stuff.. like reading body language, social cues, and math? Some Aspies excel at math, but most really have a lot of trouble with it. They tend to excel in all things verbal.. Lots of reading. My oldest daughter's dream is to grow up and live in the house that's right across the street from our library.. :lol: That way she can spend every waking hour at the library.. As for the elimination diet.. It does sound like he could benefit from this.. The fact that he is a picky eater and craves the milk so much.. That is a big red flag. The sugar cravings also sometimes have to do with a compromised gut.. There could be a candida/yeast issue, which is causing the cravings. As for the salt cravings.. This could be a long shot and may not be his issue.. But sometimes that can point to an adrenal issue.. Like adrenal fatigue or Addison's.. Does he have a lot of anxiety or irrational fears? My advice would be to go slowly with the elimination trial.. With kids who are so picky and crave things so much.. It can be hard to take away so many foods at once. I would drop the dairy first and let him deal with that shock for about a month. Watch for improved behaviors in that time.. Get ALL casein (milk protein) out of the diet during that month.. Read labels. If his behavior improves (usually within a week or two with dairy), then you know you're on the right track.. The next step will be to do a gluten-free trial as he remains dairy free. Do a gluten-free trial for a minimum of 3 months.. And NO cheating.. One little slip of gluten and you have to start all over again with the elimination trial.. This is because it takes a long time to stop reacting to gluten and even longer to get it completely out of the system (like 8 months). But most people will see an improvement within 3 months if they are going to see an improvement. Some people see an improvement in the first week. It just depends on the kid. Also, keep in mind there is a learning curve with going gluten free.. You can't really consider yourself gluten free until you've been at it for about a month.. Just when you think you're doing good, you discover those french fries he's been eating have gluten.. Or that spice you've been using.. Or whatever.. It's in everything.. Even lunch meat.. So there definitely is a learning curve.. It takes a while to figure it out and master it. I would also start him on probiotics to help improve gut health and get the yeast under control. Fish oil would be another good thing to start him on. If you see improvements with all of this after 3 months, then you know that this is your son's issue - compromised gut health and food sensitivities. Things that improved for us after going gluten and dairy free: Headaches GONE OCD nearly gone Stimming GONE Obsessions improved rigidity/stubborness improved Bedwetting GONE Encopresis GONE Anxiety nearly gone Tantrums GONE Aggression GONE Whining - okay, that one is still here, LOL Food cravings GONE Auditory processing improved Overall processing speed improved Working memory improved Attention/focus improved hyperactivity GONE And for me - chronic muscle/joint pain is gone.. headaches are gone, skin rashes are gone, "brain fog" is gone, anxiety is gone. A couple of books I like are The Autism & ADHD Diet.. And also the cookbook that was mentioned in the above post.. I love that book... TONS of recipes! Good luck and don't hesitate to contact me privately if you have questions.

Oh, I totally get this thread.. I have my hands full with my Aspies as well and a deployed husband for the past 5 years! Not exactly what I had in mind when I decided to get married and have kids! It's really more than one person can handle.. I'm completely numb to tell you the truth. We have the food allergies too so we don't even have the luxury of grabbing a pizza when things get rough. I love your fantasy.. But to answer your question.. No, I really don't do anything right now to take care of myself.. I keep telling myself there will be time to spoil myself later after the kids are grown and (hopefully) living their own lives. My youngest is neurotypical so I might get a break.. oh.. say in about 10 years. Right now, I'm just a robot.. :grouphug:

Sounds like she has a good visual memory! :)

So glad to hear you got the referral. A developmental ped at the Army hospital should be fine. I wouldn't bother with the psychiatrist if you are not interested in meds. Some supplements you could start him on... Fish oil - we use Nordic Naturals Cod Liver oil - strawberry-flavored balls. My kids swallow them whole, but you could squeeze out the oil into some juice, or he could chew them. Fish oil helps to fatten up the brain, allowing for more connections to be made.. Little boys are especially in need of this. Probiotics - Recent research has made the connection between gut health and mental health. In fact, this is the reason why the gluten-free, casein-free (GFCF) diet is so beneficial for some kids who have gut issues and behavioral issues. If nothing else, this is a good preventative measure. B12 - A good brain vitamin Calcium/Magnesium - Sometimes these kids also need some Cal/Mag. If you have been dairy free for the past year, I would especially consider starting this if you haven't already. If he has trouble falling asleep at night, you could start him on melatonin, 1mg sublinguals at bedtime. We use the GNC brand because it is soy free and my daughter has a soy allergy. It tastes really good so there won't be any complaints from your son on this one. My anti-sleep daughter is asleep within 30 minutes of taking this. Does he have any anxiety or OCD tendencies? It is very possible to handle these kids without meds.. I had the most out of control daughter with severe OCD, severe ADHD, very aggressive, very moody, never slept, constant stimming, screaming, behavior issues out the wazoo.. We did have to use medications for a while until I was able to formulate a med-free plan (it was either meds or I die because I couldn't live another day with her OCD rituals and constant stimming, hyperactivity, defiance, etc.).. But today (age 8) she is med free and very stable in every area. The ADHD is probably our most problematic issue right now, but it's not near as severe as it used to be. Her Asperger's is ever present too, but since she is homeschooled, it's not a huge problem area for us. Please don't hesitate to contact me!

This is very true.. Even with my three in the same family with the same parents and the same upbringing.. They are completely different from one another. My oldest is your typical "quirky" Aspie..Obsessive reader, walking encyclopedia, low nonverbal scores, etc.. She gets easily frustrated and is very irritable, but she is not especially violent or aggressive, though she definitely is not completely innocent of these things. My 2nd daughter will have the daily "spat" with another sibling that includes some aggression.. But still not considered an aggressive child. My 3rd daughter.. Extremely aggressive.. She will attack, punch, scream, break things, kick, and not hesitate to hurt (badly) a sibling who, in her eyes, "wronged her" in some way.. several times a day even. She does pretty good when her diet is clean of all her allergens/sensitivities.. But here lately, she's been going through a bout of aggression and OCD both so something is triggering these behaviors.. But yes, she can be very, very aggressive. If we had not discovered her allergens and removed them, I think she would have been in inpatient care at least once by the age of 10 for sure. Her behavior gets that bad. And her OCD gets just as bad.. Very severe OCD. Unbearable!!! So yes, all very different.. No two Aspies the same.

Write down a list of all his symptoms to have with you.. You could even give it to the doctor to avoid talking about your son right in front of him. Don't take no for an answer as far as getting that referral goes.. You will regret it later. Don't leave until you have convinced the doctor that you need the referral. Just an FYI, in case you don't know.. If you are Tricare Standard, then you don't need a referral. Tricare Prime people need referrals. And it may depend on the base.. But if you have a Naval hospital or an Army hospital where you are, then you will get sent there instead of out in town. Not a bad starting point, but be prepared to argue your case because some doctors (both military and civilian) just don't see what you see at first glance. I was fortunate.. Mine did. But I've heard so many times that the parents were not taken seriously and the situations were blown off, only to find later that there were significant issues that would have benefited from an early diagnosis. BTW.. I sent you an e-mail yesterday.. Did you get it? Good luck and let us know how it goes!!

I have to 2nd the Houston Enzymes.. We use TriEnza.. It takes care of everything.. gluten, casein, lactose, soy, phenols, etc. I only give it to my daughters when they have the occasional dairy or soy. Very small amounts of dairy or soy (like an ingredient on a box or some salad dressing, etc.). We never drink milk or eat dairy ice cream, etc. unless we're at a party. We also never consume gluten no matter what. Not even at parties and not even with enzymes.. Gluten is evil in our family. And you might be interested to know that most people who are lactose intolerant are also gluten intolerant. The gluten intolerance causes the lactose intolerance. Google it for more info. Glad the dairy free is working out for you!

:lol::lol: This is exactly the kind of thing that goes on here.. My oldest daughter especially had a constant need to create things when she was younger.. She has since channeled that creativity into writing. Now my 3rd daughter does the constant creating and making.. Tissue, yarn, tacks, tape, etc.. Whatever she can find.. She makes messes everywhere. When I try to give her a structured craft activity, she melts.. :confused: I think all her creative energy is spent focused on making things for her dinosaurs so nothing else interests her. I tried to get her to make an "All About Me" lapbook last week and she wouldn't have anything to do with it. She's all about the dinos!

Couch cushions :lol: Swing set Outdoor trampoline Giant exercise ball Chewelry A good pet!!

I would 100% agree with this. I was never tested for Celiac (I obviously have it), but my mother, another obvious Celiac, tested negative on her Celiac test. She has been diagnosed with everything under the sun.. Irritable bowel, fibromyalgia, depression, anxiety, sleep disorder, degenerative disk disease, migraines, etc. etc..(also ADHD & learning disabled as a child). And now she is also diagnosed with dermatitis herpetiformis, which is a skin condition caused ONLY by having full blown Celiac disease! I finally got her to go gluten-free just this year despite a negative Celiac test and she could not believe how quickly everything went away.. No more headaches, muscle pain, irritable bowel, etc. etc. She is a new person! Knowing what I know now, I don't even bother recommending Celiac testing. Just go straight to the elimination diet and see if things improve. If something makes you feel bad, don't eat it! I don't need a test to tell me not to eat gluten. It makes me sick, breaks my skin out in horrible rashes, gives me headaches, fatigue, muscle and joint pain.. No thank you! This is also true.. But you can do IgG testing, which usually shows a gluten sensitivity.. Even the smallest sensitivity. This is how I had my kids tested.. They tested off-the-charts high for gluten sensitivity.. I think at least one of them has full blown Celiac, if not two. One of them did test negative for Celiac, but her IgG was outrageous for gluten. One reason many people test negative on Celiac tests is because it looks for IgA antibodies to gluten and many Celiacs are actually IgA deficient!! You can do various types of gluten sensitivity testing (including IgG) through Great Plains Lab, Alletess, Biotek, or Enterolab.

I'm using it with my 8yr old who is still struggling with reading fluency. She has reversal issues and is currently going through vision therapy.

We are a military family and we live in Oklahoma. Are you going to Lawton or near Oklahoma City? I can help put you in touch with the appropriate contacts once you get here. Have you tried an elimination diet with your son? Does he drink a lot of dairy and crave things like crackers and breads? If so, he might need to be dairy free and gluten free. My now 8yr old daughter was completely out of control when she was your son's age. She was completely addicted to both dairy and crackers/breads. Removing these foods was the best thing we ever did for her.. She has been through numerous therapies, but none of them even came close to what changing her diet did for her. We also had to remove soy for her. But her aggression, rage, hyperactivity, and stimming is gone now. Her severe OCD is gone now also. She is very manageable today. But if she gets the slightest bit of gluten or dairy or soy, she regresses back to the way she used to be. Sometimes even worse than ever before depending on how much she gets. Please contact me privately if you have any questions. We are in the Oklahoma City area and I know a good Naturopath who is very affordable. I also know how to squeeze every last drop out of Tricare for therapies and alternative docs. We've barely had to pay a penny for all sorts of therapies and for our DAN (Defeat Autism Now) doctor. We also got food sensitivity testing done, all paid for by Tricare. Get in touch with me and I'll guide you! :) I also wanted to add... You can go to your military primary care doc and ask for a referral to a psychologist out in town to do the evaluations. Tricare will pay for it. I've had all four of my children evaluated through private psychs and Tricare paid every penny. Are you Tricare Prime or Standard? We are Prime. I would initiate the eval now and get that done while you're in San Antonio.. Wait lists here are only about 2 months for evaluations with child psychologists. So you could probably get that done where you are now and then wait till you get to OK to begin therapies, etc.

This is true.. And also gluten.. This is because the proteins are nearly identical so our bodies respond in the same way. This is for people who are sensitive to the proteins, not for people who have immediate onset (anaphylactic-type) allergies. To get extra protein in, try using quinoa flour, quinoa pasta, quinoa whole grain, etc.. It's VERY high in protein.. Also Amaranth is another grain high in protein.. I use at least one of them in some way every day. It's so easy... today I boiled some quinoa whole grain for 15 minutes.. Then I added some shredded chicken (from last night's dinner) and half a can of tomato sauce.. I also added flax seed. So easy and so cheap and SOOO HEALTHY.. When I bake anything, I always use a mixture of quinoa, amaranth, and brown rice flour.. I add a little tapioca flour to even out the texture..

It will be okay!! We've been gluten free, dairy free, and soy free for 2 years now.. After a while you don't miss it.. It becomes your new normal.. I put coconut milk in my coffee.. try it in your tea. It's thick like milk. Good luck!!!!

I imagine they would get no where with her in math at the public school as well. Sounds like she is thriving at home.. Why change that? She probably has a math disability.. She can be accommodated throughout life for this. Just work with her at her level and progress when she is ready.. don't stress about the grade level. That's her level and that's all that's relevant. That's all that matters. As for good rote, mastery programs.. Saxon would fit this description.. However, I think it would be a torturous program for a kid on the spectrum with math issues (I have one). I know what you mean about skipping the mental tricks and full understanding and just going with rote. It can be extra work for these kids with the wrong program. But honestly, RightStart Math saved us from math hell when my oldest daughter was 8. She just was not getting it.. I had tried every program on the market and nothing worked for her.. RightStart was the only thing I didn't throw out the window! It's full of the "extras", but it's also very gentle and easy to understand. Fully scripted and fun too.. My daughter began to enjoy and understand math. We no longer had the daily math drama.. She just wasn't getting the traditional approach at all.. She needed the manipulatives, the alternative explanations, and the visual of the abacus. It all came together for her with RS. My daughter has great difficulty with abstract concepts.. RightStart makes math concrete. This is why it worked for her. I would highly recommend looking into it.. http://www.alabacus.com Now, on the other hand, my 3rd daughter hates RightStart.. I think she just doesn't want to sit through a lesson though.. She wants to go straight to the workbook and be done as quickly as possible.. I'm still figuring this kid out. :tongue_smilie:

I don't think so.. Just a regular OT that our insurance sent us to. I didn't realize there were specialty OT's! And I had no idea that an OT could check for retained reflexes!! I'm starting to feel like we didn't have a great OT!:glare: That's good to know.. I am sooooo hoping and praying that she improves in so many areas with this VT.. she really has a lot of issues.

Thanks.. this is helpful.. I originally thought her issues were mild and we wouldn't be in VT for more than 4 months.. the VT has predicted 24 sessions, I think it was.. I don't know about that now.. I'm going to show her how dd writes her numbers when we go to therapy this week. She had her write single digit numbers for the evaluation.. So she couldn't have seen her write from right to left because she was only writing one number at a time! I don't know if this is significant information in the whole big picture of VT.. Don't know if it changes "the plan" from what we will already be doing.. But I'll mention it to the dr anyway.

I was frustrated with our OT.. I kept asking her to work on sensory issues, but she insisted that dd's fine motor delay and ADHD were her main issues.. She did do *some* sensory activities and "body in space" type stuff.. But after dd learned to write her name and attend to a lesson for so many minutes, she said we could stop coming. It's been over 2 years since we stopped going.. do you think I should have another OT eval done?

Thanks Jessica.. We have already done IM.. We did it as part of our behavior therapy program on and off for over a year. I really like IM for these special kids. And yes, there is definitely what appears to be a gross motor issue with my daughter that probably stems from her visual issues and retained reflex.. She is clumsy and one of those kids who is just "all over the place" when standing next to you. She can't be still or stay off of things or stop knocking things over.. Constantly moving.. She did OT for almost a year when she was 5, but they mainly focused on fine motor as that was very delayed at the time. I've never thought of a PT eval for her.. If we've done OT, IM, and VT, would we need PT too?

Thank you so much, OhE! I'll definitely look into the Davis method and all it entails. She is a very hands-on, visual child.. constantly trying to make things,, very crafty.. She has an excellent visual memory so I think she really would benefit from this and enjoy it too.. Thanks so much.. Can't wait to investigate and see what I can find out.. I've been avoiding this dyslexia issue for so long.. In denial, I think.. She does definitely need the vision therapy.. She has been evaluated by 3 different VT's and they all found the same problem areas.. so I am not questioning the VT... It is money well spent. But like you said.. I think we have many layers to peel back.. What a ride!!! Thanks again.