Questions for those with children "on the spectrum"...

[lovinmomma]

Specifically, I'm interested in hearing from parents of GIRLS who are on the spectrum. We're dealing with some very serious issues with dd7. I've been told that autism can look different for girls vs. boys. I'm not sure if dsd7 is severely dyslexic, has a processing disorder, or possibly low IQ? We're really struggling with understanding what is going on with her. I have a 2e child, dyslexic child, a child that is either severely ADD or who has some sort of OCD issue, and then this child that I just can't figure out where to begin with. The things that we're experiencing with her I've never seen before. She's in PS and has a one on one tutor because she's struggling so severely. But they're just labeling her as ADD.I've never seen ADD present itself in this way. Dd still struggles with turning door knobs, has very little understanding of reading or math. She doesn't seem to understand WHAT is being asked of her. Not that she doesn't know how to figure out the answer. She doesn't understand what is being asked. I don't even know how to explain it. Lol I thought I would start here trying to rule some things out. :)

[kbutton]

Have you looked at some autism blogs or information pages? I have a boy on the spectrum and next to no experience with girls. One teenage girl I know has a different set of issues from my son, but her outward symptoms came across to me as overtly spectrum (and I was right when we got to know the family). Everyone else I know that might be on the spectrum and female is a hunch rather than confirmed.

[PeterPan]

Have they run the CELF (a language processing test)?  The SLP should run it and the school can do it.  You make a formal written request for them to evaluate for language processing problems, learning disabilities, and for whether she needs OT and PT.  Whether there's ASD going on, yes, you may need private evals to sort that out.  A private autism clinic will do OT, SLP, etc. evals as well, because you really need ALL the evals to get a complete picture.  So my advice is to stop guessing the label and get the evals.  It doesn't matter where you start.  Start with what you can afford.

[Crimson Wife]

Dyslexia, auditory processing disorders, working memory deficits and AD(H)D are all frequently co-morbid with each other and with ASD. I would get on the waiting list for a neuropsychologist or educational psychologist and in the meantime get an evaluation by a speech & language pathologist that includes a test of phonological processing like a CTOPP.

 

My youngest daughter has diagnoses of autism, ADHD, auditory and verbal working memory deficits, and appears to have difficulty with auditory processing. She is too young for a CAPD eval and even when she gets older, the physical hearing impairment may disqualify her from an "official" CAPD diagnosis. I am trying to get her accepted to the local Scottish Rite clinic to receive Fast ForWord since I think that would help regardless of the diagnostic label.

[IsabelC]

My almost 7yo ASD girl is nothing at all like your daughter sounds (although she is also very different from her ASD brother). But that doesn't necessarily rule out her being on the spectrum. I would second the suggestion that you get as comprehensive an evaluation as you can manage and then take it from there. There are just too many different possibilities for it to be fruitful to continue speculating on what label might fit.