Guest guest Posted March 13, 2009 Report Share Posted March 13, 2009 Hi, I've been lurking on the list for a couple weeks and finaly getting around to an introduction. I'm Kiara, and I have an 8 1/2 yo daughter. My daughter has always been a challenge, from her 2nd day on. I'm trying to think of the most concise way to describe her without getting longwinded! Mainly due to behavioral problems, I always had a hunch that something wasn't quite right. When she was 5 1/2 I took her to a clinical neuropyschologist. They ruled out ADHD but said she had SID, which was a no brainer at that point, and ODD. The only treatment she received was OT, other than one therapy session with the psychoogist in which she told me my child was "very angry". The OT worked with her on a few fine motor skills but mainly gross motor/executive function skills and it went very well. It was only a few months later that we relocated out of state. Fast forward a couple years, and I finally decided to seek out an opinion locally. The new psychologist suspects that she's Asperger's. This has been my hunch for a few years, I even asked her OT about it, she's an expert in the field, and she dismissed it. But the new dr. explained it in the simplest terms I'd ever heard and everything finally started making sense! Personality-wise, I have an extremely bright, witty, creative, and talented kid. She can be extremely affectionate, talkative, and friendly. Nearly all of that changes when she's around most other people. She literally retreats into herself. She avoids eye contact, tries not to speak at all, HATES being in large groups. She's always been so clingy, I've never had to worry about her running off. In fact, she follows so closely behind me that if I stop suddenly she trips over my heels. In very small groups, she can make friends, and she has kids that adore her. She doesn't seem able to return their affection, she doesnt hug or hold hands or other typical little girl stuff unless the other girl initiates it. She's very much a follower, even if the other child is half her age. Luckily she has a keen sense of justice, so she won't get talked into doing something that's wrong. She also has heightened fears, very easily stressed, VERY high anxiety all day long. Short fuse, easily angered, whines and cries half the day sometimes. Perfectionist, and melts down when things don't go as planned. She still has full blown tantrums at times and has been physically aggressive on several occasions, the most recently when she bit me when I asked her to clean her room. We homeschool, and as I'm a single mom, I go to work most days. We live with my mom, who's bedridden. It's not the most ideal situation, as mom can't keep a constant eye on her and I usually come home to food left out all day or a huge mess throughout the apartment. Though my daughter can sometimes be rude to me, she is nearly always disrespectful to my mom. Until recently she also couldn't be trusted with our cats. After 8 years of losing my cool a lot and an awful lot of yelling and some spanking, I'm trying to teach myself different strategies. After the dx is confirmed, the Dr. will refer me to an "educational specialist" for continued treatment. Not sure what that means? But she did let me know that that's where I'll learn how to deal with the Asperger's. I have been reading the posts here and I am already learning from your experiences. I hope to continue to glean from you all and pipe in on those rare instances I know what I'm talking about! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 18, 2009 Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 There are a couple days where she's home all day. The rest of our week is full. She is on the gymnastics team and is there at least 8 hours a week, she goes to an enrichment program and afterwards another family watches her till I get home, we go to church, she takes a monthly science class, she's involved in Girl Scouts, and we participate in park days and field trips with assorted other groups. There's plenty of peer socialization, that's how I have the opportunity to have observed her in her interactions and thus, how I began to suspect Asperger's. Kiara > > > > Hi, I've been lurking on the list for a couple weeks and finaly getting around to an introduction. I'm Kiara, and I have an 8 1/2 yo daughter. My daughter has always been a challenge, from her 2nd day on. I'm trying to think of the most concise way to describe her without getting longwinded! Mainly due to behavioral problems, I always had a hunch that something wasn't quite right. When she was 5 1/2 I took her to a clinical neuropyschologist. They ruled out ADHD but said she had SID, which was a no brainer at that point, and ODD. The only treatment she received was OT, other than one therapy session with the psychoogist in which she told me my child was " very angry " . The OT worked with her on a few fine motor skills but mainly gross motor/executive function skills and it went very well. It was only a few months later that we relocated out of state. > > > > Fast forward a couple years, and I finally decided to seek out an opinion locally. The new psychologist suspects that she's Asperger's. This has been my hunch for a few years, I even asked her OT about it, she's an expert in the field, and she dismissed it. But the new dr. explained it in the simplest terms I'd ever heard and everything finally started making sense! Personality-wise, I have an extremely bright, witty, creative, and talented kid. She can be extremely affectionate, talkative, and friendly. Nearly all of that changes when she's around most other people. She literally retreats into herself. She avoids eye contact, tries not to speak at all, HATES being in large groups. She's always been so clingy, I've never had to worry about her running off. In fact, she follows so closely behind me that if I stop suddenly she trips over my heels. In very small groups, she can make friends, and she has kids that adore her. She > > doesn't seem able to return their affection, she doesnt hug or hold hands or other typical little girl stuff unless the other girl initiates it. She's very much a follower, even if the other child is half her age. Luckily she has a keen sense of justice, so she won't get talked into doing something that's wrong. She also has heightened fears, very easily stressed, VERY high anxiety all day long. Short fuse, easily angered, whines and cries half the day sometimes. Perfectionist, and melts down when things don't go as planned. She still has full blown tantrums at times and has been physically aggressive on several occasions, the most recently when she bit me when I asked her to clean her room. > > > > We homeschool, and as I'm a single mom, I go to work most days. We live with my mom, who's bedridden. It's not the most ideal situation, as mom can't keep a constant eye on her and I usually come home to food left out all day or a huge mess throughout the apartment. Though my daughter can sometimes be rude to me, she is nearly always disrespectful to my mom. Until recently she also couldn't be trusted with our cats. > > > > After 8 years of losing my cool a lot and an awful lot of yelling and some spanking, I'm trying to teach myself different strategies. After the dx is confirmed, the Dr. will refer me to an " educational specialist " for continued treatment. Not sure what that means? But she did let me know that that's where I'll learn how to deal with the Asperger's. I have been reading the posts here and I am already learning from your experiences. I hope to continue to glean from you all and pipe in on those rare instances I know what I'm talking about! > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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