Re: Hello, I've just joined this list. Need help.

[Guest guest]

Don't feel bad about it taking long to find out.. nobody in my

entire family had even heard of AS until a little over a year ago my

youth pastor's wife told my parents she thought I had it. Their

response was 'what's that?'. The only reason my youth pastor's wife

knew what it was is because she did some kind of group for autistic

kids.

Also I saw a psychiatrist(psychologist? I never can remember the

difference) when I was in 5th-6th grade I think, my parents called

him recently and he told them that *now* he knows what AS is, but

back when I saw him he'd never heard of it. It just hasn't been

widely known about until recently, so there's nothing to feel bad

about.

> Hello,

> My nine-year-old daughter, adopted from Russia age 4.5 has just

been

> diagnosed with AS by a neuropsychologist. My daughter spent her

> first three years in a hospital crib and then one year in an

> orphanage.

> I am finding it hard to believe that she has an inherited

condition

> when she has such terrible deprivation in her background.

> Yet she seems to fit what I read about AS very well. She can't

make

> friends, reads about Egyptian mummies and other dead bog people

etc

> all the time and is always saying and doing the wrong thing in

public

> situations. I had to place her in an EIP third grade class

because

> she couldn't handle a regular classroom. Not for academics, which

> are OK, but for her weird behavior which led to such bad teasing

that

> she was miserable.

> Does anyone have any insight into this? Have you heard of other

post-

> institutionalised kids developing AS? If she does have AS I feel

> terrible that it has taken me so long to find out. I have been

> impatient with her at times because she seemed so unmotivated to

> learn basic normal behavior. I have been reading about the ABA

> approach. Should I be looking into that for her?

> Another big question I have-should I take her to some expert in AS

to

> be absolutely sure she has it? Who is Mr or Mrs AS diagnostic

> specialist in the US?

> Sorry for so many questions. I appreciate any advice. Geraldine