[eyejustam]

I'm am just a little bit familar with Aspergers.
Could you please tell me if the following is common in these children?
Highly intelligent, very immature for their age. Is it normal for an almost 14 year old to seem like an 8 year old in terms of behavior and speech? Is being a late bloomer the norm? Is it normal for an almost 14 year old boy to physically resemble an 8 year old, except in their height? Is puberty delayed in these children? Or is this caused by something else? Thank you for any light you can shed on this subject.

[SuzBerg]

I don't know if being a late bloomer is the norm for Aspberger's Kiddos - I had NEVER thought of that. BUT my now 16 year old (who has Aspberger's)was a VERY late bloomer. At 15 he still had not reached puberty - we even took him to an endocrinologis. Now he is finally growing, but I would say at 14 he looked like a 8-10 year old. I don't remember him acting all that immature, compared to his friends. BUT my 12 year old who does not have Aspberger's is much less mature than my older son was at that age and he is also very small. So maybe my kids are just late bloomers.

So, I don't know if it is a charecterstic of Aspberger's but just thought I would share our situation.

[eyejustam]

Thank you SuzBerg. The experience I've had before now the kids have been under 7 years of age. It is like dealing with a little taller 8 year old. His responses and mannerisms are more like an 8 year old than a 13 year old. It is like physically time has stood still. The social skills too. Thank you for your insight, it is much appreciated. I've read somewhere that Asperger kids act about 2/3 of their age. Problem is I can't remember where I read it! That would put him at 8.66 since he is 13, which makes sense.

[Indy]

I have a son who is an aspie. He was also late bloomer. I also took him to a specialist. The doctor said that he has seen many cases of late bloomers that took medications that modifies behavior. It would seem that ADHD meds slow other things down as well.

[kittymari]

can you tell me more about Aspergers? My AD is going to be getting tested for that and "high functioning autism" in the next month.
Any suggestions (other then lots of patenince) while we wait would be awesome!

[sunflower1220]

Kitty~ Try this link for an idea : Asperger's Syndrome-Topic Overview

There are several more sites I have utilized during our learning journey with L, our future son, who we have taken care of every weekend for 10 months, but they are at home on my laptop.

From personal experience I can tell you that L has social issues, for instance, he just turned 5 on Saturday yet still doesn't grasp any idea of personal space. He tends to be either withdrawn or overactive never in the middle. Everything must be in perfect order and he does not handle change well at all. He will get stuck on the same thing for the longest time, and obsesses over it. For instance when we first started watching him he had to watch Blue's Clues 24/7, he couldn't stand to watch anything else.

He hates to share, and we have to remind him regularly that he is not the only child on the playground.

Most Aspie children have very high intelligence and vocabulary, our L does not meet that criteria however due to severe neglect as a child, and chronic ear infections. He did not learn how to start talking until he was almost 4 and had tubes put in his ears. Now he's talking up a storm and knows TONS of words, just hasn't grasped how to stress the first letter in words.

If he gets mad he says it like this: I'm mad (not I'M MAD!!) if he's happy he says it like this I'm happy (not I'm Happy!) he doesn't understand there are different tones used to emphasis things.

Without proper medication he flaps his arms repeatedly and in crazy circles, he is very clumsy (to the point he has hurt himself on accident), or will rock back and forth. He also has a lot of trouble learning to write.

The most important thing to remember is each child with autism/aspergers is different so it will be very hard to find just the right thing to work for her. Some children respond great to weight therapy, OT, and the likes, while others respond better to swings, and numerous other things. It really is a hit and miss until you find the perfect thing. Bad thing about it is you find the perfect thing then they will switch it up on you, so you have to start all over again, or sometimes what we do for L one day works great, next day not so great.

I hope that helps, I am relatively knew at the Asperger's thing, but don't ever hesitate to holler if you need anything, I'll do what I can.

[kittymari]

Thanks Sunflower, everything in your message sounds just like our AD! We are waiting on the doctor to get our papers sent out so we can get things going, so she can get the help she needs!
I see your getting close your plans! Congrats! Its an exciting journey!

[sunflower1220]

Kitty~ glad I could help. I'm still learning things daily and I don't think I will ever be able to fully understand asperger's even then.

How are things going there, have you had any luck getting her the help?

[rosed6914]

Go to OASIS.com (I think it is .com). It is an online asperger's syndrome information website. Fabulous--my son is 18 and was diagnosed with AS at 8.

Most days were very trying until he got older. Middle school was the worst. He is now 18, graduating from high school with a regular diploma (unbelieveably smart), drives, has a part time job, and has just enrolled himself at the local college.

Hang in there!! The rewards are tremendous as you celebrate every milestone as a family. My son is now the most loving, compassionate, and thoughtful young adult that I have met in a long time.