Hi,
My ds 8 has been tested with the WISC-IV twice and has fallen into the PG range both times. Last year he was diagnosed with AS, though "just barely." We weren't sure we agreed with this dx, but as this year has unfolded, I think we must accept that we're not just dealing with PG issues.
He is home educated, and we have no support for the PG or AS issues, so that's why I'm here. I need some insight from those who are experienced with these issues.
Some history...
Ever since our ds was a toddler, I would notice a change in his personality and beaviors when we were around other children. There was never an issue with adults that I can recall. Normally outgoing at home, he would kind of sit back and observe or do his own thing when in our toddler-mommy music class. This was puzzling to me. Otherwise he was calm and we never had any kind of behavioral issues.
As our ds hit the 4-5 age range, we began to notice that the other children seemed to sense something different about him. He would walk up and talk to them and they would just stare at him, even though he was being kind and polite. Around this time we saw his first negative reaction when engaging with other children. He was watching some girls play at the park and he decided to stomp on a little dirt house that they had made. Maybe this would be normal for some boys, but not our ds. I was shocked, but I did go to him and tell him that this wasn't acceptable behavior. He couldn't really tell me what he had decided to do this.
Right after he turned six, we started a homeschool co-op. He did fine, except that the other boys seemed to be intimidated by a six-year-old who "knew stuff." They mostly excluded him in the educational classes. I first saw that we had something really unusual going on when we started the PE class. No matter what they were doing, my son would seem to go into his own world. He would listen (or try to) and participate, but he would do crazy things, and in general he seemed rather lost much of the time.
For instance, they were asked to run a course of orange cones. When he got to his first cone, he kicked it like a punter and sent it sailing through the air. The kids thought this was great, but I was stunned! I had never seen him act so wired! He did this in every class. He also never fully 'got' the instructions for games and things and wouldn't bother to ask. He just faked his way through as much as he could. My husband came to a PE class and couldn't believe his eyes. Our son was just so "lost" in there. It was like he was on speed.
DS did this same kind of "wired" thing when we started a new church. I finally realized that this was a stress reaction. He would talk in a robotic voice, his body would be stiff, and he just did things that were out of place. I was continually having to corral and correct him while there; yet, at home he is as calm as can be and never exhibits these signs.
Now that he's 8, he's really standing out. It's hard to ignore it or write it off as a PG issue, so I guess we're dealing with an AS issue. I just don't know what it is that we're looking at here, nor do I know how do deal with it. I don't want to continually correct him in a way that makes him feel like he's always doing something wrong, yet he bulldozes the smaller children around him when he gets in this spaced-out mode. Here's an example from yesterday. He was playing with other children, he ran out of a closet, ran over a three-year-old in the floor in front of him. He said that he didn't even see her (right in front of him!).
He is a very sweet and loving child normally. He doesn't hit, bite, or say mean things, so I know this isn't intentional, yet when another child is crying or injured, he seems to always be the source! For years, even before we knew about the PG or AS issues, I learned to go over "acceptable" behavior before we went anywhere. This rarely helped because he seemed to short circuit when around others.
One more thing to mention is that in the past two months "lost time," extreme dawdling, and a major lack of focus in general has become a huge issue.
I'm sorry that this is so verbose and rambling. I just want to give as clear of a picture as possible. Can someone please give me some insight into what might be going on, and what we might do to help my son?
Thanks so much!
