Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional 504/empathy -longish

You've received excellent advice from eco, in the previous post.

I have only a brief moment but wanted to respond to one tiny part of your post There can be a large discrepancy between a person feeling/experiencing an emotion such as empathy and a person demonstrating/expressing empathy. It is my understanding that those on the spectrum may be observed as not demonstrating or expressing an emotion such as empathy, however they may feel emotion very intensely, including an emotion of empathy.

When a child does not seem to be demonstrating empathy and the situation seems to be one which would elicit empathy, it may prove insightful to ask the child what their thoughts and feelings are about the circumstance at hand.

Here's a quick summary of ASD diagnostic criteria, as presented by the CDC.

You may wish to keep dated documentation at home in an advocacy notebook, and then you will best be prepared to mention any possible incidents of non-compliance and resulting impacts, in a low-key, factual, and collaborative manner.

Age could be mentioned as a simple fact, but you may wish to avoid "playing the age card" (ie: presenting her age to seek special favor or entitlement) especially when her issues may be 504 issues and not age issues per se.