Originally Posted by Nautigal
I wouldn't worry about not having the diagnosis at this age, if in fact he does have Asperger's. The diagnosis doesn't really do anything for you until you get to school, anyway -- unless you wanted to have counseling before that, and I don't know how much good that might do at such an early age. We didn't have any that early, though it might have been useful, because we denied the possibility until DS was finishing first grade and we finally had to give in and admit to it. I kept saying, "Why does there have to be something *wrong* with him? Why can't he just be a smart kid?" But even when he was 18 months old, I had suspected autism as he ran around in circles, counting to himself, so eventually I had to face it. It's very much worth it for school, to have his IEP to help him with all the social and behavioral stuff along with the ALP to get him the advanced classes he needs. He still suffers from a lot of anger and frustration, at age 9 -- frustration with the body as a toddler turns into frustration with the world after the body catches up, as there are still lots of things he thinks he can do but the world won't let him yet.

But anyway, there are lots of books that might help you in the meantime, though I can't think of any at the moment -- somebody will come along and know the names, I'm sure. smile


I was able to hunt down the Powertouch on eBay so will give it a shot. I have been considering the old Leapfrog Leappad the last few days but didn't know about the Powertouch. The reviews on it are so much better and the fact it doesn't require a stylus is just perfect!

As for the diagnosis ... you're right. I don't really need it. Just want it (either ruled out or have something in hand) for school when the time comes. He'll age out of Early Intervention in March when he turns 3 and after that we'll have to deal with our local school district. I already have problems with my 4 year old who doesn't qualify for the district special ed preschool because he's well beyond in terms of knowledge and he does extremely well during any type of evaluation so he seems like the perfect child, yet all this therapists are surprised he's not in the special ed preschool because of all his behavioral / high activity issues. So, really ... it's just about the paper in hand to keep our options open. I have a feeling we'll end up homeschooling at some point anyways! lol