I have two boys, both displaying autistic spectrum characteristics. Younger son is the more autistic of the two, and he also appears to have some giftedness, but his verbal language skills are atypical and idiosyncratic, making it harder to assess his intelligence. Of our two, he is by far the easier for getting help, accomodations, and general understanding.

The child I am more confused on how to help ds8, who is both more withdrawn and harder to dx. He has neurotypical verbal language skills -- not gifted or delayed/atypical. He spends most of his time lost in his own thoughts, shuts down completely when he's stressed or overstimulated, and he hates attention. He does not transition well, he has sensory avoidance issues, and he has fine motor problems. Even though I have concerns about how far/often he disengages at school, getting extra help is very difficult, because he presents as quiet and smart. Although he is always difficult for the regular ed teacher to manage, because he's always lagging behind. He does not get more engaged if the class work is more challenging, either.

Two years ago we had him evaluated. I know he did at least a partial WISC, but all his report says is:
Verbal Comprehension 75th%ile
Perceptual Reasoning 99th%ile
Working Memory 81st%ile
Processing Speed 34th%ile
and then it says, "demonstrated very superior nonverbal reasoning and problem-solving and average picture concepts. He earned the highest possible score on completion of matrices (Matrix Reasoning SS=19) and extremely high on Block Design (SS=17)."

He was dxed with a whole lot of nothing: Uneven Cognitive Development, Disruptive Behavior Disorder (left over from his tendency to meltdown during transitions two years ago), and Lack of coordination.

Today he told me his MAP scores as he remembers them from last week. Now, granted, he could have remembered them wrong, we'll know soon enough. His memory is spotty, although usually it's very good at remembering numbers. He self-reports a 230 in Math (3 standard devs above the mean) and 219 in Reading (2 standard devs above the mean).

We are in the process of having a different psychologist do a full WISC and other test, so we are equipped with more information.

Anyone have any suggestions? Things we should be doing?

Last edited by mgl; 09/06/12 08:29 PM.