Thanks to everyone for their input. I took Grinity (and others) advice and went for a full eval from one of her recommended professionals. It was amazing how long the evaluation took compared to our previous eval! It was extremely thorough and I feel very comfortable with the results and our plan for handling ds at this point! My Mommy instinct was correct. He, " does not qualify in any way for the diagnosis of Asperger's". Instead, he felt that the behaviors are better described under the diagnosis of gifted with significant ADHD. He felt that the sensory and emotional stuff can be explained with the overexcitabilities in gifted children. We do have to decide what to do with the significant ADHD issue. But, I feel better that I wasn't crazy to think that he didn't "fit" criteria for Asperger's. So, we are moving forward. It has been a great week. I am trying to respect his overexcitabilities but not accept the way he expresses them. For example, "I know that you are frustrated with the smell of that but you may move away from it instead of screaming". We are all doing better. It is likely because I have chilled out! Thanks again to all for your input, especially those who recommended professionals who are well-trained in gifted and dual diagnosis.
