Expert: Trey McGowan - 4/26/2008

Question
i have been recently discussing a problem with my daughter and she has been asseced and it comes to the topic of astergers or whatever it is..i have no clue what that is except a form of autism...my son displays a lot of the same things as my daughter, can he have it too and how can i tell...please help me understand my children...help

Answer
Hello there, Laurie!

You have it right: what Asperger's Syndrome (the proper term for the 'whatever' you were trying to identify) is is a developmental disorder that has been characterized in the area of Autism Spectrum Disorders. It has many of the same issues as 'classic' autism, though there are a few notable differences. Generally, Asperger's tends to be higher-functioning, as well as having a higher degree of average intelligence and language development. Not all of them do, though, so if your children show slowness in these areas, don't be afraid the doctors have misdiagnosed.

Your doctors should be able to help you find someone in the area who knows about Asperger's Syndrome and can give you some information face to face.  However, there are also a lot of websites that have information. Among my favorite is the ASPEN website:
http://www.aspennj.org/
They have a load of educational materials that might help out with explaining things to you, and give you some reassurance in things.

One of the most important things to remember is that just because there is a diagnosis, the entire world hasn't turned around and changed on you. Your children are the same as they always were. You simply have a name for the issues they may well be having in life, and armed with that name, you can start to move forward with it a little easier. In addition, you are now able to start looking more easily for support groups for yourself. There are many parents with Autistic children who have gotten together such groups, and some of them can be world-wide in size, depending on your location. Ask your psychiatrist/therapist/doctor about these; he may know of one if he is working with autism and asperger's. Or, if you would prefer, give me a general location for yourself and I can look and see what I might know about locally.

As for whether it is possible that your son has the same problems, I think that it is best if you get him evaluated. It is proven that ASD can run in families, and thus yes, there is a definite chance that your son has some degree of Asperger's. Because of that, having the evaluation may well help in the same way it does for your daughter. However, even if you don't have the evaluation, information is a saviour for many: take what you learn and carefully apply it to your boy's education and the like as well. It may help you understand, as well as to work with both your children more easily.

If you have any other questions, comments, follow-ups, feedback, et cetera, then feel free to send them on! I'm always available!

Trey