Expert: James Michael Roan - 7/16/2008

Question
I recently got custody of my eight year old son...my husband have observed him and it seem that he has a problem.  I don't want to look like I am looking for something to be wrong but he is just not like my other children. He has a long attention span but in the same aspect he is really active, more so than my other two. He is always using these big words like meteorite and the technical name for dinosaurs...but when you ask him a simple question he has a tendency to look at you like you have lost you mind and sometimes cant tell you the answer. My husband and a friend of mine told me that he could be Autistic I am kind of afraid to go to the doctor and ask cause i don't want them to think i am looking fro something to be wrong with him.  Is this really a sign?

Answer
Hi Glenda;

It's hard to say without more data. Download this scale, complete and scan the results emailing them to me at roanpsych@gmail.com. It is just a screener. I do NOT diagnose over the internet but I'll be better able to direct you. Also describe his behavior around same-aged peers at school; not siblings or long term childhood friends.

The Australian Asperger's Disorder Scale at: http://www.udel.edu/bkirby/asperger/aspergerscaleAttwood.html


Kind regards,
Jim