Expert: James Michael Roan - 7/13/2009

Question
I have become very concerned about my six year old son and autism.  He had delayed speech as a toddler but I related that to his dad being hispanic and speaking spanish and I being american and speaking english. As a toddler he would line things up, for example, while sitting in his highchair he would put all his cherrios in a line.  He started pre-school when he was 4 and I didn't notice anything unusual except he only had one friend and didn't want to play with anyone else but that one friend.  He connected well with that child socially.  He just finished kindergarten.  During this past school year he was traumatized at school and after that he has declined big time.  I have related all of this to the trauma but some of these things were present before the trauma and have gotten worse.  Delayed speech, perfectionist, very artistic in drawing, very attached to me, only wanted one friend, played alone as a toddler, very emotional.  After the trauma all of these things were still present, got worse, and what is new is rocking back and forth, twirling or holding something back and forth in his hands while rocking, stands up and walks in a circle continuously, extremely emotional, no friends, doesn't like change, speech impaired with stuttering(this was present before the trauma but has gotten worse)also, does not do well with reading but very good with math. He likes video games like Nintendo DS or Wii.  He is very artistic with drawing but never gets finished with one because its never perfect enough.  He doesn't want to play with other children except his one best friend in kindergarten. One other thing I have noticed about him is his incredible memory.  I've never known a child to have a memory like his and things he remembers.  I don't know if all of this is from what has previously happened or if it was there all along and the incident brought it more out to the open.  Please help.  Thank you.

Answer
Hi Jenny;

Please keep in mind that at no time am I diagnosing anything, just providing guidance and direction.

I suggest you have him evaluated by a psychologist expert in the area of Asperger's syndrome (AS) and related social/emotional disorders. If you live in the U.S. your school district's special education/services is the place to start. The assessment is at school district expense. They may or may not be able to fully assess him for AS, in which case you would have to seek out a private psychologist. AS is a high functioning form of autism.

Kind regards,
Jim

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Bio

James Roan is a certified school psychologist who has been consulting in the areas of autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, and learning difficulties in the United States and in Ireland for over ten years (http://www.jamesroan.com). James earned his M.Ed. in School Psychology and M. Ed. in Adult Education and receives ongoing post graduate training in autism at the University of Washington’s Autism Center. James Roan has traveled to Galway, Limerick, Mayo, Clare, Dublin, Cork, Waterford, and other cities and counties across Ireland assessing children and adults, and consulting with solicitors (lawyers) in defense of children with disabilities. James Roan was the consulting assessment professional responsible for many of the autism and AD/HD screening tools and other content for Access Special Needs.Com. James Roan consulted with the graduate department of the Waterford Institute of Technology in Waterford Ireland in the development of their graduate program for the certification of private autism tutors. James has conducted formal assessments of students in the Autism Unit in the Claddagh National School in County Galway Ireland.