** If you need me to do something to this post to make it easier for you to read, let me know. I'm sorry it's so long. I'm so wordy. My son hates it!
Hi all! I'm Holly and I'm new here. I hope it's okay to post here if I'm not the person who has Asperger's directly.
My son, who is 26 now and has finally found the courage to leave his room and move out into the world and begin his life, has had difficulty all his life. He was diagnosed at 3.5 yrs old with ADHD and treated with meds. They tried numerous different types over the years starting at that age and all the way through his mid-teens. None were ever really effective. He was also diagnosed with possible bipolar at one point. At around puberty, he started having insomnia. I don't know what that has to do with anything but he's struggled with it severely. He also has been diagnosed once in his late teens with hypothyroidism. But he refused meds back then.
Well, Stephen has always been unbelievably intelligent. As they were giving him learning disability tests throughout the years in school to try to find out why he was doing so poorly, he would blow them off the scale... all except one or two things. The major one was processing speed. I think the other had to do with writing... like writing essays. He always did have a hard time with that. He's too concise. He never did understand the concept of fleshing things out. Give him a question, he answers it. "What else do you need to know?" is his line of thinking.
Anyway, so he did his own research these past years on what might be "wrong" with him. He came to the conclusion that he was either a sociopath or had high functioning Asperger's. His father being a sociopath, I understand his worry. But after talking with my counselor, and understanding fully what that is now, he doesn't have to worry about that. Having looked into Asperger's a bit myself and watching him all these years, I have a feeling that might be a likely diagnosis. In which case, I feel like a HORRIBLE mother in the fact I've said and done so many things you should NEVER say and do to an aspie child! We'd love to try to get a diagnosis but can't afford insurance for him. And he's in that age range where Medicaid doesn't care.
Okay, so sorry. I talk too much. Here's my question. He had always said that he really had no memory of before we moved up here to Maine. But he was 8 when we moved up here so that didn't surprise me. But the other day when he came home, he told me that this trend continues. He never remembers further back than about 5'ish years... except a handful of memories or so. Is this something that happens with Asperger's at all or is it just possibly another issue? I know I've read that those with Asperger's usually have phenomenal long-term memory. But I wondered if sometimes some might have issues like my son.
Hi all! I'm Holly and I'm new here. I hope it's okay to post here if I'm not the person who has Asperger's directly.
My son, who is 26 now and has finally found the courage to leave his room and move out into the world and begin his life, has had difficulty all his life. He was diagnosed at 3.5 yrs old with ADHD and treated with meds. They tried numerous different types over the years starting at that age and all the way through his mid-teens. None were ever really effective. He was also diagnosed with possible bipolar at one point. At around puberty, he started having insomnia. I don't know what that has to do with anything but he's struggled with it severely. He also has been diagnosed once in his late teens with hypothyroidism. But he refused meds back then.
Well, Stephen has always been unbelievably intelligent. As they were giving him learning disability tests throughout the years in school to try to find out why he was doing so poorly, he would blow them off the scale... all except one or two things. The major one was processing speed. I think the other had to do with writing... like writing essays. He always did have a hard time with that. He's too concise. He never did understand the concept of fleshing things out. Give him a question, he answers it. "What else do you need to know?" is his line of thinking.
Anyway, so he did his own research these past years on what might be "wrong" with him. He came to the conclusion that he was either a sociopath or had high functioning Asperger's. His father being a sociopath, I understand his worry. But after talking with my counselor, and understanding fully what that is now, he doesn't have to worry about that. Having looked into Asperger's a bit myself and watching him all these years, I have a feeling that might be a likely diagnosis. In which case, I feel like a HORRIBLE mother in the fact I've said and done so many things you should NEVER say and do to an aspie child! We'd love to try to get a diagnosis but can't afford insurance for him. And he's in that age range where Medicaid doesn't care.
Okay, so sorry. I talk too much. Here's my question. He had always said that he really had no memory of before we moved up here to Maine. But he was 8 when we moved up here so that didn't surprise me. But the other day when he came home, he told me that this trend continues. He never remembers further back than about 5'ish years... except a handful of memories or so. Is this something that happens with Asperger's at all or is it just possibly another issue? I know I've read that those with Asperger's usually have phenomenal long-term memory. But I wondered if sometimes some might have issues like my son.
