How do they diagnose a 4 year old with Asperger's?

Question

I've been told by a special ed teacher at my son's school that he may have Asperger's Syndrome. He is 4 years old and is showing some delays in social skills and some motor skills. Anyway, I'm in the process of getting him in to see a pediatrician that specializes in child development. I'm wondering if anyone knows how they go about diagnosing a child with this.

Answer 1

Developmental Pediatrician is great but you can also try Early Intervention at your local School . They have a team of psychologists, speech therapist,occupational,nurses,etc and they will give him testes to see where he is at. He may qualify for a special education that will help him . Check with your local school or your county school district website, they should have information about where to contact them.

Answer 2

In addition to Rodica's answers, there are several rating scales that can assist with identification. Two are, the Gilliam Asperger's Rating Scale and the Asperger Syndrome Diagnostic Scale.

The scales basically look for the following attributes:

   1.  paucity of empathy;

   2. naive, inappropriate, one-sided social interaction, little ability to form friendships and consequent social isolation;

   3. pedantic and monotonic speech;

   4. poor nonverbal communication;

   5. intense absorption in circumscribed topics such as the weather, facts about TV stations, railway tables or maps, which are learned in rote fashion and reflect poor understanding, conveying the impression of eccentricity; and

   6. clumsy and ill-coordinated movements and odd posture.

The school district will provide one or the other. Ask you special ed teacher about it. Your district also should have some Autism specialists who can help with identifying Asperger's. Also ask for a formal language assessment if one has not been done.

Usually a developmental pediatrician will run a battery of tests and or refer your child to a specialist who does a particular test. They should take a complete family history, do neurological and genetic assessment as well as tests for cognition, psychomotor function, verbal and nonverbal strengths and weaknesses, style of learning, and skills for independent living.

Bear in mind that a multidisciplinary team is really needed to diagnose Asperger's. That is why it is important to get the rating scales and observations by autism specialists as well as a developmental pediatrician. Some parents like to have the rating scales done so that they can take them to the doctor. Both you and the child's teacher will be asked to fill them out. The more information you can bring to the doctor, the better.