It took close to six years and four different counselors who couldn't get anywhere with this child before I was able to get her tested. Girls with Aspergers may seem UNUSUAL or ODD or UNIQUE AND SPECIAL or present with BEHAVIOUR ISSUES or a little behind in EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE or be ADHD, HAVE ODD, or RAD but the key to knowing if there is something more or different is YOUR GUT FEELING and a lack of improvement despite all your efforts to get help.
Maybe the question "REALLY, DR., YOU CAN TELL ME- DO YOU THINK THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH HER/DO YOU THINK SHE'S CRAZY?" doesn't make me sound like the mother of the year but I asked it several times because nothing else made sense. (By the way- I did ask the question the appropriate way a few times but sometimes, in life, you have to cut through the crap and get to the point.)
I have heard people describe Labrador Retrievers as so dense you could hit them with a two by four and still not get their attention. I think by attention they mean - make them stop doing what they are doing. I don't advocate using a two by four for anything other than building. But that despcription of complete bullheadedness and inability to deviate from their pat is a good way to describe what it was/is like trying to change Katie's habits. Like eating with her hands instead of using utensils. A very small thing in the overall scope of life but day after day- I reminded, I asked, I insisted, I yelled, I grounded- etc. And it was like that with potty training- actually I think that went backwards after a certain point, with daily cleaning rituals like brushing teeth and washing the face. Its like that with everything- has been for the last nine years.
One aspect of raising an Aspergers child that people don't really discuss is how TIRING it is.....
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