Our son has Aspergers Syndrome. However, getting the diagnosis didn’t come easy and the path to that diagnosis was rocky to say the least. That was over 10 years ago and still the following checklist we received from our school district is the best heads-up to having Aspergers Syndrome that I’ve seen to date. It cuts to the chase.
The following is only meant as a ‘checklist’. Remember, this is not an official document, and is only meant to act as a flag for a strong suspicion of Aspergers Syndrome, a doctor or trained therapist would need to make the official diagnosis.
However if you are looking for a guideline of sorts, it doesn’t get much better or black and white than the form below. It was spot on for us describing our son Sam. We’ve also put it in a downloadable format at the bottom. May it lead you towards illumination! -Jennifer Allen/Aspergers101
Informal Childhood Developmental Checklist
Social Interactions
Yes No
____ ____ The child prefers to play alone.
____ ____ The child is rarely invited by others to play in the neighborhood or to participate in activities outside of school.
____ ____ The child’s social interactions and responses are immature, not keeping with his/her age or his/her cognitive abilities in other areas.
____ ____ The child has difficulty interacting in group settings
____ ____ The child does not play with other children as expected: he/she may not appear interested in their games, or may not know how to join in.
____ ____ The child appears to be vulnerable to teasing, bullying and being taken advantage of by others.
Behavioral Observations
Yes No
___ ___ The child has difficulty understanding the effect his/her behavior has on others.
___ ____ The child has a significant amount of difficulty taking the perspective of another person, even when it is explained to them.
____ ____ The student has overwhelmingly limited interests in things such as video games, superheroes, cartoon characters.
____ ____ The child’s choices of toys or activities are limited to a select few, without being open to trying new things.
____ ____ The child’s play appears to be scripted or like a reenactment (such as repetitively recreating movies or favorite stores with word and action).
____ ____ The child displays limited understanding of, or involvement in, role-play and spontaneous make-believe play.
____ ____ The student’s play is marked by imitation rather than cooperative interaction, for example parallel play.
____ ____ The child has great difficulty with unexpected changes, even when prepared for the change ahead of time.
Communication
Yes No
____ ____ The child demonstrates severe delays in communication skills or is nonverbal.
_____ _____ The child lacks natural turn-taking skills when conversing with peers.
_____ _____ The child has difficulty following change of topics of conversation in response to the lead of a conversational partner.
_____ _____ The child has difficulty maintaining conversations with others, when the topic is something other than that of their interest.
_____ _____ The child has difficulty using and/or understanding non-verbal cues, such as facial expressions, body language or gestures.
_____ _____ The child tends to interact with adults rather than peers.
_____ _____ The child tends to make the same social mistakes repeatedly, although their skills improve in other developmental areas.
Sensory and Motor Issues
Yes No
____ _____ The child has fine motor difficulties
____ _____ The child has gross motor difficulties
____ _____ The child exhibits over sensitivity to environmental stimuli, such as sound, temperature, pain, reflection or textures.
____ _____ The child exhibits “under-sensitivity” t environmental stimuli such as sound, temperature or pain.
_____ ______ The student appears awkward and uncoordinated in a way different from same-age peers.
_____ ______ The child displays excessively repetitive bodily movements such as rocking, flapping, spinning or self-aggression.
DOWNLOAD THE FORM BELOW:
Informal Childhood Developmental Checklist
Complied by Aspergers101.com originally received by N.E.I.S.D. Department of Special Education 2003
A graduate of Abilene Christian University, Jennifer had a long career in TV Broadcasting. Upon learning her oldest son Sam had a form of Autism called Asperger’s Syndrome, she left her career and became a full-time mother to both of her sons. Jennifer elicited the participation of her family and together they produced several independent programs including a children’s animated series titled Ameriquest Kids, as well as a documentary and book titled, Coping to Excelling: Solutions for School-age Children Diagnosed with High-Functioning Autism or Aspergers Syndrome. She formed the nonprofit Asperger101 to provide on-going free resources related to ASD at Aspergers101.com and has implemented the Texas Driving with Disability Program and continues to grow the statewide initiative today. She and her husband have recently retired to their property in the Texas Hill Country.
I have a 22 year old autistic son whom is non verbal .I am always open to learn more or even help other parents with some of the things I have been through the years beginning when my Son was 3 and first could talk and sing
I would love to post this on our website.
My daughter has almost every symptom except her motor skills are fine. She has just turned 16. She knew something was wrong. Her intelligence is amazing but social skills are not good, that put her into crisis. We now have a team of therapists and psychologist working with. It’s been a struggle . I do believe now that I am aware of Aspergers she has always had it but no one said anything, and I always just thought she was extremely smart, shy, and difficult. Now I’m just trying to find always local support group.
Thank you for your comment Michele and for connecting with us at Aspergers101. What State/city do you live in?
Thank you – do you have an author to cite?
Jennifer Allen wrote the article and the checklist came from her son’s school district NEISD in San Antonio, Texas. Unfortunately that is all the information we have.
Howdy! Would you mind if I share your blog with my facebook group?
There’s a lot of folks that I think would really appreciate your content.
Please let me know. Cheers
Please do! Thank you for inquiring.
Jennifer
I do not know if it’s just me or if everybody else encountering issues with your site.
It appears as if some of the written text on your content are running off
the screen. Can somebody else please provide feedback and
let me know if this is happening to them
as well? This might be a problem with my browser because I’ve had this happen before.
Kudos
Hello…from our tech team: Is is happening in desktop, laptop, tablet, ipad,mobile etc… or what browser for sure. We looked everywhere and did not notice any issues and which part of the website is issue? what page etc…
Thank you!
Jennifer
It’s hard to find educated people forr this topic, however,
you sound like you know hat you’re talkng about! Thanks
Thank you for your comment Sony! We have a great team contributing daily so there is always something new to learn.
Hello just wanted to give yyou a quick heads up.
The woprds in your post seem to be running off the screen in Internet
explorer. I’m not sure if this iis a format issue orr something to
do with browser compatibility but I figured I’d post to
llet yoou know.The layout look great though! Hope you get the problem resolved soon. Kudos
Hi! Would yyou mind if I share your blog with my myslace group?
There’s a loot of people that I think would really enjoy your
content. Please let me know. Cheers
We would be thrilled for you to share! Thank you, Jennifer Allen
I also found the definitive diagnosis of Asperger’s Syndrome was very elusive for my grandson. I have raised him from infancy and saw the signs as he entered his early education years. An article in a popular womens’ magazine enlightened me enough to discuss this with his educational psychologist. Finally after more than 7 years the appropriate diagnosis was identified. I found Tony Atwood’s book, Asperger’s Syndrome: A Guide for Parents and Professionals, my saving handbook.
Unfortunately, his lack of a clear diagnosis, especially with schools, led to his eventual placement in a residential treatment facility under the jurisdiction of juvenile justice.
It has been a challenging road, but as he nears adulthood, I pray that his years of therapy have allowed him to learn the skills he needs to be a happy, productive adult.