After I had found the Aspergers Syndrome checklist online I inquired from our pediatrician about who to see for an evaluation. We were given the name of a Neurologist specializing in “Children with Developmental Disorders” and also certified in Pharmacology. I was sent a huge packet of information that I was to fill out. There was also evaluation forms for her teachers to fill out. I sent all the information in for them to look at before my initial visit. The initial visit was between me and the doctor only. We sat down for an hour going through a checklist of information….”does she do this”, “how does she do with this”…..type questions. He reviewed our information from the packet as well as his checklist and told me he felt she did indeed have Aspergers Syndrome based on what he has evaluated from our conversation.
The next step was to bring her in to meet him. His initial reaction was that on paper she is Aspergers, but to meet her he never would have known. His explaination was she is very “high functioning” Aspergers. What does that mean? Well, she has enough control over herself to appear “normal” however she has the little quircks of Aspergers. Once he had seen her several times he started to see some of those little quircks. His evaluations began with motor skills type tests like walking, hopping, touch your nose, etc. He would ask her questions about friends, social atmosphere, school, etc. Being a Pharmocologist he also has an extensive knowledge of medicines and what they do and don’t do for all the varieties for mental and neurological disorders. She was on Concerta for the ADHD which was acceptable to help with the ADHD and Aspergers symptoms.
What I liked most about this doctor was how thorough he was in his evaluation of everything. We had blood work done to check for genetic problems as well as an MRI to check the size, shape and growth of her brain. He wanted to rule out any other conditions. Wow, what a relief since in the past we would go along thinking all was hunky dory and then find out she had ADHD and then the dysgraphia….and ultimately the Aspergers. So, it was a huge burden off our backs that he was checking for anything he could think of that would display the same symptoms to rule them out before settling on just Aspergers Syndrome. A year into his treatment of her he redid her bloodwork because of new technology that can check for more detail into different genetic disorders. What a great doctor!
I would highly recommend anyone feeling their child has Aspergers, Autism, or any other mental/neurological disorder such as ADHD or Bi-Polar disorder to seek a Neurologist for testing. I personally like that ours specializes in children and also knows the pharmacology side as well. He continually researches and discusses with his associates about new information and technology specific to children. This website www.aspergers.com has a list of doctors nationwide that work with the diagnosis of Aspergers.
