Pragmatic judgement

[Sthira]

My son, currently in kindergarten, is being assessed for an IEP at his school and we're starting to get the results of the various assessments. It turns that spoken language is one of his strengths and in particular his pragmatic judgement was rated as being superior (upper 99%-tile) for children his age. The school speech therapist told us this was unusual because most kids on the spectrum have difficulty with this area. I'm now starting to think this whole ASD thing is just a clever ruse on his part so he can get away with stuff... ;-) Seriously, I've I gone back and forth on his ASD diagnosis and I was feeling OK with it for a while, but this just raises new doubts in my mind. Any thoughts?

 

[dragonwolf]

Strengths in one area don't negate weaknesses in other areas. It's not uncommon to basically play hopscotch on the diagnostic line. What's important is the sum of all the assessment results.

 

[Ste11aeres]

My son, currently in kindergarten, is being assessed for an IEP at his school and we're starting to get the results of the various assessments. It turns that spoken language is one of his strengths and in particular his pragmatic judgement was rated as being superior (upper 99%-tile) for children his age. The school speech therapist told us this was unusual because most kids on the spectrum have difficulty with this area. I'm now starting to think this whole ASD thing is just a clever ruse on his part so he can get away with stuff... ;-) Seriously, I've I gone back and forth on his ASD diagnosis and I was feeling OK with it for a while, but this just raises new doubts in my mind. Any thoughts?

Some Aspie kids are precocious (really good at a very young age) when it comes to language.

Early language ability used to be the primary factor when distinguishing between Autism and Aspergers. Now that the two terms have been officially merged into one, people have kind of forgotten that such dramatic language differences can exist among kids on the spectrum.

His pragmatic judgment ability is also not surprising. ASD people tend to operate in extremes-but not always the same extreme. Some are hypersensitive in regards to something, others are hyposensitive in regards to that same thing. Some are extra good at a particular thing, others are extra bad at that thing. If your kid is at an extreme in regards to pragmatic judgement, (even if it's an extreme in the opposite direction from what you were expecting) that doesn't eliminate the possibility of him having ASD.
And...ability to perform during an assessment is not the same thing as ability to perform during every day life. I am pretty good at social things when dealing with them in the abstract, and probably would be good in a test type environment. I am lousy at social things during the course of every day life.

 

[AsheSkyler]

Aspies generally aren't very good with verbal communication. And then you get those savants that speak 12+ languages. I often say that the best description of autism is "no collective concept of a middle ground".

 

[Sthira]

Thanks everyone. We had our IEP meeting and he doesn't qualify for any special services. His language ability is apparently very strong (upper 99%-tile for pragmatic, upper 99%-tile for listening comprehension, upper 99.9%-tile for vocabulary.) Also a bit surprising is that he tested in the upper 80%-tile for "theory of mind", apparently another measure kids on the spectrum can have considerable difficulty with. One thing he did have difficulty with was correctly recognizing facial expressions registering sad and happy emotions (I wonder if this could be a consequence of his mom's struggle with depression.) His ability to correctly label expressions of both fear and disgust were in the average to above average range. The main thing the evaluation team mentioned (his teacher, school psychologist, school speech therapist, etc.) was that he had some difficulty at times with staying focused on his work, so inattentive ADD is something we need to keep a watch on. Socially, they said he was doing well, seeking out social interactions with both teachers and other children, engaging in parallel and reciprocal play, etc. He's been through a lot at home due to his mom's issues, so I'm not entirely convinced that his autistic behaviors (which apparently manifest more at home, or at least around mom and dad, than at school) are unrelated to this. Anyway, we're keeping our fingers crossed that things continue to go well at school.

 

[AsheSkyler]

The main thing the evaluation team mentioned (his teacher, school psychologist, school speech therapist, etc.) was that he had some difficulty at times with staying focused on his work, so inattentive ADD is something we need to keep a watch on.

It could be ADD, it could be that they're below his level and he needs classes that are more challenging and able to keep him engaged longer. If he seems intelligent above average as well, is there a gifted program he can enter?

 

[Sthira]

It could be ADD, it could be that they're below his level and he needs classes that are more challenging and able to keep him engaged longer. If he seems intelligent above average as well, is there a gifted program he can enter?

He does have a high IQ, but we haven't looked into gifted programs yet. Maybe down the road.