Could my son have Asperger's Syndrome?

[zmastroni]

My son is 7 1/2 years old and was diagnosed with ADHD when he was 4 1/2 years old.  He has been taking Focalin now for 2 years, sometimes it seems like it works well for him and sometimes he seems like he is in a daze.  If I don't give him his medication then he literally bounces off the walls from morning till night and whales his arms all over the place.  Loud sounds bother him, to the point that he will cover his ears and screach when he hears them.  When it comes to school he does very well in math, science, and social studies, but reading and spelling he really struggles.  And he still gets lets mixed up backwards, but the teachers say that is nothing to worry about, I think differently.  When he plays sports he seems like he just lost, you can explain it to him and he can understand for a minute and then a minute later he is looking at you blankly like you never explained anything to him.  I have asked his doctors to check his hearing several times because it seems as if he just can't hear us, or he is sometimes just not there and in his own world, but they say his hearing is fine.  He does show emotions, but sometimes a little too much.  He has two extremely close friends.  He doesn't have problems making friends, but it seems like he prefers to just stick to just the two of them.  
I truly believe there is more or this goes deeper then the ADHD.  What would you suggest?  Thank you for your time.  

[Eileen Roscoe, PhD]

One of the main diagnostic features associated with Asperger’s Disorder is severe and continued impairment in social interaction. In addition, the disorder is characterized by restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and activities with no significant delays in language acquisition. Although some of the motor and social difficulties you noted are consistent with a diagnosis of Asperger’s Disorder, an accurate diagnosis can only be made through assessment by a qualified professional. Therefore, I recommend that you seek the assistance of an individual who specializes in the diagnosis of Pervasive Developmental Disorders. Although diagnosis alone will not point to an appropriate intervention, it will lead you to identify appropriate services for your son. I also recommend that you seek the support of a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, who would be able to conduct the appropriate assessments and to assist in developing a behavior plan. Please visit the website of the Behavior Analysis Certification Board (http://www.bacb.com/) where you will find a directory of service providers.

[Sally44]

From my experience, and speaking with other parents, I have come to the conclusion that once you have a diagnosis it is extremely difficult to get anyone interested in assessing for anything else.  They tend to use phrases like 'children with ADHD tend to have these types of difficulties'.  But, as you say, that doesn't help you or your son.  As you probably know already every child with any diagnosis is different.  No two children with ADHD will be the same, and neither are any two children with autism/aspergers.  It is very common for children to have traits of both (and other) disorders.
As he is sound sensitive I would suggest you google Sensory Integration Disorder.  This should be assessed by an Occupational Therapist.  They can then put together a sensory diet to help reduce sensitivities.  I sould a book by Olga Bogdashina called Sensory and Perceptual Differences in Autism and Aspergers very useful because it also explained alot of the behaviours.  For example his 'appearing deaf' is probably not down to any hearing loss.  It is because when he is focused on something else his 'hearing' effectively shuts down.  Or as his hearing can be hypersensitive at times the only way he can control that is to block out all sound.  He may/maynot do that intentionally, and his ability to tolerate different sounds and quantities of different sound sources will vary throughout the day and day to day.  But hearing is just one of the senses.  The rest are sight, smell, taste, touch, balance and co-ordination.  They may all be affected.  The book I mentioned has a sensory profile questionnaire at the back which our autism outreach department uses to get a sensory profile of each child.  You can also google Olgas name and read articles by her printed in Autism Today.
If he has Sensory Integration Disorder, it might also be worth screening him for Irlen Syndrome.  This is a visual perceptual problem that many with autism and dyslexia have.  It is corrected just by wearing glasses with tinted lenses.  
Concepts such as team games will be difficult for him to grasp if he also has autistic traits.  My son cannot play football.  
You can also google Executive Function Disorder, to see if any of that sounds relevant.
My son also has difficulties with Auditory Processing Disorder and Auditory Memory.  A Speech and Language Therapist should assess for this as well as Semantic Pragmatic Speech Disorder.
The SALT and an EP can assess for Dyslexia.  He may need access to a special teacher using multi sensory learning to help with those concepts.
The OT should also access his hand writing skills as it may be a motor co-ordination problem or a motor planning problem.
I find it is always helpful to put my concerns in writing and to get written replies.  That is your evidence if you ever have to go to an educational tribunal about your son's education.
The reluctance to assess is also down to budgets.  If they assess and find that your son has other needs, then they have to provide the supports in school to meet those needs.  That costs money.  I would go to the doctor/paediatrician and tell them your concerns and ask that you want him to be assessed by a multi disciplinary team that have experience of diagnosing autism because of the reasons stated above.  I would also ask for him to be referred to Occupational Therapy because you suspect he has Sensory Integration Disorder.
When you know who will be assessing your child, write them a letter with your concerns and list all the above disorders that you want him assessed for that you think may be part of his difficulties.
If that fails, get a private report done.  There are laws (find out what they are in your State) about how the school is legally bound to meet the needs of children with special educational needs.
Please also remember that because there is unfortunately a limited amount of money, that the parents who push hardest tend to get the provision.