A Cure for Asperger's?

Well... here we are, several years down the road.

It's time to update ye olde blog - and the story of NJ.

First, we suspected he was Aspergian about four years ago, when his teacher suggested we get him checked. We never did get an "official" diagnosis, but NJ went into social-group therapy and occupational therapy... oh yeah, and speech therapy. He was fully therapied. 

He worked his butt off, and made great strides. As he matured, he continued making strides -- including making a true best friend, doing sleepovers at other kids' houses and all the rest.

Still, the same social awkwardness persisted. He wasn't showing a great interest in other kids.

But slowly, surely, those things started to change. He forged a bond with the boy across the street, and discovered Pokemon. They would play together for hours. And while their bond was unique, it was real.

We saw progress. The intensive therapy and early intervention seemed to give NJ just enough awareness to start making those connections -- tenuous as some of them were.

We moved to a new state three years ago. His new school put him through a battery of tests -- the two main autism-spectrum tests, to be exact.

The testing went on for more than a month -- in class, out of class, in situ observation, and testing.

Finally, the results came back. Melissa and I sat there, slack-jawed. For years, we assumed he was Asperger's. Heck, he WAS Asperger's. We had already accepted it and moved forward.

And yet here we were...

Suddenly, he didn't test on the spectrum -- officially -- and didn't qualify for services under that diagnosis. 

Luckily (??) he does have a slight hearing impairment and that opens the door for whatever IEP we and the school agree he needs.

But still, while he might not qualify as Aspergian, officially, we know that he -- like myself -- has some of the traits (and most definitely not some of the others). And we'll continue working with him as needed to help him reach his full potential.

Looking back, I thank God we diagnosed NJ ourselves and began therapy immediately. Had anyone at the time told us he was not on the spectrum, we might have remained happily in denial about his needs -- and kept up the pretense that everything was "normal."  And we might never have gotten him into social group, which he obviously needed. Nor would we have had the term Asperger's to prepare scout leaders, teachers and other adult supervisors for NJ's unique personality and approach to life.

I will continue posting updates here... but I am not sure where this is going. Thoughts welcome. I'm sure a lot of other parents have found themselves in this same, strange boat.

How important is a diagnosis, really? And can Asperger's be "cured" through intensive therapy and the natural process of maturation?

Would love to hear what some of you have to say... if anybody's still out there!