Sensory Integration Dysfunction or HFA??

[Colleen]

:confused:
My 4 year old son was dx with HFA this summer by a neurologist and he sent us to TEACCH to be evaluated. When we got to TEACCH we were there for only a 1/2 hour and the evaluator said that Ryan does not have HFA but DSI ( sensory integration dysfunction) and speech disorder(oral apraxia) and that these conditions do show signs of Autism but are not Autism because Ryan is too socially related. Well I am confused...Both of these professionals did not really spend alot of time with Ryan. I guess I am asking, What do I do next??? Ryan has been in OT and speech for over a year with very good results. He is in a special Ed preschool under dev delay( they do not know about the HFA dx) he has come a long way and is verbal and is becoming more and more social , but I do still see definate signs of Autism...I am very confused.. I just thought that maybe someone could help me to make the next step..
Thank you
Colleen

[Judi]

Not much help, but we're getting the same thing with Sam. One neuro thought my grandson has AS, but the other is now saying he thinks it is a non-verbal learning disorder. This is because he also said Sam is too social to be autistic. But my understanding is that with AS, the individual may WANT to be social, but have no clue how to be social.

[ACHELLEI]

We are waiting for the official dx of Sensory integration dysfuntion. that is the general belief anyways. I am kinda confused too, so I will not be any help in answering the question-but wanted to throw my voice out there as another "want to know". I will say that i am kinda getting the impression that SI is a precursor for Autism. Has anyone heard this? I got this great book called the "Out of Sync Child" which says that SI and Autism appear to be the same except for two red flags that make it more of an SI thing then autism. The red flags are the the childs tolerance or intolerance for movement (they might like to spin all the time) and their reaction to touch. (they might be exremely sensitive or insensitive to touch). The book is great and has been a big help. There is also a book called "The Out of Sync Child has Fun" which is great for giving activities to do for all ages. My child is 2 1/2/