My daughter is 8 yrs old (will be 9 in February). She is extremely bright and verbal. We had a complete developmental evaluation done to determine if she had Asperger's. She was diagnosed with a Non-Verbal Learning Disorder (suspected only since there was no academic testing), Sensory Intergration Disorder, and Anxiety. They said she didn't qualify as Asperger's because she "made eye-contact". She actually does occasionally make eye contact. However, sometimes she looks at your eyebrows or hairline and only appears to be making eye contact.
She has severe sensory issues and has meltdowns on a daily basis after coming home from school. The school has finally agreed to do an evaluation on her because I had evidence of a "possible" problem from an outside source. She is also currently being diagnosed by a psychiatrist who says she has a "mood disorder". He says once she has been stabilized on the "mood disorder" he will have us complete the PDD/Asperger's rating scale again. If she continues to present as she has on the past 2 scales we have completed, he will give her a PDD-NOS, Asperger's or High Functioning Autism diagnosis.
Why is there such a discrepancy between what was seen when she was evaluated and found not to have Asperger's and the current psychiatrist that says she most likely is on the Autism Spectrum? Not that it matters, as the school says she is functioning at or above grade level and not a behavior issue. She probably will not qualify for services. My main concern is getting her Occupational Therapy to deal with her visual perceptual/fine motor delays and the sensory integration issues. There isn't much here in my area. I had to drive 3.5 hours to get the full evaluation done. Occupational Therapy through the school district is really her only option.