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understanding autism Asperger's: Invisible disability t
Asperger's syndrome can be an 'invisible disability'
Date published: 6/4/2006
By DONYA ARIAS
HE CAFETERIA at Margaret Brent Elementary School in North Stafford is a lively and raucous place, echoing with the loud chatter of kids enjoying each other's company, if not the food.
But on a recent afternoon, 11-year-old Cory Fore sat quietly and stared down at his lunch of a breaded chicken sandwich, yellow corn kernels and chocolate milk. The boy next to Cory smiled and chewed heartily, but the two might as well have been sitting at separate tables. Cory contemplated his lunch tray as if it were a complex puzzle, ignoring the boy beside him.
Often seemingly in a world of his own even in the midst of lunchroom chaos, Cory, 11, has Asperger's syndrome. The condition, also known as high-functioning autism, is linked to normal to high intelligence but difficulty with social and communication skills.
While Cory has a great chance of growing into an independent adult, his prospects for holding down a steady job, making friends and settling down to married life are slimmer than average because of what his school psychologist calls Cory's "invisible disability."
A mystery revealed
His mother had a nagging feeling something was wrong when Cory wasn't speaking by age 2. Billie Bailey said if she'd been a more experienced mom, she "would have known something was up sooner."
After a screening by Spotsylvania County child development specialists, Cory qualified for and began speech therapy. One therapist noticed that Cory had lax ligaments, or floppiness in his feet and ankles, and the muscle tone in is mouth seemed "off." It was an early clue, but nothing came of that observation. A neurologist's exam also was inconclusive.
Meanwhile, Cory struggled to get along in day care, had no respect for authority and was described by his teachers as "bouncing off the walls." When he was 4, a psychiatrist suspected Cory had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Bailey didn't buy that diagnosis and refused to put Cory on Ritalin, thinking he was too young for the medication.
The final straw came when Cory was expelled from first grade for bad behavior within weeks of the start of the school year. An exasperated Bailey took her son to see Fredericksburg pediatrician Dr. Allen Aaronson, who watched Cory for a few minutes in an exam room and said he suspected an "atypical autism presentation." In other words, Cory fell somewhere along the spectrum of autistic behaviors that affect an estimated one in 166 American children.
Autistic behaviors can run the gamut from extreme to mild, from constant head-banging and an inability to speak to daily struggles with understanding how to get along with others.
"I stress that it's a spectrum," said Aaronson, who marvels at the progress Cory has made in the past few years thanks to diligence by his mom in getting her son treatment. "I rarely see Cory, because he's never sick."
Date published: 6/4/2006
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