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  • Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners

    What does a diagnosis of 'highly sensitive' indicate vs Aspergers?

    Related Topics
    Autism Spectrum Disorder Children's Health
    Hi I was told after 1 psych visit that my daughter is highly sensitive. she has a lot of aspergers traits and I am wanting to know the difference please. I have 2 other children one with diagnosed autism and one with aspergers. I am worried that with a diagnosis of highly sensitive my daughter is not going to receive the help she could potentially need as school gets harder.
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  • Renee Muller

    Psychologist

    Coogee Child Psychology Clinic. Highly skilled registered psychologist with extensive experience working with children 0-18 and their families. Renee Muller, Director and Psychologist at Kidthink … View Profile

    Hi there,

    I believe that it is important that you ask this question to the psychologist that made this statement as they have all of the background information about your daughter and will also be able to tell you which criteria that she does not meet for a diagnosis of Aspergers Syndrome. It is important if you feel that your daughter does have this syndrome that you seek formal assessment with a psychologist or paediatrician. I cannot tell from your question whether this was conducted at that first session or whether the statement that she was ‘highly sensitive’ was just an impression from the psychologist.

    Without knowing the history of your daughter specifically, being ‘highly sensitive’ may be referring to her ability to regulate her senses, which can be known as sensory processing. This includes her ability to engage with the world through taste, touch, noise, visually, smell, plus there are internal sensations known as proprioception (the ability to determine where our body is in space through our muscles and joints without looking) and vestibular (sense of balance and how our body is moving) senses. Often children with Aspergers have significant difficulty in regulating their senses also, however to obtain a diagnosis of Aspergers there are a number of other criteria that must first be met. These criteria fall within the following areas:
    - Impairment in social interactions
    - Restricted, repetitive or stereotyped patterns of behaviour

    That being said, while it is important for you to obtain an accurate diagnosis of your daughter's condition to be able to access funding that may be available for support, it is also important to be sure about a diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome as it is with a person for life and is difficult to change later on. 

    In order to ensure that your daughter has the best support at school, it would be very beneficial for the psychologist to pass on recommendations about how to manage her sensitivities or if required, make referral to an Occupational Therapist that may be able to provide therapy plus recommendations for school to implement. Some Occupational Therapists specialise in working with children with sensory processing difficulties. Sometimes some well structured environmental modifications can make all the difference for a child experiencing sensory sensitivities.

    I am more than happy to be of further support if you wish to contact me with any further questions. Please have a look at my profile for further information.


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  • Mark McHugh

    Clinical Psychologist, Psychologist

    First of all, there is a reasonable portion of the population of people who have a high degree of sensitivity. Having a high degree of sensitivity does not necessarily indicate a diagnosis of Asperger or autism.
    What I would suggest was that the daughter needs an assessment with a trained person in the diagnosis and assessment of Asperger or autism-spectrum children. The diagnosis of sensitivity is not necessarily one that exists on the DSM4 mental health or psychiatric disorders.

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