It's official.

My son has Asperger's Disorder.

Relief. Heartbroken. Lightbulbs. Aha. Finally.

His psycho-educational assessments came back. The psychologist called him "twice-exceptional", because he's not typical either cognitively or psychologically. His pycho-educational profile is pretty complex, he falls either in the very above average or higher range, or the below average range. Much of his cognitive ranking was in the 95+ %ile, with the exception of Processing speed, which was only in the 9th %ile. That can be explained a bit by his lagging fine motor skills, but not totally. His cognitive profile puts him definitively in the gifted range. His psych profile puts him in the clinical or "at-risk" range for aggression, hyperactivity and impulsiveness; and borderline for social skills and adaptability. He's in the normal range on the ADD/ADHD assessments (so, he's not ADD/ADHD).

I should add that the particular variations in his cognitive testing, as well as the scores on his psychological testing are consistent with Asperger's Disorder. However, she said that his is so borderline, it's not something that will hold him back. It just gives us insight into the "why" of his behavior, and along with the sensory issues, it gives us a bit of a road map toward helping him be the best Ryan he can be.

This pretty much puts us back at square one with the school system though. Most private schools deal with the typical child, and can handle deviations in one form or another, but not to the extent Ryan needs. I thought we were going to look for a school based on his behavioral needs as priority. Now what we need is a school based on his cognitive needs as priority. Most places that can deal with truly gifted children are also familiar with the quirks that come along with them.

I'm amazed that I gave birth to this child. I'm thrilled that we have finally figured out what he needs. He's brilliant. He's charming. He's full of smiles and humor. He's frustrating. He's anger-inducing. He's my child.

My son has Asperger's Disorder. We all have a lot to learn.