First Grader - Thoughts about a Diagnosis? Asperger's?

First of all, I'm not sure where a post like this should go, so I apologize if it's in the wrong place.

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My next door neighbors have a child, 7 years old, in first grade. He's essentially a genius. He could read at 18 months, he works with teachers at his school to do more advanced work (he's doing algebra now...) He's also very, very mature. I can carry on conversations with him, and most of the time, he makes more intelligent observations than anyone I've ever known.

He's a really cool kid...a "child prodigy." But the most interesting part about him is, as he says, his "mind is like a hotel." He says that his mind is divided into different "floors" and each floor keeps track of different things. He knows what every single "floor" is for, and there are over 400 of them.

I'm fascinated by the human mind (I'm sure most of you here are, too), so I've been talking to him a lot....trying to figure him out. He's talked to me about the "floors," and he's given examples of some of them. He says he has a "floor" for music, a "floor" for math, a "floor" for art...I've gotten him to write lots of them down -- he's written the same "floors" down in the same order with the same numbers every time I've asked him...some of the floors he refuses to write down. He says that he "doesn't like them" or that "we'll save those for later." He says that he has to add new "floors" sometimes, too.

As he himself has described, his mind never stops moving, and he always has trouble falling asleep.

My initial thought with all of this was that he may have Asperger's or some sort of high-functioning autism. But the thing is, he's fine around people...he interacts without difficulty, most of the time. He doesn't collect mass information on single topics as far as I know, and he's not obsessed with dates to the best of my knowledge.
Although, he's certainly obsessed with the "floors" in his brain, and he definitely sees lots of patterns in things...but he really doesn't seem to fit the model of Asperger's.

My next thought was that he received some sort of trauma when he was younger, which is why he has "floors" that he "doesn't like" and "floors" that he refuses to talk about -- his consciousness divided itself as a defense mechanism. But I'm positive it's not D.I.D. because it's not his identity or personality that's split, it's the way he accesses information....and as far as I know, and from what his parents have told me, he doesn't have any switching between personality "states."

A traumatic experience would make sense, but why so many "floors," instead of just ones to block off the trauma? And that doesn't explain his maturity and intelligence --- is that part of him unrelated? (And if he has gone through trauma, it's really, really none of my business to pry...even though this is really "none of my business," either...and if he has experienced something terrible, it's not something his parents know about...)

GAH. I know I'm being very nosy, but I've gotten involved, and I'm too curious to stop.

His parents have very recently started taking him to see a psychologist, and from what I understand, she has no idea what the diagnosis is/if there's a diagnosis at all.

So....I was wondering if any of you had any ideas or thoughts. Obviously, a diagnosis over the internet is impossible, especially because you don't know the kid and because the majority of you aren't licensed to diagnose....obviously, the diagnosis and treatment (if any) should be left completely to his psychologist--this is completely for selfish reasons and out of my own interset.

I just want to figure this out. I feel kind of bad talking about him like that, as if he's some sort of puzzle....but I really want to know....if there's anything to know....if anything even matters...

SO....sorry for the long post. But...Ideas? Maybe?

There are some people that have capcity for extrodinary memory, i cant remember what it is called but it has a name. There is often a compartmentalisation associated with this, which may explain why he orders stuff into floors.
Im not sure he has suffered a major trauma by not wanting to go onto some of the "floors". It may just be that they are subjects which are stressful, unpleasant or overwelming to him.
He sounds like a cool kid.

What a cool concept! Sounds like an awesome way of compartmentalizing data and keeping track of it. I wish I could have such easy access to a single thought among several others. He does sound like a cool kid. I have done a lot of research about Asperger's, and what I have read was that since each individual is totally unique from the next, it is possible to have it without exhibiting all of the characteristics. The first thought that comes to many people's minds when they first hear of anything Autism related is trouble socializing or being in one's own world. While this is true for some individuals, there are many who are social butterflies who experience it in other areas of life. I know several people with Asperger's who if you met them, would probably not be able to tell they are on the spectrum. The social difficulties may be present but not as obvious as one would think. For example, I've done a lot of introspective thinking, and I've come to the conclusion that I'm somewhere on the spectrum. Now, keep in mind that I'm in the social work field. I love to chat, and seem to establish a rapport with the people I work with fairly quickly. The difficulties I experience deal with more underlying, behind the scenes aspects of socializing. For one, I take things VERY literally. This can make it difficult to "get" what people are trying to say at times. I understand basic idioms and common sayings, such as "you just hit the nail on the head" or "don't count your chickens before they hatch" however, if introduced to something I haven't yet heard or something that sounds like it means what it SOUNDS like it means, then things get lost in translation. I remember being 13 or so and this girl was telling me that her friend stabbed her in the back. I had heard the phrase before, but the way she kept using it throughout the conversation led me to think that she actually meant those words exactly. So, in one of my "me" moments, I asked her, "what did she stab you with?" Lol XD! I also don't read between the lines by default; I see things in black and white. I may not pick up on nonverbal cues or hidden messages. I can usually read facial expressions, however there are many times people will tell me, "what's that look for?" Do you notice your neighbor taking things literally, or being very gullible? I was very gullible when I was little. On one hand I've always been a realist; I was never afraid of the boogeyman or other things that little kids are typically afraid of. I never had imaginary friends, or played make-believe very much. I didn't see a point in pretending something was the real thing when it wasn't. As you can probably tell, I was very bored (that's where video games would save me a few years later!):P When it came to people telling me things though, I would believe anything I was told. Weird, huh? Well, hope this gave you some insight

Why analyze this boy at all? Who is to say what is "normal" and what is not? Psychology and what we know is based on people that have written books and lived a hundred years ago and if a person falls out of the "norm" we take them to therapy.

Why can we as humans not accept people for who they are: unique and individual.

Perhaps, it is us who needs the "diagnosis" for the minute something happens that we don't understand, off to the psychiatrist.

Personally, I don't see a problem here hence, "you don't know the diagnosis". Let the boy grow up to be the next Einstein. Support him and love him as he does. Accept his uniqueness and individuality. Give him the space he needs for his creativity. He is fine now. This does not bother him. But the adults in his life making him think this is an abnormal bad thing, this is what will drive him to have psychological problems in the future.

Look at this board. If everyone in everyone's life accepting the people in their lives for their uniqueness and individualism and did not say this is "good" or this is "bad". If we loved and accepting people instead of putting "labels" on things, then there would be no need for this forum.

Don't ruin this boy before he even has a chance. I am not judging but rather, giving "food for thought".

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He sounds like a very intelligent young boy. IMO it does not seem like Autism per se but intelligent people respond differently to stressful experiences. I've known a couple people with Autism and Aspergers. One boy was mute when he was young and his mother taught him sign language, at 22 he could still hardly speak and didn't understand a lot of basic things. Usually you diagnose someone based on it being in the way or your life and impeding your ability to function. This guy doesn't sound like he's having trouble functioning and I think his intelligence needs to be nurtured so that he can develop good coping mechanisms. This is because such intuition and intelligence as a kid can be harder when you grow up.

Ok, so I had slightly similar experiences at a young age. I had a very good memory, talked in sentences before one years old, had a high vocabularity and still do, my parents never suspected autism. Later in life I began developing mania due to not being able to turn my mind off, which later developed into schizophrenia. I think intelligence can lead to issues if you don't know how to turn that creativity into something helpful or safe. I was always different and picked on a lot. I take ABILIFY which is also given to children with Autism to my knowledge, off label, an MD told me this.

I never wanted to accept that i was different, and always had deeply philosophical thoughts to respond to things said. For instance, my dad said I was "different and that was a good thing" and i was hurt by it on a deep level.

The first thing that suffered when I became manic was my Math and Algebra ability. I went from straight A's to failing in a quick leap, due to me suddenly becoming over fatigued and over stressed. I couldn't lose sight of my intelligence, but it was normalizing and I think I struggled with losing sight of things so much that I wanted to hang onto it.

Also, bright kids may not always be so brilliant when they grow up. If he gets too immersed in being a child prodigy it may hurt him in the future if his brain tries to adapt to social reality, basically, you normalize as you get older. He wont or may not always be ahead and this shouldnt be something to feel bad about or beat himself up over.

He needs to learn to pace himself.

Those would be my ideas for having a smart kid and how i would take care of my child if he/she were very bright at a young age. I would nurture his creativity and intelligence, help him cope and learn coping mechanisms, as well as not coddle him to the point he thinks he's better than everyone or needs to be.

Your neighbor sounds perfect just the way he is I always tend to automatically psychoanalyze, and not to point out faults but rather the intricate way the mind works. He's a very smart kid, and there's no need for him to change. It's because of the way his mind works that he will contribute something very valuable to the world one day