Update 7/21: DD8 saw a psychiatrist for full evaluation

[lewdyan1]

I truly understand where you are coming from. My DS went through a long process until we finally got a dx very similar to yours. He is ADHD, GAD(general anxiety disorder) and gifted LD (he was SID, but that got dropped when he was in third grade as it didn't apply academically). We opted to go the medicine route as his ADHD wasn't condusive (sp) to behavior therapy! he takes two meds (ADHD and the GAD) and it took awhile to find the right combination.
We have an IEP which allows for accomodations in a regular classroom setting. His LD is a writing disorder. The accomodations directly address each of his disorders and have proven very successful!

If you have any questions, I would be happy to share with you some of his accommodations and how they help. Send me a pm.

Ps. Did the book ever get there?

Pss. he is also in speech therapy.

 

[nwdisgal]

My son has ASD. He was diagnosed several years ago, and at the time, the neurodevelopmental pediatrician told me, "Don't focus on the label, focus on the intervention." That was good advice. Also, he told me "I think in ten years they may have a new name for what is going on with your son". Basically, what he was saying at the time is that Autism and Autistic Spectrum Disorder as a somewhat broad classification (just because they didn't have any other category to put the symptoms in), and as research continues, they'll find more specific categories coming out. The other thing I noticed having been in a support group of moms (and exchanging mommy notes) who had kids with ADHD, ASD and other similiar diagnosis is that there is a lot of crossover with sensory issues and such between the different disabilities. Certainly, I would get professional opinion in addition to what you have already done with the school and remember that many gifted individuals from our history, including the Albert Einstein were said to have been somewhere on that spectrum.



Good luck!

 

[Amaris]

Any kind of testing/evaluation - that is not over an extended period of time - is only a "snapshot" of your child's behaviour's. Just like looking at a picture that you're unfamiliar with, it would be impossible to know what is beyond the borders of that snapshot...

It's all frustrating..and we're here to help...I wish I could help more

AMEN!

My daughter was diagnosed as autistic and mentally retarded at age 3 and at age 8 we now know she is actually gifted ( her IQ is higher than average) and has ONLY a language disorder ( AKA language based learning disability) ( her autistic like behaviors were because she could not communicate effectively and she was RETARDED because they scored her on a verbal iq scale and she had a language disorder!).

My son was diagnosed with pdd-nos ( a catch all part of the spectrum) at age 5 and it turns out he is profoundly gifted and learning disabled. He was diagnosed at the same quacky hospital as my daughter, that has an amazingly good reputation.

As someone who has travelled the road , my suggestion to you is to ALWAYS question a label and think outside of the box. I bought it hook line and sinker, and as they grew older, I could not believe what I saw before my eyes. The quirks and social issues completely disappeared as language came in ( how social can you be, and how long can you make eye contact when you have no languge?) the behaviors and solitary play disappeared completely.

I have since had both of them evaulated twice ( both at two different experts that had NO indication of past diagnoses) and have confirmed the truth and had their diagnoses reversed.

Now they are older (8 and 10) it is obvious to a duck that they are not even close the the spectrum. When kids are young, it is VERY difficult to pinpoint autism to any degree unless they are severly and profoundly autistic. These days they are putting everyone on the spectrum.

I would hate to see any family go through what we have gone though. If any of us pull out the ASD checklist, we would be amazed at how many of us have MANY signs of autism.

Just a FYI, children with language delays FREQUENTLY lack eye contact, have echolalia, and many other signs associated with autism. I highly recommend the books Late Talkers and the Einstein Theory if you suspect your child does not have autism spectrum disorder.

Treat your child for her symptoms , not the label!!! If you go that route , you will never go wrong, even if someone goofed with the diagnosis

 

[Amaris]

DSM IV states that Asperger’s and ADHD CANNOT coexist. You are one or the other. What are her IQ scores, there should be 2, full scale and verbal. What is the point spread? If it is extreme, greater than 20 points that I would say you have an Asperger’s kid. Would be called a non-verbal learning disability.

This can also indicate a language disorder, separate and apart from autism. If your child does NOT exhibit signs of aspergers or autism, and has the spread then think language disorder. My daughter has an extreme range between verbal and peformance. HOWEVER she is VERY social and always has been, has always had a wonderful imagination, and wants to please you... typical kid, in other words, except for the language problems.

Kids who have language disorders ( language based learning disability, language delay, whatever you want to call it) ALSO FREQUENTLY appear to be ADD. The ADD symptoms appear when the language demands are HIGHER than their undestanding. I watched my daughter ( who we have been told by the school and her doctor had ADD) when she was evaluated at the language disorders program at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tn. She was six at the time ( and supposedly autistic and retarded ). When they spoke to her on a 3 year old level she was 100% engaged. At a four year old level she was 100% engaged. When they hit the five year level, she started talking about unrelated stuff and walking around the room and NOT attending to the evaluator. She had a 18 month language delay. So, as soon as the language got too complex she tuned out and looked for grounding. At age 8 she is still delayed by a year and as long as we keep our language demands at a 7 year old level, she does not appear to be add at all! Once you start babbling, she is all over the place.

Anyway, enough from me, but I am hoping my story ( in two LONG posts) will help someone here who might not realize there is anything else but autism spectrum disorder when your child has these symptoms at an early age.