I guess I believe this Dr. He used to be a family practice Dr until his kids got bad allergies. He went back to school and now specializes in environmental medicine and is a DAN dr.
My friend has a full autistic 5yo son. He was found by this Dr to be toxic in some of the heavy metals. He started the chelation and started talking within 1-2 months. (nonverbal before). Now if he improves like this for the next few years---it is possible that he could lose his autistic symptoms.
So---did he ever have autism? Or was it just the side effects of being toxic?
What about when the autistic signs go away after chelation or vitamin/mineral therapy. That really----all their symptoms were caused by a deficiency or toxic metal. We are going to an environmental Dr right now and he told me that some of the "full" autistic kids he has treated(nonverbal, etc)----are not even dx autism anymore---because they have zero of the symptoms after therapy. Yes--this is rare---but it happens.
So---do they still have autism??? Did they ever have autism?
Some say pdd or pdd nos instead of Autism. It's a high fuctioning autism. After going through 5 different doctors; psychiatrists, psychologists, counselor's, therapy group sessions with other children, I have finally found one that nailed things on the head with me and son. I just feel so at peace with everything that has been going on with my son. My son is 7 years old and has been diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 3. As he got older I started to notice how similar he was to his older brother, in behavior, mannerisms, his kworkieness (kworr--ki--ness) and the whole attitude. Not to mention that he is very smart. I could provide a zillion examples, but I would rather get to the point.My son is 5 1/2 and has PPP-NOS, you described it well. My son is not very social at all, but smart as a whip doing very well in Kindergarten and doing great with the academics.
Yes our kids are quirky.
PDD-NOS is higher functioning autism. Bill Gates may have Aspergers, but he's never been diagnosed with it and is fairly able to relate socially so it's just a guess. Thomas Jefferson could never have interacted like he did with Aspergers and certainly did not have PDD-NOS (which is autism with a speech delay; with Aspergers there is no speech delays). I recommend seeing a Neuropsych to sort it all out. My son has PDD-NOS and I wouldn't say he socially disengaged from the world. He's a part of the world, and his family means a lot to him. He just doesn't care to play with other kids--a loner. As he ages, he gets better and better. Interventions are wonderful and do a lot for these kids. Meds don't.Most of the time--PDD-NOS is the same as Aspergers. But they don't quite "fit" ALL the criteria. They may be missing only 1 to get the full aspergers dx.
My son has never had the PDD-NOS dx---but he is. We have been sitting on an Aspergers dx for the past year---waiting until he is older. He has all the criteria---but just "alittle" bit. As he gets older---some things go away and other characteristics show up.
The kids never outgrow all thier autistic symptoms. Some can learn outward "typical" behavior, some don't want to learn it, and some are too functioning and can't. It's varied. Their brains are wired differently than other people and most present as eccentric, even with Aspergers. Some very, very high functioning Aspies can live a somewhat normal life. Many are very happy living thier own type of normal life. It all depends. PDD-NOS is pervasive deveopment disorder not otherwise specified.I meant to type PDD-NOs, which is one of the dx's my son got, the NeuroPsych said "mild" autism the Neurologist said PDD perhaps Aspergers. The thing about ASD is that no two kids are alike. My son is social when he wants to be, lovable and sweet. However his social skills in general are very weak. We work hard ever day at home and at school to work on this. My doctor has said that the dx can change as they get older and can actually move off of the spectrum. My son has always had language at age appropriate mile stones, he does not use his language socially. ASD is so broad and vast, there is not one definition that fits each child the same.Autistic kids never move off the spectrum. That's terrible advice. I'd see another professional. If you are autistic, you can improve, but you are still autistic. You can not outgrow autism. PDD-NOS is moderate autism.OlderMom38768.8004282407I just picked up some info on PDD for a friend whose son has been diagnosed as such. It is from the National Institute of Mental Health. It says, "The pervasive development disorders, range from a severe form, called autistic disorder, to a milder form, Asberger syndrome. If a child has symptoms of either of these disorders, but does not meet the specific criteria for either, the diagnosis is called pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS)."
My son has PDD-NOS, is twelve, and our NeuroPsych spent ten years with Mayo Clinic. PDD-NOS is MODERATE autism, with speech delays. My son has overcome his speech delay, and is bright, but has other serijous delays in social interaction (and this doesn't really go away, although it can improve) and life skills. He's a sweet, wonderful, loving, special little boy, but to say all PDD kids are gifted is grossly wrong information as is thinking you can outgrow autism. Unfortunately, many professionals don't understand autistic spectrum disorder, which is why it is often misdiagnosed. ADHD behavior is part and parcel of autistic spectrum disorder. All of the kids have inattention problems, which is why so many are first dxd. with ADHD. No matter what your Psycologists tell you, this is lifelong and thek ids learn social skills best by school interventions and social skills--sort of like textbook learning. They may not even care much about socializing and, as they get older, they get better, yet they seem more different too. Hard to explain. I'm in a group of autistic parents and kids and I recommend joining one for a realistic and helpful look at autistic spectrum disorder. I'm sorry, but your professionals are just not "up" on what this disorder means. The most "up" profs are not plain Psycologists, but Neuropsychs. I wish you luck. Not trying to burst your bubble, but want you to be realistic for your child. He should have a good IEP in place so he can get OT, PT, social skills and LD help in school. The prognosis is a crapshoot. My son is the happiest kid I know, but he'll need some help as an adult, even with an IQ slightly above average and the best interventions one can get. Good luck :) I'll let the two of you hash it out and not interfer again. You'll have to see for yourself. My son has improved 100%. He's a great kid. Here's a link:
http://info.med.yale.edu/chldstdy/autism/pddnos.html
OlderMom38769.3014930556Older MOM is your son being taught Social stories by a therapist. I think today all kids could learn from these. Oldtimer, my son isn't all that worried about social interaction, but he does have social skills classes. He is friendly enough that he can surface interact on his own and nobody who sees him tags him as autistic. They know something is "different" but aren't sure what and oftent hink "ADHD." You kinda have to live with him. He does roleplaying in school, but again is not that motivated to learn further how to interact and is not lonely. He's fine interacting just with family and his sister. He's in a social group for autistic kids. THe hilarious thing is, none of the kids every interact with anybody except their families. NONE OF THEM. It's a riot. There are 150 kids all hanging with family and not making new friends. My son's idea of a playdate that is just great is for a kid to come over to watch HIM play videogames for hours. Often when kids call for him and come in the house, five minutes later, I find the kid playing with his nine year old sister while he is happily playing alone in his room. When I ask him why he left his friend, he'll say, good-naturedly, "Oh, I just wanted to play by myself." At school, in his classroom, he is considered well liked and the teachers love him, but he'll never enjoy give and take social interaction. He knows how to do it, but it isn't interesting to him. When he speaks, he more speaks AT you than converses. Since he's such an upbeat kid, doing so well, the school is doing the best it can. He will not be a "typical" kid or adult, but he'll sure be a happy one. Grown sibs have expressed in interest in keeping an eye on him forever so I'm lucky that way. His older sibs adore him.Thanks Joe Mom--It is a gift. I mean, these kids are academically capable of succeeding and if I had known this years ago (especially in dealing with his older brother, then I would have parented a lot differently) It is so weird, the situation I mean because his older brother whom I will call LD is the same way. Although he has never been diagnosed I would bet a million dollars that he is. The difference in both families is that I raise my son here in Texas while his daddy raises the older brother. Same daddy different mothers. The enviornements are totally different. LD and his dad reside in MS, in the country. They are not educated folks (could be the reason why no-one ever cued in on LD and his corky ways) Here in Texas, the envionment is different. The schools are better, etc, my son whom I am raising comes from a intutive family and educated one. See the difference? LD, at least in my opinon may never leave his home town because of the strong family ties, whereas my son would. Does that make sense?
My son is 5 1/2 and has PPP-NOS, you described it well. My son is not very social at all, but smart as a whip doing very well in Kindergarten and doing great with the academics.
Yes our kids are quirky.
[/QUOTE] Yes, higher functioning autism. The psyc did say that these children will disengage if not engaged. Meaning, they like the social interaction if doing things that stimulate their brains. By not socializing with them they will disengage. My son has a hard time with his feelings. By sitting down with him on his terms, and interacting with him I as his parent can teach him how to be social. My son is a loner as well. Yes he has friends but if he doesn't feel like being with them or playing then he won't.