ADHD and Autism........WHAT IS NEXT????? | ADHD Information
Hey Bussey- Yes your plate is full. My littlest (age 3) is on the verge of being Dx'd with a spectrum disorder- probably PDD and I am guessing they are going to throw a dx of adhd on top for good measure, my two oldest and myself are adhd.
I don't have any advice for you- but wanted you to know you are not alone- and I am wishing the best for your family.
Hi...I was wondering if there was any other parents out there that their child has been diagnosised with ADHD and then Autism, Last year my 5 yr old was diagnosised with ADHD and I found out yesterday that he has Autism.........Just what I needed one more thing added to my plate and my plate is getting pretty full!!! What you will find is that ADHD-like behaviors are really part of his autism so I don't think you really need to think he has two dxes -- his dx is actually now more accurate. I don't know what issues he has, but autism interventions can include speech, OT, PT, social skills plus an IEP in school. Having the dx opens doors for more help..IMac38945.4894907407Dylan is on the Autism spectrum, he is dx'ed PDD-NOS (he also has other things though, fortunately I got a "complicated" one, so little bits of this and little bits of that ).
He started out at 3 with an ADHD dx, but of course, as he got older and more things came into play, it was very clear to see he was not solely ADHD.
Several things to know - ADHD and Autistic traits can be very similar. For example, rages, hyperactivity, lack of attention. My son has displayed all of those things, and truthfully, our pdoc cannot distinguish if those things are from the PDD-NOS alone or if it is a mixture of PDD-NOS/ADHD. I am in the process of having my son evaluated by a neuropsychologist at a university to give us some further light on this with him.
You can get alot of good information here on Autism:
I have heard various opinions as far as medications go for Autism. Although there is no medication for that, specifically, there are medications that can aide with the hyperactivity, attention, etc. My son is on Abilify for this. For what it's worth, NONE of the stimulants ever helped him, although, he is also Bipolar, which has caused yet more problems
I hope you're able to get the needed assistance you need for your child.
Good luck,
Janna
janna38841.4793981481 My son is also 5. He started off with dx of adhd, and this past january was dx with aspergers. He has a lot of support from school with his iep. He has speech for pragmatics and ot for his fine and gross motor skills. We just started a therapy called the wilbarger protocol to help with his sensory issues. He has a lot of sensory defensiveness. He gets extremely overactive in certain situations. This therapy is supposed to be a "cure" for some of. I am skeptical, but am willing to try anything that doesnt hurt him.My son was dx with ADHD as well but it turns out he's likely to have Soto Syndrome (I'll find out for sure in a few weeks). It's overwhelming sometimes but at least we now have a more accurate dx. I agree with Smallmom. Don't look at it as having 2 different dx as ADHD often goes hand-in-hand with Autism. Sorry you're plate is overflowing. I wish you the best.
IMac38945.4892361111My son was misdiagnosed with ADHD, but it made sense. He is on the autistm spectrum and, as a toddler, made most ADHD kids look docile. We adopted him at two and he was so out of control, but we thought "ADHD" because that's all we knew. Once he grew and the autism became more glaring, and coudln't be explained away by "well, he's only eight and he's immature and that's why he has NO social skills" we went to a really good NeuroPsych who'd spent ten years working at Mayo Clinic before relocating in our part of Wisconsin. He told us (not verbatim) "ADHD symptoms ALWAYS go with autism. They are not a seperate dx. when a child has ADHD." He was fairly high credentialed and, besides working at Mayo, taught and lectured around the country and did research. He was on the "cutting edge." Unfortunately (and to my great sadness) he died of a heart attack last year. He does not believe ADHD and autism are different, if you have autism--it's part and parcel of the autism, if the child also has autism. Sometimes stims help them attend, like ADHD kids, and sometimes they don't or make autistic kids worse. In our case, our mild mannered son became aggressive, especially on Adderrall so we rely on special ed and his aide in school. He has really improved both academically and his behavior is exemplotory. His teachers and everyone loves him. Far cry from the raging toddler who bit hiself, us, broke three doors with his head, etc. Once he could communicate, he seemed to just mellow out. He will never be a social butterfly, but he can interact when needed and will probably will need mild looking after as an adult (he is lucky to have grown sibs who adore him). Since autism/Aspergers is more severe than ADHD, I'd focus on that and learn about how to treat it, get interventions, and bring your kid to the highest level. My son has PDD-NOS, but Aspergers is also common. There is controversy as to whether or not High functioning autism and Aspergers are the same. My NeuroPsych believed that soon all sorts of autistim sill simply be called Autistic Spectrum Disorder. OT/PT/social skills/sometimes small classes and aides are gold and silver to overstimulated autistic kids. My son is the happiest kid I've ever met--and so sweet. It's impossible to pity him. Don't pity your child. Help him. And I"d stop looking for "more" diagnoses. If he is ASD, every other label you can get (and if you shop hard enough, you'll find) is probably just part of the ASD. Good luck.