DS double dr appt. update | ADHD Information

Glad you got some answers.  I'm so happy for you.  I'm smiling as I type.

Gives me hope that I, too will find the answers I'm looking for.

 

it is so rare and so nice to hear about a possitive appointment with anyone lol

i really pleased for you and your son that things went so well

 

("I asked her about Asperger's and she said he definitely has some qualities, but no, she doesn't see it because he doesn't have an all obsessed topic of conversation and he WANTS to be social - he's just not successful")

my youngest son as aspergers and im on a course a the moment to learn how to help my son

my son has poor social skills and like your son he wants to be social but it just dosent happen  and obsessed topic hes is  sonic the hedgehog always talking about him or acting out or playing the game but itsnot like trains or timetables or dinosaws like you would imaine an asd kid to chat about but like im learning on my course every child is different and the autistic spectrum if vast

i would keep the appointmentat the Autism Diagnostic Clinic if your son show signs of an asd it is worth ruling out if nothing else

good luck

Thanks for the feedback and encouragement!

Mumoftwo-

I did keep the appt. at the Autism Clinic (with the 3 specialists: speech, psychologist, geneticist), and that is where I received the best results as far as saying they'd help with his troubles in school. The first appt. with the developmental ped. is where she said he's not aspergers. The Autism Clinic also found him not to be aspergers, but realized the ADHD was definitely interfering with his academic abilities and his social skills.

I was never really sure about the aspergers and from doing a lot of research, I think it really depends on who's diagnosing. Some seem to be a little lenient on the criteria and some are pretty hard-nosed on specific criteria. Both of these doctor appts. didn't waiver much from specific criteria they were looking for, and even though he carries charactersistics of the disorder, I'm fine without a diagnosis because they did see his struggles AND they believe in his capabilities AND they want to help.

Thanks for your comments and insight. I hope everything goes well with your son. He's 7 right? I do think it's a good thing to realize the social skills problems fairly early. With my son, who's now 10, all the adults, as well as myself, thought he was so "cute" and funny when he'd talk so adult-like and be silly - I'm kicking myself in the rear now because his peers think he's weird and annoying, although he is getting better it has been tough to see him made fun of or ignored when most the time, he doesn't even know it. At least at a young age, not sure about 7 - kind of "iffy" - you can hang around with the child and his playmates and correct or help the social skills along without the child being embarrased for being corrected or reprimanded.

You are so right about it depends on who is making the diagnosis!

My son's psychiatrist says a definite yes but his specialist peadiatrician says an outright no.  He feels that it is severe anxiety.  I tend to agree with him.  Hyper sensitivity to environmental stimulus causing overload.  This overload leads to the display of autisitic tendencies. 

We have an ASD diagnosis for our son because it means we can get funding.  In our state in Australia, ADHD is not funded.  He needs help and it is amazing at how people react differently with an ASD diagnosis.

Really it is a basket of symptoms - a label shouldn't make treatment or the help obtained any different. 

Sounds like you have some great people to support you now.  Good luck. 

Happyrock, does your son have sensory integration? Just wondering.Very true that a solid diagnosis should not always be necessary, if help is needed, it's needed, however, a solid diagnosis can be very important to decide what kinds of services and accomodations a child needs.

Forgive me for being so windy, but....it's sorta nice to see this all in writing and remind me why I keep trudging along!

My ds saw a developmental pediatrician at the children's hospital the Friday before Memorial Weekend. We filled out a ton of questioneers, etc. She talked with ds for over an hour, asked questions, spoke with us, gave ds a few drawings to copy and some "homework" type papers. My son has always had a "tic" of rubbing his fingers, especially when he's nervous - wow! you should have seen this poor kid! His fingers were moving, his neck was stretching, his jaw was popping, his hands and feet were in constant motion the whole time she was talking one on one with him. I thought she was actually pretty sociable with him and not intimidating - just kind of chatting.

The verdict: ADHD (of course), anxiety (especially in crowds - can't say I agree, although I definitely see anxiety) and tics (mentioned Tourette's - after leaving, not sure she suggesting he has this syndrome or just referring to it to explain some of his tics - will be asking tomorrow when I follow up with her on his med changes).

She said he's a very complicated child but she believes changing his meds to Straterra might help anxiety which may in turn help his tics and can improve his social issues with his peers. Wow - one med to do all that! I will let you all know I'm extremely nervous with him being on Straterra. I was so happy with the patch. Right now he's continuing Daytrana and we're slowly increasing the Straterra.

Fairly happy with her overall diagnosis and observations so I asked her about Asperger's and she said he definitely has some qualities, but no, she doesn't see it because he doesn't have an all obsessed topic of conversation and he WANTS to be social - he's just not successful. I told her we'd probably cancel the Autism Diagnostic Clinic I had scheduled for the following Tues. She said they'd probably say yes because of similar shared characteristics and funding needs.

Well, by the time I got home, the clinic was closed and wouldn't be open until the following Tues morn (his appt was at 8 am Tues), so I didn't know if I'd be billed canceling so late, etc. so we just kept it. Can't hurt anything right?

He met with 3 specialists - a Speech Pathologist (no problem at all, which I'd told them ahead of time), a Psychologist, and a Geneticist (loved her, very funny and friendly). After 3 hours and a break, we met them (along with 2 interns, a recording person, the lady that walked us around, the head of the dept. and at least 1 or 2 other people - wow! a warning would have been nice walking into a conference room with all these people and 3 empty chairs for myself, ds and dh!) Anyway, obviously the institute is very familiar with ADHD as well and they did not see Aspergers, only ADHD and some obsessive compulsive behaviors (agreed). The psychologist did most of the talking and said they'd send their report in about 3 weeks to myself, his pediatrician and the Special Education Director at his school. He said they definitely want to see ds back in the gifted program (which he'd been made to drop out of this past year), and...

...finally. I got the understanding of a specialist to say the one thing I've known and have tried getting help with all along... "your son's potential is here (with his hand above his head), and his performance is here (with his hand at his chest). What we want to do is get that performance up to where it should be, and we'll help you with that." THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!   I know I have the battle with the school next, but they said to give them a call if I run into any roadblocks or tough situations.

...and to think I almost cancelled that appointment!

Congratulations! Isn't it nice once it is layed out for you. I think with their help you can get yourself and school on the same page.

My daughter also has ADHD/anxiety. She has had tics come and go. Stimulants definitely make her "ticcy". I know all the studies say they dont cause tics, but we stopped the stims and they went away. We are treating without  stimulants. It's bumpy for now, but I've got my fingers crossed.

 

Good luck.