New here with a question

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Registered: 03-26-2003
New here with a question
6
Wed, 10-12-2005 - 3:58pm

Have any of you had your child diagnosed with Asperger's or PDD/NOS later on? And if so, what are you doing about treatment?

I'll try to keep the background brief. My 15 yo dd was recently given a "formal" diagnosis of both PDD/NOS (from one psychologist) and Asperger's (from another psychologist). She is I guess what you would call "high functioning" since nothing was really picked up until recently. She's always had very weak social skills, but nothing so alarming that we had her evaluated. She's also been seen off and on by a psychologist, but for depression. We now don't know if the depression was a result of the social anxiety.

Currently she is in a private, boarding school. Small classes, counselor on site, and she sees a therapist weekly. She will also be starting a social skills group run by the school counselor.

I'm just wondering if there's more we "should" be doing at this point. TIA for any insight.

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Registered: 06-25-2003
Wed, 10-12-2005 - 6:10pm

Welcome to the board!

Yes one person's PDD-NOS is often another persons Asperger's syndrome or maybe even High Functioning Autism (HFA). I really don't think it makes that much of a difference, especially in an older child.

It sounds to me like you are doing everything right: small classes, social skills group, therapy. Temple Grandin went to a small boarding school, and look how she turned out! It might be good to get some additional support from somebody who has expertise with Autism. Maybe some training for the teachers?

I hope this helps a little.

-Paula

-Paula

visit my blog at www.onesickmother.com
Avatar for luanne115481
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Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 10-12-2005 - 6:23pm

Another question (okay it will be two). First of all, who is Temple Grandin?????

Second, when do you tell your child about the diagnosis? Our older dd has ADD and she was incensed in later years (she's now 17) that we didn't tell her right away. Heck, she was 3 1/2 when she was diagnosed and we didn't think she'd know what it meant. Younger dd is 15, away at school when we got the diagnosis and to be honest we haven't told her. She knows she has social issues, but should we give a name (to her) to the diagnosis?

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Registered: 06-25-2003
Wed, 10-12-2005 - 6:51pm

Oh sorry. Dr. Temple Grandin is about the world's most famous person with Autism. She wrote two books about it. You may want to look her up on Amazon. Other people with autism who have written memoirs are Donna Williams (quite tough going because of what she went through) and Lianne Willey Holliday (I think that's her name -who has Asperger's) Also Sean Barron (may not have spelled that right) The book is called "there's a boy in there".

My kids are young, (5 and 7) and I have not told them yet. I think a lot of when you share this information depends on the child, level of impairment, etc., However, I think 15 is old enough to give it a name. It might even be a relief for her to know there is a name and that there are others out there like her. Now is a perfect time, because you just found out yourselves. You will be embarking on this journey with her, with no sense of keeping secrets, which may have been what made you other DD angry.

That's just one mom's opinion. See if anyone else weighs in.

-Paula

-Paula

visit my blog at www.onesickmother.com
Avatar for luanne115481
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Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 10-12-2005 - 7:04pm
Thanks.
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Registered: 02-24-2005
Wed, 10-12-2005 - 10:02pm

Hi! Welcome to the board. My son is 7 and dx with AS in January and we pretty much told him directly. He was originally dx with ADD so we had tried meds which didn't work and made him very anxious. After reading about AS I spoke with his first grade teacher and gave her a list of traits and behaviors and she was shocked because they described Chase to a "T." We took him back to the neuropscyh(who had not ruled out PDD in his original write-up) and they ran more tests and then we knew. I explained it to him in simple terms but he was relieved and got a big smile on his face. He knew he was different somehow, and now he knew he was also special. I explained to him that his brain is wired a little different than most people's but that just means he might see things or experience the world in a different way than them.

Good luck on your journey. Vicky

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Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 10-12-2005 - 10:36pm

Mine are 9 and 11. Both know.

My dd was 4 when she was diagnosed. We first tried to tell her at 6-7 but she had no clue what we were talking about. Around 9 I gave her a children's fiction book about a girl with asperger's. I could tell it was time to update her. That worked well.

Recently she did the workbook "Asperger Syndrome, What does it mean to me". I would recomend it for any older elementary to teen age Aspie/PDD or HFA kid.

Renee

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