dx help please- Aspergers vs NVLD

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Registered: 07-25-2007
dx help please- Aspergers vs NVLD
2
Mon, 01-28-2008 - 7:52pm

Okay I have posted on and off and always gotten sage advice...

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-25-2003
Mon, 01-28-2008 - 10:26pm

Heather,


I don't know anything about your son or about NVLD, so it is very hard to give an opinion. I was curious to learn and to see the difference between the two disorders.


Well the first thing I went looking for was the DSM criteria for NVLD. Apparently there aren't any, so that muddies the water straightaway. How can you compare when one is not officially defined?.

-Paula

visit my blog at www.onesickmother.com
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Registered: 04-07-2003
Tue, 01-29-2008 - 9:52am

I'm not a great one to answer 'cus I find it all very confusing myself, but my kids were initially tentatively diagnosed as NVLD vs Asperger's by a psychologist. After getting some books from the library about NVLD, it seemed to me that NVLD and Asperger's are more or less the same thing -- depending on who you talk to! Some people feel they're very similar, others feel like they're completely different dx.

My kids ultimately ended up with an AS dx, but I think that was ONLY because they had such thorough testing done. The pyschologist (whom I didn't think listened to us very well) thought my kids had NVLD, and the neurologist (barely talked to us/looked at kids) thought my kids definitely did not have autism. Children's Hospital's neuropsych dept did very comprehensive testing, asking me lots of questions, observing the kids, and testing the kids. Dd/ds were seen by psychiatrist/psychologist (dd/ds each saw diff one), speech pathologist, neuropsych, and someone else I always forget. The team of docs conferred together to come up with AS dx.

When kids' symptoms are borderline in some areas it can be harder to properly diagnose them. It isn't until you REALLY spend time with them and/or perform thorough testing that their deficits are as obvious. One thing I read in the paperwork we got after dx testing was that what's most important is not the diagnostic label you end up with, but that the diagnosis seems to fit the symptoms you're seeing in your child. That's really true! If you're not feeling like the diagnosis you've received matches the symptoms you see, you might want to pursue another opinion.

BTW, when we had testing done, the questions covered more than just the last 6 months of life. We answered questions about the kids at different points in their age growth. I think that's a better overall picture of the kid than just the last 6 months. If you do seek another opinion, you might want to reconsider the answers you give to the sensory questions -- or at least qualify your answers in the margins -- to better reflect your ds issues. He DOES have sensory problems. You are providing him accommodations to assist him with them, but he DOES have sensory problems.

Best wishes.