Diane Kennedy seminar on ADHD/Autism

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-24-2005
Diane Kennedy seminar on ADHD/Autism
1
Thu, 02-23-2006 - 7:09pm

Hey guys,

Diane Kennedy is coming to Louisville, Ky.(where I live)and putting on a seminar about the Autism/ADHD connection. I had not heard of her before but her son has Aspergers and was originally dx ADHD. The seminar is free and I'm planning on attending but have any of you heard much of her or know what I should expect?
Vicky

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Fri, 02-24-2006 - 1:00pm

I was just talking to someone about this the other day.

Some have gone so far as to say ADHD is on the autism spectrum and it all started from her book. There is alot of debate on the connection between ADHD and autism and if ADHD is on the very end of the autism continuum. Would be interesting to hear what she says and how she presents her information.

Here is my take. I think ADHD is connected in some way. I think ADHD is connected to ALOT of differences, not just autism such as auditory processing disorders, learning disabilities and mood disorders. But I don't think ADHD is on the autism spectrum. ADHD is a symptom or a group of symptoms. ADHD is really REALLY hard to define. Many kids with other challenges start out with an ADHD diagnosis but what does that mean for the individual kid. Both my ASD kids were first diagnosed with ADHD. They both meet the criteria for ADHD, but each meet the criteria for vastly different reasons. For Cait her executive functions are NIL and she has a hard time organizing and focusing. Plus it is language comprehension and processing. For Mike it is totally a byproduct of sensory integration difficulties and autism. If he is in a good place sensory wise and is connected with the world and not off in his own world then he can focus great and is quite organized.

I honestly think that genetically all these challenges are some how connected. It is not uncommon to have a child with LD's, ADHD, or mood disorder in the same family as a child with autism. They seem some how genetically linked and we are getting closer to figuring out the why's and hows.

HOWEVER, to be autistic there are certain core deficits one must have in the area of social skills such as a poor theory of mind. Not all kids with ADHD have ToM problems and the ones that do are likely AS.

Thats my take anyway. I think the bigger problem is that ADHD often ends up as a misdiagnosis. It is kind of the first on the way to figuring out what is the actual correct diagnosis. Like I said, both mine were ADHD first. Cait was dx'ed ADD, language disordered and dyspraxic at 3, then PDD at 4. Mike was dx'ed ADHD, OCD, SID, auditory processing disorder at 3-4 and AS at 7 so I know where she is coming from but there are lots of kids who are other things besides autistic who are ADHD too.

Renee

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