Is it possible to have some of the triat

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-05-2003
Is it possible to have some of the triat
5
Wed, 07-27-2005 - 7:54am

In my last email about Jake some suggested that if I feel he may be PDD to have him evaluated, the problem is I don't know what to think. Prior to him going to school I never would have thought it for a second. But after the teacher said that of course I came home and looked up symptoms/signs and he does have some, but so do I , so does my husband, my older kids, my neighbors kid. So I guess my question is, is it possible to have some of the traits and not be PDD? I mean aren't there othere reasons for the traits?

Annmarie

Avatar for cathby
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-16-2003
Wed, 07-27-2005 - 8:16am

Annmarie,

Yes, there are a lot of people who have some of the traits associated with PDD. But you gotta' look at the bigger picture. It may be easy to explain them away one by one (e.g "He flaps his arms because he's happy!" and "He doesn't make good eye contact because he doesn't want to!" but when you put them together it sometimes adds up to something.)

If you have niggling concerns, I would have him evaluated. It can't hurt.

I recommend that you take the little quiz on

http://www.childbrain.com/pddq6.shtml

It's not an eval. tool, but it made me more aware of some traits that DS had that I didn't know were traits.

Good luck,
Cathy


iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 07-27-2005 - 8:46am

AnnMarie,

I think that we can find AS traits in all of us if we look hard enough, the difference is the INTENSITY of the traits. Not wanting to touch certain things doesn't automatically make us autistic. Having a reserved personality also doesn't mean a person is autistic. When a person is diagnosed with ASD it is, or should be, done over a period of time, several observations. IMO that teacher had no business telling you she thought your DS was autistic after only 1 observation. As others suggested, get your DS involved with different play groups. Observe him over time. If you still are concerned, a visit to a developmental pediatrician might be in order.

I'd like to share a story with you about my son.

I have a 6 yr old DS, considered high-functioning because of his verbal ability and "outgoingness." We have a special support system at our church for him, called "angel buddies." There is a group of church members who take turns accompanying DS to Childrens Church, making sure he stays on tasks (and not pulling out all the videos or books from the shelves, rolling on the carpet, etc) and stays in the classroom (he tends to run off, usually down to the nursery where his younger brother is). I did a training session for the angel buddies in April, describing DS, giving a little info about autism, etc. After the session I had several people comment on how DS sounded like their children, who definitely are NOT along the AS spectrum. There are times when my DS is indistinguishable from his peers, and others the autism is VERY noticeable.

My DS with ASD will go up to anyone and say ANYTHING. There is no telling what is going to come out of his mouth, LOL. It can range from very appropriate to totally off the wall. It is the intensity of forcing conversations to HIS interests, hugging his classmates over and over, repeating phrases he has heard from a video over and over that makes him ASD. He doesn't understand nonverbal social cues.

HTH

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-24-2003
Wed, 07-27-2005 - 10:47am

I think you are driving yourself a little crazy based on something a young, ignorant teacher said.

Pat

Happiness is a conscious choice, not an automatic response. --

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 07-27-2005 - 5:51pm

I was basically going to say what Pat and the others said.

The principal at the local special ed preschool likes to say 'Aren't we all a little autistic?". It is true, I think everyone has some traits. Some have a lot of trait like Bill Gates as Pat mentioned. But it is only autism spectrum "disorder" if it SIGNIFICANTLY impacts thier ability to function for thier age group within all the normal environments like home, school, social activities. .

Now some kids with very high functioning autism spectrum disorders can blend for a long time and it may only become disabling when they are older and others continue to develop while the AS kid tends to fall further behind.

What I am saying is that none of us can say for absolute certain that your son is definitely not AS or that he won't appear to be more AS when he gets older. However, at this particular time from the information you have given us he does not sound like he would meet the criteria. KWIM? He sounds like one great little dude. But it can be hard to tell sometimes with small children. Many kids with AS aren't diagnosed until 8-11 years old because they are able to blend until then. However, usually even with those kids the parents look back and say "NO WONDER!"

Renee

Photobucket
iVillage Member
Registered: 09-05-2003
Wed, 07-27-2005 - 6:42pm
Thank you all so much for your comments and input, I tend to obsess about things especially when it comes to my kids. Drives my poor husband nuts. I have far more autistic traits than my son. I will try hard to put my fear of intimate social situations aside so I can bring my son to places where he can play with other children his own age.