some questions

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-09-2003
some questions
4
Sat, 01-21-2006 - 11:14pm

I'm having my son evaluated on Monday, but I had a few questions. Please excuse my ignorance.
Do children with PDD-NOS ever point things out and share interests? Do they sometimes initiate interactions with other especially adults? Do they ever seem to be really bright (versus slower than average)? Do they pick up some things easily and then struggle with others? Do they have times where they seem completely normal, and then some times where they seem not so normal? Do they just tend to be a bit behind their peers with some things and then eventually catch up, or will the divide just keep widening? Just some things I've been wondering or questioning. If anyone has any advice or suggestions for an eval through EI, i'd love to hear them. TIA.

Jen

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-15-2006
In reply to: jsmith567
Sat, 01-21-2006 - 11:38pm

Hi Jen,

My piece of advice to you...when you go to the eval make sure you tell them all of the "odd" behaviors your son has. Types of foods, clothes, toys, blankets, eating habits, sleeping patterns. Tell them if he has "preferred" activities..reading, counting, lining up things. Every little bit of information you can give these people will help in diagnosing you child properly. Every child is different, but yes some of those behaviors sound like he could fit somewhere in the Autism Spectrum. Don't be alarmed if they do diagnose him with this. It is a strange yet fascinating disorder. There are wonderful people here on this message board who will help answer your questions.
I hope everything goes well with the eval...good luck.

Carol

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-03-2004
In reply to: jsmith567
Sun, 01-22-2006 - 11:27am

Dear Jen,

"Do children with PDD-NOS ever point things out and share interests?" Yes, they can and some do. The bigger challenge can be in actual reciprical conversation about those interests, or ability to converse about OTHER people's interests... "Do they sometimes initiate interactions with other especially adults?" Yes, esp. adults (much safer than other children) "Do they ever seem to be really bright (versus slower than average)?" Most spectrum kids are very bright, some have a harder time communicating it. "Do they pick up some things easily and then struggle with others?" Oh, yes. "Do they have times where they seem completely normal, and then some times where they seem not so normal?" Absolutely.

"Do they just tend to be a bit behind their peers with some things and then eventually catch up, or will the divide just keep widening?" Without help, the gap can definitely widen, as they miss picking up skills and if that is not addressed, the problems can become more compounded. Sadly, in some kids, the fact that they are on the spectrum is not picked up until the gaps are very wide and therefore more obvious. And socially, they can really get left behind by other kids their age. I feel that "catching up" is big and constant challenge, but certainly they can continue to make progress their entire lives. If they are truly on the spectrum, this will not likely happen easily left to struggle on their own, hence the disorder.

The evaluation process is not so much about getting a literal dx, in my opinion, as that can change as you go, but instead is about learning the strengths and weaknesses in your child's current development and what can be done to assist further growth. We have had our son (now age 8, PDD-NOS) evaluated a number of times and every time has brought us more new and useful information, which has been often the real source of decisions and therefore his improvements.

Advice: Ask lots and lots of questions! Look for outside opinions if you disagree or end up dissatisfied with the eval. Take notes, keep all reports. As I said, this is only the beginning of a stronger learning curve (even if he is NOT on the spectrum), the lifelong journey of raising your child.

yours,

Sara
ilovemalcolm

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-11-2003
In reply to: jsmith567
Sun, 01-22-2006 - 11:39am

Hi, I have a 10 yr. old ds with PDD-NOS and the things you were describing my ds does. He will interact with peers etc. but often misses social cues or will start talking about something without explaining an event properly.....he just assumes people know to what he is refering to ( ie. that we have a dog named Tucker). Since he is speech and language delayed people will often have trouble understanding him and will walk away mid conversation. This is hard for him and I feel part of the reason he tends to keep to himself at times.

You asked if kids with PDD express interests, my ds does! Although I have to add, he tends to lose interest when doing that activity quicker than a typical kid would. He may want to play football but lose interest after playing for 10 min. Or ask to play outside and want to come in after 15 min.

Certain things are absorbed much faster than others. For my ds he can count money and know how much he needs for toys etc. but cannot do multipication/ division etc. He can barely read or write, but can remember details of family vacations and places we had gone that amaze me. He can also learn about things he is interested in a lot quicker than things he is not.

At times I forget he has PDD, but will always get a reminder!My ds can be very loving and very caring about others.He is very affectionate! He has freely given hugs to a teacher that wasn't feeling well, something no other child would think of doing! He even remembered to ask her the next day how she was feeling, something no other child did. This was when he was in second grade and this was a regular Ed class. My ds was the only one in that class with a disability and as the teacher told me "touched her heart!".

There are many times I feel like screaming with frustration over my ds's PDD, but there are also many moments that I feel he is truly special because he is so different. It is because of these differences that can overcome my frustrations.

I wish you all the luck!

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-24-2004
In reply to: jsmith567
Sun, 01-22-2006 - 2:10pm

Jen,

Nathan also does everything you mentioned. He's a bit behind in some areas, and yet on target with others. His autistic traits fluctuate depending on his stress level. He didn't point things out when he was younger, he started doing this at age 5. It started out very slowly, but he's much better at it now.

"Will the divide keep widening".......well, with Nathan, yes it has. He struggles with academics and is currently behind his classmates. But he's still progressing, so that's good. Socially, he's become even more autistic than when he was younger. I'm sure it's because he has become so much more aware of his differences though. There's so much more demands put on him, more stress, more expectations, and so much to learn. First grade has proven to be a difficult year for him. So many changes.

I do hope that with time we will be able to shorten the gap a bit. I'm not looking for him to be NT like his brother.....then he wouldn't be Nathan. It's constant work, but well worth it.

Good luck on the eval tomorrow...let us know how things go!

michelle