What would you do?

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
What would you do?
5
Tue, 06-12-2007 - 11:21am

Hi everyone, my name is Judi and I am mum to 3 great boys. Allen is 6, Andrew is 3 and Aaron is 2. I am hoping to get some advice from you all on how to proceed on something.

I already have one child on the spectrum, Andrew who is 3, however my questions are concerning my 6 year old. In the fall/early winter he was diagnosed by the pediatrician as having ADHD and mild ODD. We have been working closely with the school in trying to help Allen with some of his behaviours. Last week I was talking to the Behaviour specialist at the school and she asked me if the doctor mentioned Allen being on the spectrum at all. There was no mention of that. She feels that Allen has some behaviours that are typically NOT ADHD. Her main observation is that Allen has great difficulty with social appropriateness for his age level. Mrs. R. says that usually she does not see the social difficulties with ADHD/ODD students that Allen seems to possess and she sees them more often in her ASD students.

Here are her reasons that she feels he's on the spectrum. I don't know if all point to the fact that he's on the spectrum or can be attributed to something else.

*he is very bright, extremely articulate and is reading at well above a grade 4 level

*he avoids eye contact when speaking to you

*he has repetitive movements (he’s always tapping something; hands, pens, pencils, etc)

*he is constantly licking his hands (we've noticed that too and can't get him to stop)

*obsession, so to speak, with certain topics and he will always direct the conversation back to that topic or back to himself.

*difficulty with social situations because of his rigidity, for his developmental level and things he does are socially inappropriate.

*has great difficulty with sensory things...gets agitated when things are too loud, food textures bother him, certain clothing textures.

*has difficulty with transitions

*extremely uncordinated/awkward

Mrs. R. has asked us to take Allen back to the pediatrician again and have him reassessed. She seems quite insistent that it's not JUST ADHD/ODD, she feels theres much more to Allen than that.

What would you do? Would you push for another assessment? Do you even agree with the school's behaviour specialist?

Any and all comments would be helpful

TIA!

Judi

PS. Also posting on the ASD board as well.


iVillage Member
Registered: 03-03-2006
Tue, 06-12-2007 - 1:00pm

That would definately send red flags to me to have my child retested. Unfortunatly Asperger's is such a new dx that it can be hard to get diagnosed. Usually when I here ADHD and ODD (or OCD) as the dx I think it may be AS I would definately get another assesment. you may want to find someone who specializes in ASD (psychologist to do educational testing etc) You may want to look into options for funding this I'm not sure how that works in Canada but here the schools provide testing as well. I have spoken to a number of pediatricians who know next to nothing about Asperger's. It just got into the DSS in 94 so it will take some time for knowledge to spread. In some circles there is thought to be a connection between ASD and ADD / ADHD you may want to look at the thread on this sight ADHD or AS. Hope this helps, hang in there!

Cassie

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-25-2003
Tue, 06-12-2007 - 1:19pm

Judi,


You wrote a lot about what Mrs R. thinks.

-Paula

visit my blog at www.onesickmother.com
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Tue, 06-12-2007 - 1:30pm

LOL Paula, touché!

I see a lot of similar traits between Andrew (my child diagnosed on the spectrum) and Allen. I do all this reading and he *fits* ADHD/ODD, then I read about AS and I feel that he *fits* that too. The pediatrician is a developmental specialist and she did not even mention it when he was assessed in December, yet the school specialist see's him on a regular basis. My dh thinks we should leave well enough alone, the school thinks we should consult again, and I am just, well, CONFUSED. Which is why I asked for advice. I guess I should have made that more clear.

And of course, if I am completely honest with myself, there is a fear of having 2 kids diagnosed as on the spectrum...sigh.

Thanks!

Judi


iVillage Member
Registered: 06-11-2007
Tue, 06-12-2007 - 1:38pm

Hi, I understand your fustration. I am not a medical provider but I am well versed in ASD. I believe some of your sons traits are linked to the ADHD but some of it sounds like he's in the spectrum. I would have him reevaluated. By the way some doctors feel that ADHD is actually part of the spectrum.

Stephanie

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-25-2003
Tue, 06-12-2007 - 1:52pm

Judi,


OK you told me what you think. Thanks for that. I had a feeling you may be in that place, but I wanted to be sure.


So now that we are being completely upfront with each other

-Paula

visit my blog at www.onesickmother.com