Children with Autism, Asperger's, and ADHD spectrum disorders

[Dandelion]

So one of my siblings is currently being pushed by the school system to have her child tested for a variety of stuff. She is strongly resistant to her child receiving any label and any associated stigma attached to it so she's doing it privately and out of pocket, despite the fact that insurance would cover it. Preliminary tests indicate multiple possibilities of a non-verbal learning disorder, OCD, and/or Asperger's symptoms by two different therapists. The school has given her four months to make a decision about having him tested within the school system.

Her son picked up language earlier than any other child I've met and reads brilliantly. He's highly intelligent, readily interacts verbally, seems to have alternating symptoms of ADHD and withdrawl (off in his own world), all of this is combined with a lack of friends and he has trouble sleeping. Meanwhile he's designing wing patterns for space ships at the breakfast table. He crys to his mom that he just wants to be "normal" like the other kids. He's in elementary school.

I'm blown away with the amount of information on all of these subjects available on the internet and she and her husband are blown away by the cost of all of the testing and treatment for various diagnoses. They are frustrated and concerned loving parents who just want the best for their child and all of this is a strain on them.

What say you BARF? Please share your thoughts with me.

 

[Melissa]

this is within my area of specialty of clinical practice, diagnosis and treatment.
Please pm me if you are interested in clinical specifics and how the school system functions. If you have information regarding 26.5 testing, psychological diagnosis and rule outs, expressive receptive ld, Learning D/O NOS, ADHD, etc. let's talk.
If you are interested in dialoguing about school labels and what OCD and Aspergers-Autism-ADHD continuum really means please let me know and I can refer you to UCD experts who are conducting up to date research on the diagnosis and treatment implications.
If you prefer access to school psychologists or educational psychologists I might be able to provide you with appropriate referrals. Psychiatric diagnosis? I might also be able to link you to services.

 

[Dandelion]

Wow, that's a lot. She's not in California. Can you break it down to what the therapies are and how as an aunt I can help and be supportive to my nephew and his parents?

 

[Ogier le Danois]

this is within my area of specialty of clinical practice, diagnosis and treatment.
Please pm me if you are interested in clinical specifics and how the school system functions. If you have information regarding 26.5 testing, psychological diagnosis and rule outs, expressive receptive ld, Learning D/O NOS, ADHD, etc. let's talk.
If you are interested in dialoguing about school labels and what OCD and Aspergers-Autism-ADHD continuum really means please let me know and I can refer you to UCD experts who are conducting up to date research on the diagnosis and treatment implications.
If you prefer access to school psychologists or educational psychologists I might be able to provide you with appropriate referrals. Psychiatric diagnosis? I might also be able to link you to services.

Melissa, do you think that they over diagnose kids with disorders like this, and the use of "Spectrum" is just a way to label more kids?

 

[afm199]

Be aware of the AMA/APA and their drug industry connections. Beware of the willingness to prescribe multiple prescriptions of very strong drugs to deal with these "problems".

Some kids are really bright and in a world of their own. Sometimes they are forced to live in a world of conformity. Don't believe everything you hear and see on TV.

 

[Dandelion]

When it comes to people's kids this is an explosively hot topic for a variety of reasons. I'm trying to learn more without being overwhelmed with a morass of conflicting information.

 

[CockyRooster]

Just a few years ago we would call these types of people a Genius. I have a family member with aspergers. He is incredibly bright and friendly but just sometimes forgets to put his pants on before leaving the house.

He is actually fine with his condition and contributes to society in a dogged and near super human capacity - it's the people around him who have trouble making the adjustment to a few slight quirks.

 

[Climber]

I've run across plenty of teachers and parents who are more interested in giving pills to kids to get the to behave rather than figuring out why the child can't sit still.

One common cause is boredom and the children most likely to experience this are bright, curious children.

The drugs that commonly get prescribed to these kinds of children turn the lethargic and quells their curiosity.

I believe that the majority of children receiving these behavior-controlling drugs should have never been prescribed them in the first place.

My

 

[afm199]

What has emerged in the nexus of the school system and medical profession is a very lucrative business. "Problem" children who don't behave "properly", ask questions that make teachers uncomfortable, display odd behavior, or stand out are often tagged and bagged, and shunted into the system of drug control that "enables" them to be "normal". No one knows at what cost. Of course there are problem kids. Somewhere around 3% of all American kids take Ritalin. Is that a large amount or small? It is about three times what it was in 1990.

 

[2+2=5]

youtube

I fail at the internet (Can't embed)

 

[Dandelion]

Thanks for the video, and yes, he's got the spider man costume and the entire Star Wars catalog memorized already complete with characters, ships, planets, etc. If I flip open the Star Wars book and ask him a question on it he can recite it from memory and draw the damn thing. But if the waitress asks him what he wants to drink at a restaurant it's a near meltdown smack his head session. He's affectionate, giggles at jokes and makes his own jokes too.

Nobody wants to see him drugged into some behavioral cardboard cutout of what society deems acceptable, and at the same time other parents have the right to not have their child's education interrupted/hindered as well.

 

[sandyxb]

Be aware of the AMA/APA and their drug industry connections. Beware of the willingness to prescribe multiple prescriptions of very strong drugs to deal with these "problems".
...

Be very aware of the APA and those child psychologists, especially if they are school funded to deal with problems mostly created by adults. Instead, I suggest finding an environment for the kid to flourish, not to be diagnosed and treated.

 

[Dandelion]

Instead, I suggest finding an environment for the kid to flourish, not to be diagnosed and treated.

They are willing to do private school, tutoring, more playdates, or whatever it takes, but they are unwilling to dismantle their child.

She was near tears the other day on the phone about all of this and I had to just say to her that she's been his Mom since the beginning and to trust her instincts.

 

[CockyRooster]

Thanks for the video, and yes, he's got the spider man costume and the entire Star Wars catalog memorized already complete with characters, ships, planets, etc. If I flip open the Star Wars book and ask him a question on it he can recite it from memory and draw the damn thing. But if the waitress asks him what he wants to drink at a restaurant it's a near meltdown smack his head session. He's affectionate, giggles at jokes and makes his own jokes too.

This sounds to be exactly on par

Nobody wants to see him drugged into some behavioral cardboard cutout of what society deems acceptable, and at the same time other parents have the right to not have their child's education interrupted/hindered as well.

I'm sure things will settle out once the options are known. We've had to make a few adjustments like overseeing the money and being aware that he has an odd sense of time. We have to baby sit him to make sure he gets to the airports etc., but at the same time he's managed to travel to Europe and watch the World Cup with no money It took us a while to get off our high horse thinking that our way was the best way of doing things

 

[Rambeezi]

My nephew was diagnosed with high function autism at around 2 years old. My sister at that time was concerned with his lack of developing language skills and not interacting with other people and kids. She was a little bit in denial but after he turned 2 she did have him evaluated and if I recall correctly she went to quite a few specialists, doctors, etc. (out of pocket, insurance, and also San Benito County has an autism program which I recall was free for its residence).

Now at 6 and attending regular school (1st grade) he is an excellent reader, good at math, get's along well with his teacher and classmates...but his language skills is still 3~4 age range and he still has obsessive interests...currently they are trains and train sets. I say regardless of what means your sibling wants to have her child tested/evaluated...just to do it and to take advantage of any programs that are available by her county and/or school district.

Jacob (my nephew) did have to go to a special K1, pre K school for autistic kids in San Benito County (Hollister to be exact). He went to regular kindergarten and now is in the 1st grade. He never received any type of drugs (prescription or otherwise), white coat lab testings type of environment, therapy, ...etc. I'm not sure how the process of evaluation goes but I would be more than happy to ask my sister. I know that in pre K/K1 he did receive a lot of speech exercises which my sister told me helped a ton!

 

[900ss]

For reasons I do not care to divulge at this time, this thread is very interesting to me. Vague, yes - reasons? Relevant.

 

[Silence]

ABA and early intervention usually = measurable results

That being said, we know a professor's son that has autism + another rare disorder that's so severe that it's as though our world exists in an entirely different plane for him and two years of ABA barely did anything for him.

 

[yella600rr]

What a beautiful gift to have such a bright and wonderful child to raise!

My vote is to use every program and home activity that will help the child be the best that the child can be at something they enjoy. I also vote for total avoidance of medications unless the child is an endangerment to themselves or others.

He may never grow up to be a full spectrum adult but imagine to be such a brilliant hue of saphire blue that the rest of the rainbow colors are but shadows.

 

[Rambeezi]

What a beautiful gift to have such a bright and wonderful child to raise!

My vote is to use every program and home activity that will help the child be the best that the child can be at something they enjoy. I also vote for total avoidance of medications unless the child is an endangerment to themselves or others.

He may never grow up to be a full spectrum adult but imagine to be such a brilliant hue of saphire blue that the rest of the rainbow colors are but shadows.

+1000

 

[tzrider]

My vote is to use every program and home activity that will help the child be the best that the child can be at something they enjoy. I also vote for total avoidance of medications unless the child is an endangerment to themselves or others.

+1

One of our sons is being pushed in that direction too. Every adult that knows him outside of school and has heard about this reacts like .

We have come to find that fully half of the boys our son's class are being pushed in the same direction. This is typical for the school at large. These numbers are so far off the national norm it's mind boggling. It certainly suggests the "diagnosis" is very subjective.

My wife and I feel that this school is overrun by women who have no clue what normal behavior is for a little boy. Their goal is conformity. Make no mistake, our schools are not geared to produce innovators. They are set up to produce conformists.