Re: Autism VS. other spectrum diagnosis'

[Guest guest]

I will agree with 's rant here, that the dx should be ACCURATE and

not toned down for reasons like " save the parents grief " or " we can't

keep up with the current caseload " or anything like that.

However, I will say personally, MY OPINION ONLY, that if you can get

appropriate services for your child with a lesser dx, then I would

personally say you should go for that. I am sooooooo glad I do not

have a dx of autism all over my medical history. I am " unique " to the

world, and not " mentally defective " . People tend to see the label and

not the individual person. But if you need the word autism to get the

services, then go for it.

Here are two links for you, I have given them before.

http://home.pacbell.net/cscomp/label.htm

http://home.pacbell.net/cscomp/newdx.htm

Dana, who is not intending to be inflammatory this time either.

[Guest guest]

I will agree with 's rant here, that the dx should be ACCURATE and

not toned down for reasons like " save the parents grief " or " we can't

keep up with the current caseload " or anything like that.

However, I will say personally, MY OPINION ONLY, that if you can get

appropriate services for your child with a lesser dx, then I would

personally say you should go for that. I am sooooooo glad I do not

have a dx of autism all over my medical history. I am " unique " to the

world, and not " mentally defective " . People tend to see the label and

not the individual person. But if you need the word autism to get the

services, then go for it.

Here are two links for you, I have given them before.

http://home.pacbell.net/cscomp/label.htm

http://home.pacbell.net/cscomp/newdx.htm

Dana, who is not intending to be inflammatory this time either.

[Guest guest]

> My son was just diagnosed yesterday the diagnosis : Autism.....well

i think

> i knew this 6 mnths ago so i wasn't shocked however, the diagnosing

Dr. told

> me the reason she did not go for the PDD label was because he did't

show us

> thing or attenpt to bring us into his world, is this what is the

difference?

No, the difference is the number of qualifying items. Here is the dx

criteria, you can read for yourself. The second link here is probably

the one you want, but you can read the others also.

http://home.pacbell.net/cscomp/parentin.htm#diagnostic

Dana

[Guest guest]

Sharon - Go to http://www.autism.com/ari/editorials/pdd.html It is

an article by Dr. Bernard Rimland called Plain Talk About PDD and the

Diagnosis of Autism. This will help you understand why some doctors

use the term PDD. It was certainly true in my case.

> My son was just diagnosed yesterday the diagnosis :

Autism.....well i think

> i knew this 6 mnths ago so i wasn't shocked however, the diagnosing

Dr. told

> me the reason she did not go for the PDD label was because he did't

show us

> thing or attenpt to bring us into his world, is this what is the

difference?

> I never read anything about this being the deciding factor on the

most part i

> think autism is autism and some just have different behaviors, some

more

> servere some less...and so on...all i know was at first i was upset

because i

> think i wanted to hear PDD because it sounds better, but then i was

glad that

> he will be elibale for lot's of services, and he's doing better

every day so

> i guess what i'm saying is i don't give a hoot what they call it my

son is my

> son and he's doing his best and we're all working hard along with

him to help

> him be his best!!! just venting a bit i guess... thanks Sharon

[Guest guest]

I just want to say that this post couldn't have come up at a better

time for me. My son was diagnosed by a neurologist about a month ago

with PDD, yet he wrote autism on a piece of paper which would " help

to get services " . On Monday he was diagnosed by a psychologist with

moderate autism. Needless to say, I felt hopeless again which is

silly. I've been told by new found friends that there really isn't

much difference between PDD and Autism. Yet, I was discouraged.

After reading the article link below (Dr. Rimland) I feel much

better. My child hasn't changed any, just the label. I have to

remember his chances haven't changed either. I just wanted to say

thank you for posting this link and encourage others to read if they

are as confused as I am.

Kim

> Sharon - Go to http://www.autism.com/ari/editorials/pdd.html It is

> an article by Dr. Bernard Rimland called Plain Talk About PDD and

the

> Diagnosis of Autism. This will help you understand why some

doctors

> use the term PDD. It was certainly true in my case.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

My son was said to have PDD...but not officially declared as such. It

was more a matter of what he didn't have: Not complete autism, not

complete ADD, not complete seizures, not complete auditory

processing, not completely depression, not complete anything. So,

yes, my son does has PDD - Pediatrician Didn't Decide.

So we flailed around in waffling-land doing this and that, but it

wasn't until I quit the children's psychiatric hospital and found a

great neurologist for my own chronic migraines that we got the

substantial direction we needed. She didn't seem surprised when I

vented about all the time lost and " why didn't someone tell me "

because she explained that doctors are lost in their own specialties

and the disciplines are more segregated that most people know or

doctors would like to admit. She treats neurology as a medical

condition BUT she feels that " alternative medicine " like dietary

changes and herbs and such are just as valid options. She prescribed

both meds and alternative things (magnesium, diet changes, sensory

exercises) at the first appointment.

Another problem is there is no one test that determines it, and the

autistic spectrum is full of people who have very different symptoms

and issues. I see it as sort of like saying you have cancer - there

are a multitude of types of cancer and appropriate treatments for

each...and still not a completely certain outcome for any particular

individual. My boys " were born that way " and definitely pattern

myself so it is an inherited whatever in my case - and we love each

other all the same.

.