Re: new member- honing diagnosis...

Posted January 24, 2011 · January 24, 2011

Hi,I know exactly what you mean. My son has been diagnosed with Aspergers, but he has speech delays and is the opposite of a 'little professor.' Perhaps we could swap diagnoses : )By the way, there's a great mailing list for bipolar called CABF, I've learned so much from being on that list. From: sopranotania <sopranotania@...>Subject: ( ) new member- honing diagnosis... Date: Monday, January 24, 2011, 12:37 PM

Hi all,

I have enjoyed catching up a little with your posts and seeing that you struggle with so many of the same things we do here. My older son just turned 9 and is currently dx'ed with high functioning Autism and Bipolar Disorder-nos. He was diagnosed bp an ADHD when he was 4 but after a month-long outpatient hospitalization at UCLA (last Jan/Feb) they changed his dx and dropped the ADHD and added the autism. The thing is, I really think he has Asperger's instead of HFA because I don't get how a kid who spoke at 12 months (and in phrases by 18 months and was fluent by two) had a language delay. His IQ is a bit weird in that he is above average in some areas but has really slow processing speed. Of course if you ask him to write anything all bets are off. His processing score just blows his whole IQ. So it averages out to be 89 on the WISC-IV (one point below "average")but honestly I don't feel that is a fair representation for a 3rd grader who does 4th

grade math and comprehends 5th grade reading! I have heard of a different kind of IQ test called the Ravenswood Progressive Matrices that is supposed to be more accurate with our kids and I may pursue that. Some people have told me it's silly to worry about the distinction between HFA and Asperger's and maybe they're right (especially if both diagnoses will be "subsumed" in the new DSM V) but I have a nagging doubt. What happens when my son is old enough to "come out" to the general population? There is a certain cache that Asperger's carries that autism does not- namely that people assume a higher level of intelligence and functioning. Won't it be easier to get him comfortable with his condition and his place in the world if he has an Asperger's dx? Besides, I truly feel this is more appropriate. I usually have to defend his HFA dx with every "expert" I meet because they see him and immediately say "Asperger's". Am I just being "silly" as some

have said or does anyone see my point? I just want my son to get his "due" in a world that gives precious little understanding to people on the spectrum anyway...

Posted January 24, 2011 · January 24, 2011

If you really want this feathered out, you may want to have a

full neuropsychological evaluation. This may be helpful at

school as he gets older and needs more accomodations (does he transition

slowly). I think people will judge him as an adult

on first " emotional control " and second on

" social appropriateness " . If he learns social skills and

does not have emotional problems there may be no reason any one

has to know what he has. The important things you can learn from

a neuropsyc report is what accomodations will help him the most

depending on his level of executive function etc.

Pam

>

> Hi all,

>

> I have enjoyed catching up a little with your posts and seeing that you

struggle with so many of the same things we do here. My older son just turned 9

and is currently dx'ed with high functioning Autism and Bipolar Disorder-nos. He

was diagnosed bp an ADHD when he was 4 but after a month-long outpatient

hospitalization at UCLA (last Jan/Feb) they changed his dx and dropped the ADHD

and added the autism. The thing is, I really think he has Asperger's instead of

HFA because I don't get how a kid who spoke at 12 months (and in phrases by 18

months and was fluent by two) had a language delay. His IQ is a bit weird in

that he is above average in some areas but has really slow processing speed. Of

course if you ask him to write anything all bets are off. His processing score

just blows his whole IQ. So it averages out to be 89 on the WISC-IV (one point

below " average " )but honestly I don't feel that is a fair representation for a

3rd grader who does 4th grade math and comprehends 5th grade reading! I have

heard of a different kind of IQ test called the Ravenswood Progressive Matrices

that is supposed to be more accurate with our kids and I may pursue that. Some

people have told me it's silly to worry about the distinction between HFA and

Asperger's and maybe they're right (especially if both diagnoses will be

" subsumed " in the new DSM V) but I have a nagging doubt. What happens when my

son is old enough to " come out " to the general population? There is a certain

cache that Asperger's carries that autism does not- namely that people assume a

higher level of intelligence and functioning. Won't it be easier to get him

comfortable with his condition and his place in the world if he has an

Asperger's dx? Besides, I truly feel this is more appropriate. I usually have

to defend his HFA dx with every " expert " I meet because they see him and

immediately say " Asperger's " . Am I just being " silly " as some have said or does

anyone see my point? I just want my son to get his " due " in a world that gives

precious little understanding to people on the spectrum anyway...

>

Posted January 24, 2011 · January 24, 2011

Pam, do you have any idea at what age they start doing the neuropsychological evals??? CarolynFrom: Pamela <susanonderko@...> Sent: Mon, January 24, 2011 1:22:06 PMSubject: ( ) Re: new member- honing diagnosis...

If you really want this feathered out, you may want to have a

full neuropsychological evaluation. This may be helpful at

school as he gets older and needs more accomodations (does he transition slowly). I think people will judge him as an adult

on first "emotional control" and second on

"social appropriateness". If he learns social skills and

does not have emotional problems there may be no reason any one

has to know what he has. The important things you can learn from

a neuropsyc report is what accomodations will help him the most

depending on his level of executive function etc.

Pam

>

> Hi all,

>

> I have enjoyed catching up a little with your posts and seeing that you struggle with so many of the same things we do here. My older son just turned 9 and is currently dx'ed with high functioning Autism and Bipolar Disorder-nos. He was diagnosed bp an ADHD when he was 4 but after a month-long outpatient hospitalization at UCLA (last Jan/Feb) they changed his dx and dropped the ADHD and added the autism. The thing is, I really think he has Asperger's instead of HFA because I don't get how a kid who spoke at 12 months (and in phrases by 18 months and was fluent by two) had a language delay. His IQ is a bit weird in that he is above average in some areas but has really slow processing speed. Of course if you ask him to write anything all bets are off. His processing score just blows his whole IQ. So it averages out to be 89 on the WISC-IV (one point below "average")but honestly I don't feel that is a fair representation for a 3rd grader who does

4th grade math and comprehends 5th grade reading! I have heard of a different kind of IQ test called the Ravenswood Progressive Matrices that is supposed to be more accurate with our kids and I may pursue that. Some people have told me it's silly to worry about the distinction between HFA and Asperger's and maybe they're right (especially if both diagnoses will be "subsumed" in the new DSM V) but I have a nagging doubt. What happens when my son is old enough to "come out" to the general population? There is a certain cache that Asperger's carries that autism does not- namely that people assume a higher level of intelligence and functioning. Won't it be easier to get him comfortable with his condition and his place in the world if he has an Asperger's dx? Besides, I truly feel this is more appropriate. I usually have to defend his HFA dx with every "expert" I meet because they see him and immediately say "Asperger's". Am I just being "silly" as

some have said or does anyone see my point? I just want my son to get his "due" in a world that gives precious little understanding to people on the spectrum anyway...

>

Posted January 24, 2011 · January 24, 2011

I don’t post much but my son sounds

very similar to your son. For those that say it doesn’t matter. Here in

California an

Asperger’s diag. does not get services. An autism diag does. So that is

something for the poster to consider. So while my son has been diag. with HFA

I think it should be Aspergers I am not complaining because he needs help with

what he needs help with. He can not get that help with an Aspergers diag.

Carey

http://www.GreenDiaperStore.com

We now

carry so much more than diapers! We have eco-friendly toys, feeding

products, bath and body, nursing products and more!

From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of sopranotania

Sent: Monday, January 24, 2011

10:45 AM

Subject: ( ) new

member- honing diagnosis...

Hi all,

I have enjoyed catching up a little with your posts and seeing that you

struggle with so many of the same things we do here. My older son just turned 9

and is currently dx'ed with high functioning Autism and Bipolar Disorder-nos.

He was diagnosed bp an ADHD when he was 4 but after a month-long outpatient

hospitalization at UCLA (last Jan/Feb) they changed his dx and dropped the ADHD

and added the autism. The thing is, I really think he has Asperger's instead of

HFA because I don't get how a kid who spoke at 12 months (and in phrases by 18

months and was fluent by two) had a language delay. His IQ is a bit weird in

that he is above average in some areas but has really slow processing speed. Of

course if you ask him to write anything all bets are off. His processing score

just blows his whole IQ. So it averages out to be 89 on the WISC-IV (one point

below " average " )but honestly I don't feel that is a fair

representation for a 3rd grader who does 4th grade math and comprehends 5th grade

reading! I have heard of a different kind of IQ test called the Ravenswood

Progressive Matrices that is supposed to be more accurate with our kids and I

may pursue that. Some people have told me it's silly to worry about the

distinction between HFA and Asperger's and maybe they're right (especially if

both diagnoses will be " subsumed " in the new DSM V) but I have a

nagging doubt. What happens when my son is old enough to " come out "

to the general population? There is a certain cache that Asperger's carries

that autism does not- namely that people assume a higher level of intelligence

and functioning. Won't it be easier to get him comfortable with his condition

and his place in the world if he has an Asperger's dx? Besides, I truly feel

this is more appropriate. I usually have to defend his HFA dx with every

" expert " I meet because they see him and immediately say

" Asperger's " . Am I just being " silly " as some have said or

does anyone see my point? I just want my son to get his " due " in a

world that gives precious little understanding to people on the spectrum

anyway...

Posted January 25, 2011 · January 25, 2011

That is a very good to know i live in California and we only has an AS dx also. He also has ADHD, and I wondered why we were only getting services for that, and everything else in his IEP wasn't being addressed. Thank you,

veronica

From: Carey <lisa.carey@...> Sent: Mon, January 24, 2011 5:22:07 PMSubject: RE: ( ) new member- honing diagnosis...

I donâ€™t post much but my son sounds very similar to your son. For those that say it doesnâ€™t matter. Here in California an Aspergerâ€™s diag. does not get services. An autism diag does. So that is something for the poster to consider. So while my son has been diag. with HFA I think it should be Aspergers I am not complaining because he needs help with what he needs help with. He can not get that help with an Aspergers diag.

Carey

http://www.GreenDiaperStore.com

We now carry so much more than diapers! We have eco-friendly toys, feeding products, bath and body, nursing products and more!

From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of sopranotaniaSent: Monday, January 24, 2011 10:45 AM Subject: ( ) new member- honing diagnosis...

Hi all,I have enjoyed catching up a little with your posts and seeing that you struggle with so many of the same things we do here. My older son just turned 9 and is currently dx'ed with high functioning Autism and Bipolar Disorder-nos. He was diagnosed bp an ADHD when he was 4 but after a month-long outpatient hospitalization at UCLA (last Jan/Feb) they changed his dx and dropped the ADHD and added the autism. The thing is, I really think he has Asperger's instead of HFA because I don't get how a kid who spoke at 12 months (and in phrases by 18 months and was fluent by two) had a language delay. His IQ is a bit weird in that he is above average in some areas but has really slow processing speed. Of course if you ask him to write anything all bets are off. His processing score just blows his whole IQ. So it averages out to be 89 on the WISC-IV (one point below "average")but

honestly I don't feel that is a fair representation for a 3rd grader who does 4th grade math and comprehends 5th grade reading! I have heard of a different kind of IQ test called the Ravenswood Progressive Matrices that is supposed to be more accurate with our kids and I may pursue that. Some people have told me it's silly to worry about the distinction between HFA and Asperger's and maybe they're right (especially if both diagnoses will be "subsumed" in the new DSM V) but I have a nagging doubt. What happens when my son is old enough to "come out" to the general population? There is a certain cache that Asperger's carries that autism does not- namely that people assume a higher level of intelligence and functioning. Won't it be easier to get him comfortable with his condition and his place in the world if he has an Asperger's dx? Besides, I truly feel this is more appropriate. I usually have to defend his HFA dx with every "expert" I meet because they

see him and immediately say "Asperger's". Am I just being "silly" as some have said or does anyone see my point? I just want my son to get his "due" in a world that gives precious little understanding to people on the spectrum anyway...

Posted January 25, 2011 · January 25, 2011

Such a weird system because aspergers is on the AUTISM spectrum, and aspergers can be very similar to autism, so i dont understand why aspergers diagnoses doesnt count? Thats so crazy to me! But anyway , if your son cant get services that you think he is benefiting from , if he has a aspergers diagnoses , and you are not ready or willing to give up those services , i guess if it were me i would have to just stick to the autism diagnoses! Thats pretty sad tho that you have to tell your son he has autism when he really has aspergers , maybe there isnt much of a difference because he may not like to hear he has either of those disorders , but its just not right that you cant , go with the more honest and appropriate diagnoses! So i have heard lots of others say that they will only

get services for a autism diagnoses! SO what exactly are those services , and what services do the kids with aspergers get? I just dont get it! Sorry im pretty new to this and my son will be starting school next year , so im trying to learn about what services ( tho may be different in my state wisconsin) that kids with autism diagnoses get , and ones with aspergers do not! I thought that a diagnoses didnt really have too much weight , because the school told me they test indivudual areas of skills to determine what needs the child will need extra help with while at school! I am going to post a couple other questions to the group in a minute because i had a evaluation that the school district put on last night for all kids between ages 2-5 , basically just a screening for preschool and , they obviously saw both my sons are a little different , so i was invited to their open house where they will do more evaluating and ask me more questions to

see if my kids need to be tested further , and if a iep needs to be in place before they go to school! So i just want to make sure i am as prepared for this as i can be! SO i hope you two ladies read my post and can help me know what my rights are and what steps i need to take , or questions i need to ask for this meeting! Thanks a lot , Meaghan :)From: Carey <lisa.carey@...> Sent: Mon, January 24, 2011 7:22:07 PMSubject: RE: ( ) new member- honing diagnosis...

I donâ€™t post much but my son sounds

very similar to your son. For those that say it doesnâ€™t matter. Here in

California an

Aspergerâ€™s diag. does not get services. An autism diag does. So that is

something for the poster to consider. So while my son has been diag. with HFA

I think it should be Aspergers I am not complaining because he needs help with

what he needs help with. He can not get that help with an Aspergers diag.

Carey http://www.GreenDiaperStore.com We now