Trying to learn about Aspergers and PDD-NOS

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My oldest grandson, 5, has a diagnosis of pdd-nos. But therapists who have worked with him say he exhibits as Aspergers. He also has Sensory Integration Disorder, Developmental Delay, and Oppostional Defiant Disorder, and he's ADHD. We've been through the spectrum of ADHD meds over the past year or so. He's currently on Focalin and that seems to help part of the day. We also give him Clonadin to help him get to sleep at night. We've heard about John Hicks and his homeopathic treatment with B-12 and Neuro M, but finances are a factor and 25-30 supplements per day is out of reach, not to mention that at 5 years old, he has the strength of a grown man. His mother and I have the bruises to prove it, and he doesn't like taking pills.

He also has a younger brother who, at 15 months, is very precocious but exhibits with head banging, screaming, putting his hands over his ears, and other signs of PDD. His brothers therapists think he may have a PDD but how do you diagnose a 15 month old?

Any advice, suggestions, would be appreciated. Sometimes we're not sure we're headed in the right direction.

This intrigues me, I was always a weird kid, a loner from 3 or so, and exhibited all sorts of weird traits, but my parents just pretended it would go away..

Meaning I'm very impressed that diagnosis can occur at 5 years, let alone 3 months..

I guess it shows how caring and diligent a parent you are

(does this mean my parents are totally ignorant? They're very good parents, they just don't like to think very much)

Expensive homeopathic treatments usually equal useless scams.

I read lots of good things on omega-3 how they seem to help some kids to some
degree with ADHD. Its been close to impossible to find any omega-3 my 3 & 4 year
old nephews will take. They cant take a gel cap, fish oil taste bad, they do not like fish,
want eat walnuts. No real idea how flax seed or oil could be worked into their diet
either. I bought some chewable omega that were expensive at Walgreen sunkist meg-3 (50 for $10.00 ) I was sure they would eat them. Wrong. Oh forgot the other idea
I just got the other day is omega-3 enriched eggs. They feed flax to the chickens
and it boost omega in the egg about 3 times I think. They eat french toast and eggs
so thats my latest idea but I will have to look to see if my small hick town in Texas
has any.

The best way to learn about Apsergers and PDD is to read the forums here. I think that the individual imformation that you find from our many members could be far more valueble than any book. You'll get to learn about our obsessions, sensory issues, emotionl issues and social issues amongst other things. You'll also find that many of us hold down jobs, (Not me, I'm a bit of a hippie), but a lot of us do, and that will give you hope for your son's future. Welcome and enjoy your stay.

Hi. I also think hearing about the Spectrum from those who are on it teaches a lot more than any book. I'm in between PDD-NOS and Aspergers and in my day NOBODY got a diagnosis. I was given mental illness diagnoses and meds. I also don't trust expensive, off-beat treatments. Never helped anyone on the Spectrum that I knew and some are downright dangerous. I would go with OT, PT, social skills, the regular interventions offered in the community and at school (if you live in the US). They don't cost anything, and my PDD-NOS son has come so far and has done so well. He's 13, has friends, and pretty much acts like any other kid. He's still ASD, but he's much less frustrated and more able to relate to NTs, and is very verbal (he started out a non-talker). He has learned to confine his quirks to the house and, more specifically, in his room. Nobody ever told him not to stim in front of others, he just doesn't like others to see him doing the ASD stuff and can control it. When necessary, he can "pass." And he's never been on a special diet or "special treatments" in his life. Get this child into Early Intervention through the community. When he is three he qualifies for Early Education. Don't depend on supplements, especially not alone as the only treatment. Good luck

I think a lot of those treatments aren't any different than the "miracle" diet aids, etc. ( they don't work and give false hope.) I feel like the B-12 thing works for some, just as the GF/CF diets work for some, because they are "fixing" other underlying problems that contribute to the child being unfocused...but they aren't miracle cures.

my youngest son started exhibiting behaviour that I considered unusual at 18 months, the most obvious to me was a loss of language. his pediatrician kept putting me off until his next well visit, saying "let's wait and see what happens." by the time the doc gave a referral for an evaluation and the evaluation actually happened, he was 3. (that being said...when children are diagnosed at a younger age than this, not only does the evaluation involve interation with the child, but detailed questions to the parents. the earlier a child can be diagnosed, the sooner intervention can begin. prior to age 3, the brain is still pliable..growing. I would go forward with getting a formal diagnosis, so he can receive therapies. the diagnosis can always be revised later.)


during all of this time, no one had mentioned autism or anything similar. I was thinking he had a hearing problem. I was quite floored when this roomful of adults sat me down and said "autism". I didn't know one damned thing. ("Rain Man", which we all know isn't exactly the best protrayal of austism.) They patted me on the back like an animal, saying how well I was taking this. I didn't know what I was taking..I was shocked. I cried in the car. I've never cried since.


Since that day, he has also been diagnosed with SID and DD, and his older brother with AS, SID, and just recently outgrew his DD. I have tried many, many things. So far the things that worked best..OT, speech therapy..etc. I make therapy a daily part of their routine, since the government seems to think they should get an hour a week, only.


I have taken them out of public school, and am "unschooling" them at home. Sign Language (ASL) helped tremendously with my younger son. he went from "typical" speech for a toddler to no speech at all. as I type this, he walked up to me and said "mommy, I'd like some more fish sticks, please." (he is 5 now.)


He takes risperdal M-tabs to help him sleep (prior to taking this medication, he would sleep for 3 hours then be up most of the night). In august he had his tonsils and adnoids removed (he sounded like darth vader when he was breathing) and that has gone far to improve his overall focus.


one OT technique thet they said was a bit "off beat"..involved brushing the boys with a soft brush (the kind they give you in hositals when babies are first born for their little heads). I was willing to try anything...and the brushing definitely seemed to calm them and help them with their sensory problems.



sorry I talked so much..best of luck to you.

1. Don't let them hurt themselves;
2. Culture/ nurture their special talent.

The rest is just doggy poo.

Oh, you might want to protect them from over-critisizing personel in later lives.

Thanks for all the input. The oldest (5) is on Focalin, experiencing stuttering and cluttering, stimming worse and on/off more aggressive. He is also very impulsive and has to be monitored CLOSELY when out of the house. He escaped from the house late one night recently, ended up crossing an extremely busy road and was found sitting in the center island at a fork in the road, in his pull-up only, on a very cool night. DFACs, police, etc became involved. He had a meltdown in the back of the wagon they put him in, beating on windows, screaming, wouldn't let anyone near him til his mother got there. Risperidal made his legs and stomach hurt, and we heard from several other parents that it could cause him to not be able to walk, confirmed by pediatrician. He's very impulsive, with very high threshold for pain. At 3 he would put his hand on a hot light bulb, say ouch, laugh and do it again and again, no matter how hard we tried stop him. He now gets clonidine to help him go to sleep at night. Otherwise, he would be up most of the night, everynight.