One psychologist says this, one psychiatrist say that....wtf

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Our original psychologist diagnosed our son with probable AS. She ruled out ADHD after seeing him for 1 year. Another psychiatrist who say him for 10 minutes stated that he was ADHD and was adamant about it. Our son was really anxious being under the microscope and in a new environment and was not on medication. Needless to say we (parents and our sons psychologist) disagreed (strongly). Our sons psychologist worked with him for another year but recently decided to leave the area which forced us into another psychologist. Our sons new psychologist has just started but the jury is still out........

Why is there an issue with AS vs ADHD...I think it is rather clear....

John Ryan

He could have both and also the doctor might be inexperienced with A.S.D's. Many doctors might over-diagnose A.D.D.

When I was younger, I was given three 'snap diagnoses' of ADD/ADHD (as in, within ten minutes). The first time I was taken to a psychologist who actually sat down and listened to me and talked about what I was like, I was diagnosed with classic AS. As a result, I spent six years on various stimulants (Adderall, Ritalin, etc.) which permanently destroyed my sleeping habits and removed my appetite with no appreciable positive effect, only to discover at age eleven that drugs WEREN'T going to work on me because I had AS.

Trust the one who takes the time to know your son, especially if the new fellow advocates medication.

I know it can be frustrating because you want to get an accurate diagnosis. And treatment options may vary on what exactly he is diagnosed with - whether it is AS; ADHD or both. My son was diagnosed with HFA and we had a consensus from several different professionals - like a neuro-psychiatrist, pediatric neurologist and child psychiatrist. SO - you might want to look at some of those types of professionals too. My son had language impairments and sensory issues so mostly for us it was to determine where he was on the spectrum.

The main difference between AS and ADHD is the ability to concentrate on one thing for extended periods of time.

For instance an AS person can find a particular interest fascinating - and concentrate well on that subject for hours, sometimes tuning out all other noise and activity.

An ADHD kid can't concentrate on anything even interesting things for any length of time.

Put an AS kid in an strange an unfamiliar environment with a less than friendly adult and chances are his (or her) concentration is going to be shot - and unless there is some attention grabbing toy - like meccano or a rubix cube or something - the AS kid is going to look the same as the ADHD kid.

And you can't diagnose AS or rule it out in 10 minutes. The clinician is supposed to quiz the parents about the child's behaviour and interests at home, and find a lot more about the kid's history. The clinician is supposed to do what they can to calm the child down - which might take a lot longer than 10 minutes. It might take more than one session.

So I reckon you need to find a different clinician - one that knows more about aspergers.

Supposedly it is possible for AS and ADHD to co-exisit but I'm not convinced personally. I suppose if a kid can't concentrate on anything, and has most of the other attributes of AS - then maybe. But I don't think you can come across as a "little professor" if you can't chat about your favourite subject for as long as you are allowed ie potentinally hours. And I can't see an ADHD kid doing that.

start looking for other professionals...what about a neuropsych ? our son was quite difficult to diagnose, and we too got so many professionals saying automatically that he was ADD....he's not. the neuropsych cost quite a bit, but i felt the dr did a very thorough job and really looked at everything. we decided to get the neuropsych because all of the professionals we saw previously couldn't come up with any sort of consensus. we got 5 or 6 different diagnoses....

The problem with the crossover misdx of adhd vs AS is because a child with adhd can sit and be attentive to something for a long period of time - and just like the child with AS often it is a "preferred" activity - not necessarily what they should or need to be doing at the time. Just as in AS, with adhd children present differently, and those with what is called the predominantly hyperactive-impulsive type will display much more ability to focus - although not to learning new skills or homework and other less desireable tasks.

I question any doctor that dx's any kind of psychological or psychiatric issues at first blush. Too many kinds of problems have cross over behaviors and presentations - it is important to get all the info.

When our son was dx'd, the psychologist had my husband and I fill out over an hour's worth of paperwork, plus his teachers and school counsellor filled some out, then the doctor herself did her own testing and reviewing. It was several weeks later, after she compiled all the info, that we were called in for a dx.

Find a new psych - 10 minutes is not enough. It was only after hours of therapy that my son's psychologist asked us if we'd considered Asperger's (he was being treated for depression and had been dx ADHD). The child psych we saw next grilled me for over 1-1/2 hours and my son was off his ADHD meds. It was horrible - I liked he was thorough, but trying to focus and concentrate while my son was literally bouncing off the walls was grueling. When I finally couldn't take it anymore, he said A probably was on the spectrum, but it would take more time to really try and sort things out between his behaviors, school reports and observations.

I just did a book search at Amazon for ADHD+Asperger's. It turned up more than 50 titles. Diagnosis and information on ASDs seems to be really rolling now and if your psych is still relying on what s/he learned in school 20 years ago, then that could explain the 10 minute dx.

It think it is really important to see someone who specializes in ASDs and has ALOT of experience. Some kids just manifest their symptoms so differently than the text book cases. AS is a relatively new dx and takes expertise.

Hi Justafriend

I'm not sure about anything, and I admit I've never heard of "hyperfocus" in ADHD kids. I haven't read as much about Attention deficit as I have about aspergers.

And I have read that ADHD treatment drugs can make Asperger's kids' behaviour worse.

So you'd want to be really sure about what you've got before you start with the drugs.

My main point agrees with most everybody else - AS is not something that can be excluded in favour of ADHD based on 10 minutes chat.

Thanks for all of the advice....What I find appaling is that a trained therapist had spent a long time studying him and talking to him and us. She was very thorough and in fact did not and will not diagnose him and say he actually did has AS. But she was clear on her opinion that he did not have ADHD which she specialized in....

I am concerned that the psychiatric "industry" is far to quick to just jump of a diagnosis when as a trained doctor there should be some due diligence to come to said conclusion.
We will never go back to the "Drive Up" psych as I call her....

I wonder if I can file a formal complaint, I am concerned for other children who will be misdiagnosed and possible giventhe wrong medication...

Does anyone know the proper channel to formal file a complaint?

Jryan

You would first want to contact your state's medical licensing board. They can give you the info you need on filing a complaint.

My son was first diagnosed at 4 years old with Mild Mental Retardation which I thought was probably not true. As he grew older, we homeschooled him and found that although he showed no special abilities, he was not ret*d at all! We began to strongly suspect Asperger's Syndrome when he was about 7 or 8. When he was 11 we sent him to the public school where the psychiatrist diagnosed him with AS. Later, we took him for a private evaluation (because the school's is only applicable to educational settings) and had one neurologist tell us there was no way he could have AS because he wasn't intelligent enough. She didn't even evaluate him, her assistant did and the only testing she gave him was a test to rule out Fragile X Syndrome! Several weeks after that we were told by another professional that he couldn't have AS because he maintained good eye contact and enjoyed talking to her (never mind the fact that it took us YEARS of training him to look at people in the eye; a skill that was impossible for him a couple of years before his evaluation with this idiot!) Then we took him to a private child psychologist who did extensive interviews, asked for all documentation concerning him, even my journal, doctor's records and evaluated him for 2 half day sessions. She diagnosed him with AS without a doubt.
What I have seen is that few children fit the stereotypical AS mold just as few autistic people act exactly like Raymond Babbit (Rain Man). So there is alot of confusion, even among professionals!