pdd-nos label vs aspergers

Post Reply New Topic

Is it true that AS is being overdiagnosed? My son's label is pdd-nos although he has all characteristics of AS but psych was worried because he is so subtle, and I think she was being cautious. (Autistic specialist --clinical psych.)

any ideas/opinions? he is seven (almost eight). Will he receive the same services? Will it change to AS when he is older?

What do I call him? I've been educating myself about hfa/AS, because this is where he falls on the spectrum. Red. ed with supports (minimal), problems with social (at times), verbosity, rigidity, fixated on technology etc.

I will also refer to him (when necessary) as hfa/as--not pdd-nos (bizarre--and too difficult to explain...sounds too vague, I think). Anyone else agree/disagree?

new here--great information/very helpful.

I, myself, scored a 120 out of 200 on AQ--almost--not quite. too NT, I guess. I did learn how to compensate, fit myself into world because I had to. I was never dx'ed with anything. although I was singled out in kindergarten and tested for some unknown reason due to maladaptive behavior, or "different learning style" as my mother puts it. this was back in the 70's. I just remember being extremely shy and wanting to go home. We were bused across town (experimental desegregation era) and it was all a shock to me.

I've been slowly revealing my son's dx (in a humorous, natural sort of way). Only the positive aspects. I've always just accepted his idiosyncracies, which made it difficult for me to enter into the world of labels. UGH. But, over the past year, I've been educating myself (extensively) and have become enlightened in many ways. I'm having fun and learning in the process.

glad to be here--equinn.

PDD-NOS can mean a lot of things so it is not as useful. Both my kids had that label initially. There was nothing subtle about my son's differences at age 3. He was attached to electrical objects and wanted to sleep with his shoes on. But he talked, talked, and talked, along with teaching himself how to read. His DX was later changed to AS because he was DX'ed before AS with in the DSM.

My daughter was more social at that age, but electively mute. She never spoke to strangers. Now she is pretty socially connected and verbal skills are her strength. She is also diagnosed with Non Verbal Learning Disorder.

PDD-NOS is definitely an autistic diagnosis and if he is not receiving services, something is very, very wrong.

Thanks for the speedy response. Yes, he does receives support--social skills once a week, support in classroom (when necessary), behavioral mgmt focused on pos. reinforcements.

He has been misfiled under ed--they weren't sure where to place him. This particular school is phenomenal and he is mainstreamed, yet they know I never agreed with ed as the appropriate category for my son. I did my homework after dismissing ed as the cause right away (my son is not a bully, malicious or willfully defiant). I tried to avoid services altogether. I took him out of public schools, tried parochial (he became worse--falling out of seat, hitting himself in head, ripping up paper, refusing to work, etc) despite his intelligence/ability. I was forced to accept ed label so he could get into this particular school that had the right services for him. AS was brought up a few times, but school psych said "too with it" and felt he was fixable with supports. (now I realize he would have gone to a different school with hfa children).

I sought an IEE (took almost 8 months). School team feels he doesn't meet criteria for ed and they planned on an OHI for tri-evaluation. Now, I have the pdd-nos with many AS characteristics which will be mentioned in the report.

No, the symptoms were not subtle. My son was running out of the kind. room, spinning, stripping off shoes and socks, flipping about, wouldn't transition--you name it. It was a nightmare. I'd bring him home, and he seemed fine to me. I was clueless. They started to give him services similar to an autistic child --how does your engine run, social stories, visual schedule--(I was appalled!). My son couldn't have autism, so I thought. I was in denial! Slowly, but surely, as I educated myself more, I became convinced, he did in fact fall on the higher end of the spectrum.

By this time, he had integrated beautifully into new school and they have done a superb job with pos. reinforcements, social skills etc. Still, there are areas that need fine tuning and the social/friend thing is still a problem. He prefers the teachers/adults. I am in close communication with spec. ed teacher and they are aware that I was seeking further evaluation of my son for an ASD.

sorry for the lengthy response but felt I needed to explain a bit more.

equinn, I'm not sure what you mean by ed? At any rate, 46% of all 1st degree relatives of people with AS have AS or sub-clinical AS, according to Attwood. Join the club.

ed=Emotionally Disturbed................schools often put an "educational label" on a kid so they can determine the best setting for your kid. another educational label is LD=Learning Disabled.

I haven't quite figured out how to reply, yet, with quotes and such.

So, I'll try to response to last two posters and other I might have missed.

No Zoloft was recommended from this clinical psych. (I'm an anti-med all the way) She, too, specializes in autistic disorders and is listed as one of the best Centers around where I live in the N.East.

Okay, I, too am feeling AS. It's more understood and more understood by people believe it or not.

As for the ED label, of course I realize what it was for and also never agreed with it. It was never good enough just to get my son services! (yet, it did give him social skills and other assistance to help him which has been wonderful). I didn't believe it was a proper label. He was the happiest guy in town, very social, smiling, curious, always talking about his interests--and then came Kindergarten! I was not saavy enough, not educated enough to argue a spectrum disorder (was in deep denial).

So, here we are. I wasn't asking what the "label" was for--of course, I know this part. I wanted to know about the pdd-nos label and how it might mesh with Asperger (could I use the two interchangeably).

Sorry, but I am usually very conscientious about how/what I say --I'm not sure where the confusion came in.

thanks for the responses--very helpful.

Thanks for the tips about posting.

I've read some conflicting information about dx--is PDD-NOS atypical autism for younger children? My son will be in eight-years old soon. Is he too old for this dx? Seems kind of weird from what I'm reading--mostly younger children 2-3 years old with language delays.

My son spoke very early (no delays), so how can one justify placing him in the category of pdd-nos? I still don't get it.

One of the criteria for being diagnosed with PDD-NOS or Asperger's is 'no speech delay'.

Now, I was told pdd-nos is atypical autism meaning that you met criteria for as/hfa but not specific enough or to the degree that it would warrant a dx for AS despite at Atwood suggests being "almost there".

where are you getting your information? curious.

The DSM-IV states:

PDD NOS
This category should be used when there is a severe and pervasive impairment in the development of reciprocal social interaction or verbal and nonverbal communication skills or when stereotyped behavior, interests, and activities are present but the criteria are not met for a specific pervasive developmental disorder, schizophrenia, schizotypal personality disorder, or avoidant personality disorder. For example, this category includes "atypical autism" � presentations that do not meet the criteria for autistic disorder because of late age at onset, atypical symptomatology, or subthreshold symptomatology, or all of these.

http://www.childbrain.com/pddq3.shtml


This was a very interesting article, it makes me wonder if my son has PDD-NOS and not AS... Then again, they both seem to apply... Maybe someone else with more PDD-NOS experiance could look it over?

http://www.maapservices.org/MAAP_Sub_Fi ... rticle.htm

guess i should have been more specific when i replied about the ed label....i was actually replying to Seriousgirl's post about ed.

Hmmm... I was looking at the AS info on the same site, definately As in my house

Best wishes to you; really though, don't worry to much about labels, as long as you are advocating and getting the services you need, who cares what "label" the medical community puts on it!

I feel it matters because I need to advocate for something that is concrete and specific. So, I'm not going to emphasize the NOS of the diagnosis. No way. I will identify literature, which I have, which deals specifically with hfa or AS and use this to support my son's needs.

The label does matter. If you're going to get your child services you need to know what the issues are, specifically, and why they meet the criteria for Autism or AS or Rett's --it is a spectrum so it is important for others to understand just where your child falls on this spectrum.

So, I disagree with this statement, frequently made, that the label doesn't matter. Sure it does. This is why I made sure my son lost the ED label because it never was him. I don't care what services they give my son, he's understood by the label (whether you want to believe it or not). It's just easier for teachers/staff to categorize. We are human after all.

Of course you'll be told that the label doesn't matter--not true as far as I'm concerned. If you're going to fight for a label, get the right one. It does matter.