few questions about overall perception of autism

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Any kids dx'd with nonverbal learning disorder? Can it exist outside of autism? Why do doctors want to describe a child with cluster symptoms rather than as autistic?

Are expectations lower of AS or autism kids? I get that impression after speaking to the team today. This is surprising. Psych came out and said you don't want to restrict your understanding of so and so--he has much more potential than a child diagnosed with Aspergers or autism????

What is the overall perception of a child with a mandated label of autism with normal intelligence? How are the different than a child with nonverbal LD and ADHD and OCD etc.?????

thx,

equinn

I'm convinced the reason I was able to get through my bachelor and master degrees program with straight A's is because I'm aspie.

My learning styles aren;t traditional - and I would have failed some classes if I had to look at the professors and take notes during the lectures rather than draw pictures/play with clay/crochet with my fingers etc (I know that from high school) Heck half the time I couldn;t even read my own college notes - they were crammed in between pictures and full of abreviations that made sense at the time but that i couldn't remember after class. My hs notebooks looked the ay they were supposed to- in high school I was lucky to get a 3.2 GPA

honestly, i feel that the overlap in symptoms between NLD and AS is tremendous. so much so, that i barely see the difference between the two........some people, however, go to great lengths to avoid getting a specific diagnosis. i've had students end up with a PDD-NOS diagnosis because the parents insisted that their son get that instead of an AS diagnosis that he should've received............Personally, I don't think parents should be able to influence a dr like this. I don't quite understand the desire to have one dx over another. IMO, just getting an accurate dx would be enough

What is non-verbal learning disorder?

here's a list of symptoms to look for from NLDontheweb

Cognitive/Academic

1. Generally the individual’s WISC VIQ is higher than their PIQ, but not in all cases - particularly during adolescence.

2. There is an excellent vocabulary and more than typical verbal expression, starting at a young age.

3. Exceptional rote memory skills are quite common, and may mask the disability in early education.

4. There is excellent attention to detail, but the individual will likely miss the big picture.

5. The individual may be an early reader, OR may have early reading difficulties. However, in either case, there is generally difficulty with reading comprehension beginning in the upper elementary grades, especially for novel material.

6. Difficulties in math are common, especially in the areas of computation, word problems, and abstract applications.

7. Concept formation and abstract reasoning may be significantly impaired.

8. There is likely to be great difficulty generalizing information - applying learned information to new situations.

9. Generally their strongest learning medium is simple/rote auditory - if they hear it, they will remember it.



Physical

1. Physical awkwardness is quite common - they appear to lack coordination. As a youngster, the individual does better in individual rather than team sports.

2. There is difficulty learning to ride a bicycle, catch and/or kick a ball, hop and/or skip.

3. Physical difficulties may be more pronounced on the left side of body.

4. Fine motor skills may be impaired - handwriting may be poor and/or laborious.

5. Significant problems with spatial perception are quite common.



Language/Communication

1. These individuals are very concrete and interpret information quite literally.

2. Normally, they do not process or benefit from nonverbal communication - body language, facial expressions, tone of voice may be lost on them.

3. They are unable to intuit or read between the lines (impacting both conversation and reading comprehension).

4. Generally, these individuals have poor social skills. They will most likely have trouble making and/or keeping friends.



Emotional/Behavioral

1. In all likelihood, they will have tremendous difficulty adjusting to new situations, or changes to their routine.

2. These individuals generally appear to lack common sense, or "street smarts" - they can be incredibly naïve.

3. Anxiety and/or depression are very common, especially during adolescence. This problem may be quite severe.

4. Often these individuals suffer from low self-esteem.

5. It is quite common for them to be withdrawn, and they may actually become agoraphobic.

6. There is a higher than normal incidence of suicide within the NLD population

for me, i've taken the stance that it doesn't really matter whether my son's anxiety is a product of his AS, or whether it is a seperate issue........what matters ultimately, is that we are addressing the issue.......

therapy for his underdeveloped reflexes can help with motor coordination ( the ability to better utilize fine motor skills ) and it could also address mobility issues ( the ability to walk etc without too much trouble)

IMO,take the help they're offering.

Wow--thx

My son was cutting with scissors at 18 months and very agile.

NOw--he does drop things and trip at times (now that he's older an da bit heavier). He pushes himself against things etc. He can never just stand still.


I was surprised to hear the psych discourage me from a pdd-nos diagnosis and then advised team they could keep the autism mandate but that their expectations should extend beyond this label and he has lots of potential.

I don't want to switch from autism to OHI. Also, the psych said attention was due to adhd--

I know 75% of AS kids meet the criteria for ADHD--similar profile. All his pieces fit under an ASD quite well despite this psych's brief encounter with my son (45 minutes) and chat with me and team. Same old song.

equinn

You have to question a doctor's perspective of just what autism is, when they say that all those other diagnoses are "less limiting" than the singular dx of autism.