classic Autism vs pddnos vs as?

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Hello everyone my name is Jennifer and I am 14 years old and currently diagnosed as pddnos but I believe I should be diagnosed as asd or "classic autism" in the category "HFA" Will pdd or as get you services? My grandmother who takes care of me is currently in denial about me having anything despite her helping me with everything, me being in special education and going to a special needs camp. In order for me to be able to continue getting services and going to camp. I need to qualify for OPWDD and I need an autism diagnoses. Ive been trying to get accommodations on my iep for modified assignments ( a slightly less amount of work) and a computer to type since the fouth grade. Now I am faling one of my subjects and almost failing another. I am late very often in the morning due to extreme fatigue, lack of sleep and sensory issues.

My special interests include dolls and other toys, south park, reading, medical stuff. I have been interested in medical stuff since I was very young. I am extremely sensitive to all the senses. I get car sick constantly. I cannot go anywhere by myself. I have to be constantly reminded to use hygiene and my grandma has to help me with it. My grandma has to wash my hair and tie my shoes and has to contently push me to get ready. I have to say everything I need to do over and over again in my head or I will forget it. I dont know how to cross the street safely. (either that or I have street anxiety). I have to wear a pull up at night. I can not stand pads or tampons so I also wear one during my TOTM. I don't look people in the eye. I constantly rock back and fourth. I can not read facial expressions or body language and I take everything literally. I also tend to over analyze things.

I try to hum during sensory overload but it just gives my a headache . When ever I have SO it makes me feel dizzy. I barley talk to anyone unless its about my interests and then I can talk forever.

my psychologist says he dose not think I have " full blown autism" due to my speech being good and he thinks my iq is fine and that people with "full blown autism" are mentally ret*d,
and the more I talk about it, the less he believes I am autistic. ( Im obsessed, its so hard)

I believe that autism dose not equal mental retardation and there are different degrees of it, but that doesn't mean ok iq= nothing, as, or pddnos. It is very hard to get accommodations and services and some need it more then others. Also why dose as and pdd not have services? Isn't it also on the spectrum?

(my last iq test was 87 full scale what dose that mean? is that good or bad?)

Im going to be evaluated by a developmental pediatrician in march and im a little nervous that since my grandmother is in denial she will continue to say that I was fine and was perfect, despite me almost needing orthopedics and needing an aide to walk with me because I could not walk down stairs or more then ten steps ( as well as other weird stuff)
and I will no longer be able to go to camp or get the services I need.
What should I do? Do you think I am autistic?

I was under the impression that PDDNOS was an ASD. Now since the DSMV has been released, all autistic disorders are swept under the umbrella of ASD, anyway. (At least that's what I've heard. I might me wrong about that.)



I guess you could call it good. Retardation would be a full scale IQ below 70, so if you think you're ret*d, that isn't the case.

I scored somewhere in the 120 range when I was last tested in Sophomore year, so among higher average, I'd say.

I really can't offer much else...

I was under the impression that PDDNOS was an ASD. Now since the DSMV has been released, all autistic disorders are swept under the umbrella of ASD, anyway. (At least that's what I've heard. I might me wrong about that.)

I also thought this but my advocate said it didn't qualify and neither did as.

Also about my iq- what I mean is I think its weird, I've never had this low of an iq, its always been around 90- 110.

the 87 was on the adult test. Could that have anything to do with it? It doesn't make sense I've always had an average - above iq.

You need to be classified under the general ASD label to have access to services you need now or in the future. Pdd is a catch all made up by psycs who where not sure where to put someone. I'm not ASD, but I do have an almost 19 year old daughter who is ASD.

What is your psychologist talking about! What on earth does he think high-functioning autism and AS is then!

http://www.autism.org.uk/about-autism/a ... rence.aspx





http://www.autism-help.org/pdd-nos-overview-autism.htm



http://www.autism.org.uk/about-autism/r ... -name.aspx

The best thing to do is to ask the psychologist to explain in clear terms exactly what parts of the autism diagnostic criteria you don't meet and why.

What is your psychologist talking about! What on earth does he think high-functioning autism and AS is then![/quote]

He thinks HFA is sill only for significantly affected kids, just not as significant. And although I experienced echolalia my speech was fine if not above average.

I don't know why he doesn't think I qualify for as. I think he either thinks in still too high functioning. ( which I disagree with) Which may or not be caused by my speech (the way I can kind of self advocate )or my grandmother thinking everything is fine.

or it could be because of this.

[/quote] There is no clinically significant delay in cognitive development or in the development of age-appropriate self help skills, adaptive behavior (other than in social interaction) and curiosity about the environment in childhood.[/quote]

http://www.autreat.com/dsm4-aspergers.html

The Waeschler IQ test discriminates against autistic people vs. other IQ tests. So it could be different tests.

But you described your problems with self-help skills. If your grandmother has hidden these issues with self-help skills from him, then you need to have a frank talk with her. If your psychologist doesn't recognise everything you have described despite being told then you need to challenge him on it - or ask your grandmother to do so.

You say: which surely means that cognitively you are affected, due to either low awareness of danger or niavety? And how would you: if you weren't cognitively impaired in some way(s)?

You really need to ensure your grandmother speaks (with you present) to the psychologist about all this or challenge him yourself. Ask to have it in writing why he denies you having autism, so you can see a different psychologist if necessary and get their input.

I think your psychologist hasn't studied enough about autism. Some people with classic autism are actually very intelligent. There are people who have classic autism and a Ph. D., people who have classic autism and genius IQs. With your adaptive skills delays, you wouldn't qualify for Asperger's, since by definition Aspies have no such delays.

Here's a site of the autism diagnostic criteria:
http://www.autreat.com/dsm4-autism.html

Now I'm going to tell you why your psychologist is wrong. Check out section B. It says that you've got to have problems with communication--not necessarily with speech. In that section, to be diagnosed, a person has to have one of those traits. The second trait is probably most relevant for you:

DSM: In individuals with adequate speech, marked impairment in the ability to initiate or sustain a conversation with others

You: I barely talk to anyone unless its about my interests and then I can talk forever.

Notice that the DSM says that a person with classic autism can have "adequate speech"? Yeah. Your psychologist is not paying attention to that, and is probably working from his own mental idea of what autism "should" look like. I'm not a professional, but it's my guess that you probably should be diagnosed with classic autism rather than PDD-NOS, because you do have enough traits for that diagnosis, as well as having significant trouble with taking care of yourself.

By the way, I was struck by your level of insight--at fourteen, I didn't understand myself nearly as well as you understand yourself. That's a good thing because it means you'll be able to define and solve your own problems better.

87 is a normal-range IQ score. 100 is average; 85 to 115 is the average range; at 70, they start to diagnose intellectual disability. So your ability to take IQ tests is on the low end of the average range. Note that I say "your ability to take IQ tests", not "your intelligence". When they use an IQ test on an autistic person, they start from the assumption that your brain works more or less the same way that most people's do, and that if it's different then you're either delayed or advanced with how you're developing. But that's not an assumption you can really make when there's autism involved because autism by definition is atypical development. If you were to look at the subscales on the test, you would most likely find that you are good at some things and bad at others, so that the 87 doesn't really describe your skills in any particular area, in which you might be very skilled, or else might have a lot more trouble than low-average might suggest. "Intelligence" is a construct that we use a lot, but in reality there are so many possible skills and talents that a person might have that talking about intelligence in general gets so vague as to be useless. What you should be taking away from that is that you can't let them put you in a box by your IQ score--if you need more help than an 87 might suggest, you should get it; if you have a talent that they don't expect from your 87, you should be allowed to develop it. Don't let them stereotype you by a number.

As for your specific diagnosis: PDD-NOS is also known as "atypical autism". It is an autism spectrum disorder. PDD-NOS is just the category they use for autism that doesn't quite fit the Asperger's type or the classic autism type, and your psychologist probably put you in it because of your ability to speak fluently. PDD-NOS can be anything from a mild, barely noticeable thing, to a profound disability that requires 24/7 assistance. The only thing that distinguishes it is that it is a case of autism that doesn't quite fit into the other types.

Your diagnosis of PDD-NOS should be enough to get you the services you need. Sometimes it helps to actually call it "atypical autism", because that way people understand that it is indeed a form of autism. It may not be the exactly correct diagnosis, but if you can get what you need with that label, it should be good enough. If you can't, push for a change in labels. Perhaps your psychologist will listen to the argument that you need and will benefit from the sort of help that people diagnosed with classical autism can get, and so this diagnosis would be more useful to you than the more vague PDD-NOS.

I hope your grandmother can come to terms with your autism. Her generation was taught, growing up, that disability is a tragedy to be ashamed of. She is probably still having to deal with those ideas. She has an autistic granddaughter whom she evidently loves very much, and who is neither a tragedy nor a reason to be ashamed--but she's been taught that autism means tragedy and shame, and she is probably trying to reconcile that contradiction. If she does, she'll probably conclude that it's okay for you to be autistic, but until then, she may try to minimize or deny your autism so that she can focus on the idea that you are her family and someone she treasures and does not want to be ashamed of.

Callista that's a great post. Just wanted to point out that according to the National Autistic Society in the link (http://www.autism.org.uk/about-autism/r ... -name.aspx) I gave in my post further up the thread it says this:

Consider that your IQ may improve as you get older, especially the VIQ. I likely wouldn't have done very well on this test at 14 since I hadn't been reading for more than a few years. I did just ok at age 26, with a high VIQ but a PIQ around your overall. Also used to have much worse short-term memory, and my audio memory has gone from atrocious to excellent (that helps on digit spans and arithmetic). my block design score was just horrible, ret*d, and likely as bad as it's ever been.

So I'd get tested maybe after you finish college, should you decide to go, and you might have a much higher IQ.

You need to be classified under the general ASD label to have access to services you need now or in the future. Pdd is a catch all made up by psycs who where not sure where to put someone. I'm not ASD, but I do have an almost 19 year old daughter who is ASD.

Atypical autism is a correct term for PDD-NOS, though not an official term. On the autism spectrum, PDD-NOS is the category where they put anything that is on the spectrum but does not fit into any other definition--therefore, atypical autism.

They may be saying that "atypical autism" is incorrect because PDD-NOS is actually the most common autism diagnosis, because most cases do not fit into a specific category, and therefore it is not "atypical" to have PDD-NOS. But that's an artifact of statistics. If you like, you can rename it to "miscellaneous autism", which is pretty much what PDD-NOS means.

My grandmother is denying it she says I was only in a special needs camp because she said I was also for mainstream kids which it was not although they are supported to allow kids under 9 who were siblings 9 of the disabled kid or just not in but as ive been in this camp since I was in pk a have only seen 2-6 kids who were either a sibling or not disabiled.

http://www.cpwestchester.org/PDF/Camp20 ... cation.pdf

The kids mainly have cp, congenial defects like spina bifida, genetic disorders like down syndrome or autism, also my doctor had to sign the swimming form ever year because I was diagnosed with non convulsive seizure disorder, which she also denies because they can never get tan accurate eeg because I couldn't lay still.yet lets my doctor sign it.

This camp Is currently being reinvaded and will reopen sometime in the future so starting last year I went to a different camp.

http://www.northeastspecialrec.org/

I cannot put the link to the application because I cant find it. I wanted to go to their recreation program but I live a little more then a half hour away and my uncle who is also in denial and the only driver refuses to drive me. I saw in the brochure that Para transit was available but you can probly tell how that conversation with my uncle went.

I first was in two private(I believe special ed) preschools for three years in I special needs I think 7-1
then it was 12 or 14 to 1. I had a seeit and a home pt and ot.

looking at my old early intervention and iep reports I can say this.
I would call both of the evaluators "mommy".
I babbled a lot and could be hard to understand at times although my speech was generally normal.
I had tantrums and poor safety awareness
I have difficulty regulating my attention and behavior.
I never crawled.
I would stiffen my arms a shake my legs while placed on my back.
Both of my feet appeared flat, my right foot turned in, and I had slight bowing in both of my legs.
I used a wide base of support.
I sometimes walked up on my toes . for gross motor skills I was 26 mounths old and I could preform most tacks at the 12-14 month level alouth they said I was at 17 mounth gross motor level.
I have low muscle tone and fair + muscle strength.
My senserary integration was at risk.
my total fine motor skills raw score was at falling at the 1%ile
My self care skills were immature and not independent
I had decreased eye contact
I cant work with peers
I can be easily overstimulated
they say a require a small group and 1 to 1 intuction
my social skills are delayed

After pk I was put in to an inclusion class and I had ot, pt and counseling.
then in 9th grade they no longer had inclusion so I was placed in to resource.
I always had a van with a bus monitor until 9th grade because I live a little bit more then across from the school.

I think the problem is my family's denial and the fact that I didn't end up needing orthopedics and a can walk mainly better now ( sort of).

Yeah. Your logic is telling you, "I have a real disability and I deserve to have help," and your family is telling you that you don't. I've been there. My own family was in denial. My mom kept me home from school so they couldn't force me into special ed. Even today, sometimes I feel like I'm "cheating" when I get help from people, even though logically I know I need and deserve it, and that getting that help will let me contribute my own talents to others. You can't really change the way other people act, but at least you know what's going on for yourself.

what can I do?