So I just got Diagnosed With PDD.

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Just today I received in the mail a diagnosis of Pervasive Developemental Disorder, from a psychiatric nurse practitioner. You might have remembered my posting before about my parents wanting for me to get an official diagnosis, so that they could give verification to their accountant. Eventhough I do understand, from the responses I received here, that it is not necessary to have a recognised disability, in order to get tax exemptions for an an adult dependent relative. What I don't get however is how I could be considered to be PDD-NOS, as I've never had any speech delays. This was why I'd have thought that I'd be diagnosed as having Asperger's Syndrome, rather than more simply high functioning autism. But, oh well, whatever. On my profile here, it now says "other autism", as officially she ruled out A.S. But, I still view myself as being an aspie, per my self diagnosis. Just thought I'd inform you all as to where it stands with me.

Aspergers is no longer an accepted diagnosis within DSM. All forms of autism now fall under "Autism Spectrum Disorder." PDD-NOS is a term used for a form of autism that doesn't fall under any of the other categories.
However that one shouldn't be used anymore either according to DSM.

Forget the DSM. I'm an Aspie whether they like it or not.

What I found to be notable though was that the nurse practioner, in her written diagnosis ruled out Asperger's Syndrome, as well as Tourette's Syndrome. I'm not sure what criteria she used in making her assessment either, especially since A.S. seems to be more applicable to me than PDD-NOS. But like I posted before, I still self identify as neing an aspie, no matter what anyone else might make of me. But though it seems to be a bit of a misdiagnosis, officially I'm now PDD-NOS, so in other words a high functioning autist. Oh well, Einstein was HFA, so at least I'm in good company , officially that is .

Why did she rule out AS?

I could speculate, but it would still merely be conjecture on my part. 1. I got the impression, from some of the questions the LSW asked me, during the intake meeting, that people are concerned due to the Adam Lamza incident, that we aspies might commit acts of violence. So they might have wanted to spare me the stimatization. 2. The CNP might not have thought that I was intelligent enough to simply have Asperger's Syndrome, as I'm dyscalculic. And also, if she were privy to this one IQ test I took before, and mentioned to the LSW, she'd have seen that my average IQ result was only in the 90's. So perhaps they have this stereotyped view of aspies being potentionally dangerous geniuses. 3. From what the CNP told my mother, and I, she was reluctant to give me a formal diagnosis of autism, as she thought that it would be pointless, and would not benefit my life. Here is a transcript of what transpired, as I posted on my Facebook newsfeed. But as I posted, on the billing receipt she did list a diagnosis of PDD, and also had r/o Asperger Syndrome, r/o Tourette Syndrome. Actually, from what I just read, after typing in the abbreviation "r/o" into a search engine, it might simply mean that further evaluation would be needed to rule out A.S., and/or T.S. In other words "rule out", rather than "ruled out".